Image: John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has announced 'Leïla Ka | Bouffées, Ondulations, and Pode Ser', a three-part contemporary dance program scheduled for Oct. 28-30, 2026, at the Historic Asolo Theater in Sarasota. The engagement is listed as part of The Ringling’s 2026/27 Art of Performance season, with performances on Oct. 28 at 11 a.m., Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $40-$50, and individual tickets are set to go on sale Sept. 1, 2026.
According to The Ringling’s event listing, French choreographer and dance artist Leïla Ka uses the trilogy to explore womanhood, identity and self-possession through the works 'Bouffées', 'Ondulations' and 'Pode Ser'. The description says the pieces form a “visceral exploration” shaped by Ka’s “emotionally charged movement language,” and that they confront and reclaim cultural narratives surrounding the female body while tracing the tension between conformity and liberation.
The organization’s performance calendar places the work within a broader season that mixes dance, music and multimedia performance. The same lineup includes 'Night of Wonder: Season Kickoff Party' on Oct. 16, 2026, featuring José “Pepito” Gómez and La Royal Orquesta in the Museum of Art Courtyard; Georgia Heers on Nov. 13, 2026, at the Historic Asolo Theater; Valerie June on Dec. 18, 2026, at Ca’ d’Zan’s Bolger Campiello; Agrupación Señor Serrano’s 'Birdie' on Feb. 10-11, 2027, at the Historic Asolo Theater; an EcoSummit 2027 collaboration on Feb. 24, 2027, at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium; LaMichael Leonard, Jr.’s 'SKIN NOISE' from March 16-27, 2027, at the Historic Asolo Theater; The Kif Kif Sisters’ 'Returns Department' from April 16-18, 2027, at the same venue; and MicroWIP on April 30, 2027.
The Ringling’s website also provides a compact biography of Ka, identifying her as a choreographer and dance artist currently in residence as associate artist at the Scènes Nationales de Cavaillon, Dieppe and Grenoble, which it notes are part of a network of state-certified art institutions in France. The page says Ka began her dance career as an urban street and hip-hop performer at age 16 before auditioning for and dancing with Maguy Marin, including in Marin’s 'May B'.
The listing says Ka created her first choreographic work, the solo 'Pode Ser', in 2018. It adds that she later made the duet 'C’est toi qu’on adore' in 2020 and the solo 'To cut loose' in 2022, for which she received the Choreographic Revelation Award from the Syndicats de la critique. The site also notes that Ka received first place at Danse Élargie at Théâtre de la Ville de Paris for a five-person ensemble performance of 'Bouffées'.
The Ringling’s performance page describes the new presentation as a portrait of resilience and autonomy, with performers navigating pressure, resistance and transformation through surging physicality, vulnerability and defiant grace. The event is listed for the Historic Asolo Theater, with the museum’s box office contact given as 941-360-7399.
