The Hawkeye Marching Band performs on the Hancher Green during the Fall Welcome Concert
Two students feel the vibrations coming off an audio amplifier during Sam Green's "32 Sounds"

10,000+

University of Iowa students attended Hancher events
Audience members hold up their phone flashlights

5

Educational experiences with visiting artists occurred per week (on average) in UI classrooms
Manual Cinema works with students

2,000+

UI students were connected with Hancher artists in direct educational experiences
8th graders from Iowa City Community School District came to Hancher for a performance

1,500

K-12 students were connected to Hancher artists in direct arts educational experiences
An 8th grade student raises their hand during a matinee performance by Academy Of St Martin in the Fields
Trisha Brown Dance Company performs In Plain Site in the Smith Lobby of Hancher Auditorium

We also brought together students from many different academic departments to participate in deeply embedded residencies with the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Manual Cinema.

A student dancer traverses a hanging landscape of clothing in Trisha Brown's Floor of the Forest
UI Dance students perform in Trisha Brown's Foray Foret
Students work with Manual Cinema

135

UI students employed as box office cashiers, ushers, stagehands, and marketing team members
Gabriel Kahane and Attacca Quartet perform in Hancher Up Close

Of course, when it comes to the performing arts, impact isn’t measured in numbers alone. Attending a performance or having an artist visit your classroom can truly change your life. We know that because we hear it time again—and because we have experienced it ourselves.

8th graders from Iowa City Community School District came to Hancher for a performance
Alberto Velazquez from the Joffrey Ballet visited the Iowa Youth Ballet
Audience members at the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Explore the artist residencies and cross-campus engagements from 2025-2026 that reflect Hancher’s role in Performing Arts at Iowa.

Trisha Brown Dance Co. Manual Cinema
Minnesota Orchestra Camille Thurman

Hancher's 2025–2026 season in photos

New UI students dance in a "silent disco" on the Hancher Green Goose performs in the Fall Welcome Concert on the Hancher Green A distorted view of the lobby before a Ben Folds performance Comedian Dulcé Sloan in Club Hancher Helado Negro opened for Sharon Van Etten and The Attachment Theory at The Englert, part of Infinite Dream Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory performing at The Englert Theatre as part of the Infinite Dream festival Suzanne Bocanegra and Lili Taylor perform in "Farmhouse Whorehouse" as part of the Infinite Dream festival In Sam Green's "32 Sounds," audience members wore headphones with immersive sound Alan Sparhawk performs in Club Hancher as part of Hancher's Infinite Dream festival JD Samsons DJs in Club Hancher as part of Infinite Dream Author Kaveh Akbar in conversation with UI's Daniel Khalastchi, part of Infinite Dream Comedian Josh Johnson in conversation with UI's Megan Gogerty, part of Infinite Dream Comedian Josh Johnson greets audience members in the lobby after his performance as part of Infinite Dream "Meandering River" was performed along the Iowa River as part of Infinite Dream Imani Winds and Harlem Quartet, presented at The Englert Theatre Pianist Jeremy Denk performing in Hancher Up Close Yo-Yo Ma Camille Thurman in residency with UI School of Music students Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Quartet perform in Club Hancher "Floor of the Forest" was installed at the Visual Arts Building, where dancers from the Trisha Brown Dance Company as well as UI students activated it Trisha Brown Dance Company, "In Plain Site," at the Visual Arts Building Trisha Brown Dance Company, "Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown & Cunningham Onstage" Mic Check Poetry Fest featuring Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye, in Club Hancher Minnesota Orchestra with Thomas Søndergård, Music Director, and Benjamin Beilman, Violin Hancher's 2025–2026 composer-in-residence, Gabriel Kahane, performing with Attacca Quartet in Hancher Up Close Jane Lynch's "A Swingin' Little Christmas" Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, "Duke in Africa" Gabriel Kahane, Hancher's 2025–2026 composer-in-residence, rehearsing with the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra Gabriel Kahane performing "Magnificent Bird" and "Book of Travelers" in Hancher Up Close Isidore String Quartet performs in Hancher Up Close VOCES8 in residence in the UI School of Music VOCES8 performed with UI's Kantorei as part of their performance at Voxman Music Building Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit The Joffrey Ballet Joshua Bell and The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Stop/Time audience members enter the Masonic Building for performances Ambrose Akinmusire performed with PUBLIQuartet as part of Stop/Time Mei Semones performs in Club Hancher as part of Stop/Time Audience members listen to authors reading their works as part of the Reanimator Reading Series and Stop/Time, in the UI Museum of Natural History Audience members watch the Westerlies and UI Brass perform in the Old Capitol Senate Chamber as part of Stop/Time Lex Leto x The Christine Burke Ensemble perform at the Masonic Building as part of Stop/Time Author Danez Smith presents at Prairie Lights as part of Stop/Time Kalia Vandever performs in the Masonic Building as part of Stop/Time Miracles of God performed at Riverside Theatre as part of Stop/Time The Westerlies perform in the Voxman Music Building as part of Stop/Time Evicshen performs at Gabe's as part of Stop/Time William Tyler performs at the Masonic Building as part of Stop/Time Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage performed at Riverside Theatre as part of Stop/Time Sharp Pins performs at Gabe's as part of Stop/Time Pieta Brown performs with The Open Field Ensemble in the Masonic Building as part of Stop/Time Branford Marsalis performs with his band at The Englert Theatre as part of Stop/Time Mali Obomsawin performs with her band at Riverside Theatre as part of Stop/Time Golomb performs at Gabe's as part of Stop/Time Stop/Time audience members at The Englert Theatre Tortoise performs at The Englert Theatre as part of Stop/Time Manual Cinema performs "The Fourth Witch" at the Englert Theatre Brad Mehldau performs with his trio in Club Hancher