EMERGE125 2025 NYC Season

EMERGE125 is excited to invite you to our New York City Season at El Teatro located at El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. With reimagined works, revivals of company classics, and two world premieres, prepare to see EMERGE125 like you have never seen them before!

Scroll down to explore everything you need to know about our NYC Season! Get an inside look at the season program with exclusive sneak peeks, interviews with Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher, and learn more about the E125 dancers, staff, and board! Interested in supporting the season? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities below.

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EMERGE125, under the visionary leadership of Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher, presents an evening of dynamic and emotionally charged dance that delves into the complexities of human experience. From the raw vulnerability of stepping into the spotlight in Pre-Show Jitters to the relentless pursuit of resilience in For Joy, each piece offers a unique perspective on movement, connection, and transformation. Audiences will witness the evolution of past works, such as 1:3:4:1, the premiere of bold new creations, and the physical artistry that defines E125’s signature style. Whether through the intimate power of I Want You, the collective strength of To the Root, or the exhilarating Heart of Glass, this program is a testament to the company’s ability to push boundaries while honoring the essence of dance as a form of expression, resistance, and joy.

Click HERE for more information about becoming a Sponsor

ABOUT EMERGE125

EMERGE125 is a Black female-led dance company that expands the reach and impact of dance through creation, performance, and education. Through a body of expressive, athletic modern dance work, EMERGE125 explores social dynamics and personal identity, illuminates and challenges systemic inequities, and inspires reflection and connection. We believe that dance can serve as a uniting force across differences in age, race, class, and more.

EMERGE125 has been led by celebrated choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher since 2017. Based in Harlem, EMERGE125 also has a strong presence in the Adirondacks, tours nationwide, and shares virtual content globally.

By performing in multidisciplinary or non-arts spaces, as well as engaging in cross-disciplinary collaborations, we reach beyond traditional dance audiences—we attract audiences who like to be surprised, challenged, and in dialogue with art of all kinds. Our youth dance education programs—serving K-12 students as well as pre- and early-career professionals—cultivate these same values in the artists and audiences of the future.

SEASON DETAILS

90-minute show
3 evenings (May 29-31)
Features 8 EMERGE125 Company Members and 2 Guest Artists
6 works including 2 World Premieres
Family Matinee (Saturday, May 31) featuring student performances from educational partners including: Repertory Dance Company, National Dance Institute, and Stars of Tomorrow Project.

SEASON SPONSORSHIP

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES RANGE FROM $1,000 to $25,000

Our sponsorship levels are thoughtfully designed to meaningfully recognize our supporters, offering exclusive benefits such as access to an open rehearsal, a private event at opening night, VIP tickets to the season, and prominent visibility in our marketing and performance materials. We offer customized sponsorship opportunities to align with your passions, whether in support of:

The creation and development of new work
EMERGE125 artist salaries & dancer wellness
Theater rental & production costs at El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio
Costume and lighting design that bring the 2024-2025 NYC Season to life
Subsidized tickets for public school students, ensuring broad engagement with the arts

Sponsoring EMERGE125's NYC Season helps elevate dance as a powerful force for connection, creativity, and humanity. We are deeply grateful to collaborate with supporters who share a strong commitment to the arts and look forward to creating a customized sponsorship experience that resonates with your values and vision.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 to support essential production elements and provide heavily subsidized tickets for public school students, ensuring greater access to the performing arts. Click below to learn more about becoming a sponsor!

NYC Season Sponsorship Packet

CHOREOGRAPHer & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR,
TIFFANY REA-FISHER

E125 Rehearsal 2025 by Sarah Kleinke.JPG

EMERGE125's Artistic Director TIFFANY REA-FISHER is a NDP Award winner, a 2022 Creatives Rebuild New York Grantee, a 7-time consecutive AUDELCO Award nominee, a 2021 Toulmin Creator and 2022 Toulmin Fellow, a National Dance Project Awardee, a John Brown Spirit Award recipient, and was personally awarded a citation from the City of New York for her cultural contributions. She has been commissioned by Dance Theater of Harlem, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and The National Gallery of Art, among others. Her work has been performed at prestigous venues like The Joyce, The Apollo, and Joe’s Pub, and even for the Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg. Rea-Fisher curates the Bryant Park Picnic Performances Summer Dance Series, serves as the Executive Director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, and sits on the Board of Trustees for The Tank. As resident choreographer for the Classical Theatre of Harlem, her work has been featured in major productions, including The Public Theater’s The Tempest in 2023. She champions servant leadership and fosters a culture of inclusion through her artistry.

NYC SEASON PROGRAM

PRE-SHOW JITTERS

A performer’s final moments before stepping onto the stage are a battleground of adrenaline, doubt, and sheer will. Pre-Show Jitters dives into the physical and emotional intensity of this vulnerable space—the moment before the lights hit, before the body fully takes over. Audiences often ask how we do what we do, and the answer is: it isn’t easy. It requires a particular kind of person, one with relentless attention to detail, an unshakable love for the art form, and enormous courage. Featuring critically acclaimed performer and singer Jo Lampert, who also wrote the text, this piece pulls back the curtain on the raw, unfiltered experience of stepping into the unknown with new original costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell.

1:3:4:1

Originally created over a decade ago for an all-male-identifying cast, 1:3:4:1 explores the physicality of a visual artist at work. Set to music by Paul Ukena, the score is layered with the sounds of a painter actively creating—brushstrokes, scraping, and movement through space. This season, we rehearsed two casts: an all-female-identifying group and a mixed-gender cast. Watching this new generation of artists embody the work, finding their own rhythm within its structure while maintaining its integrity, has been a gift.

FOR JOY

What happens when you have nothing left? When the goalposts keep shifting and the ground beneath you refuses to hold firm? For Joy is a reimagining of a previous work, now with an original score by Fred Kennedy, and new original costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell we exploring resilience and joy—not as a shallow act of optimism but as a radical choice. In a world that can feel relentless, how do we hold on to joy as a form of grounding, a tool of resistance, and a path forward?

HEART OF GLASS

A longtime favorite in our repertory, Heart of Glass is a visually epic, emotionally charged finale. In past seasons, this piece wove together excerpts from various works, creating a collage of movement. This year, we take a different approach—expanding each solo, duet, and trio so the audience can experience the depth of every moment before witnessing the work in its full totality. The result is a crescendo of energy, a layered journey that builds toward an explosive, exhilarating finish.

I WANT YOU

A deeply personal solo I Want You first captivated audiences as a work-in-progress in our 2024 season. This piece is an homage to vulnerability, strength, and the power of loving something—even if it does not love you back. It is about standing in that truth, harnessing it, and transforming it into a source of power and self-determination.

TO THE ROOT

This full-company premiere is an exploration of unity, tension, and release. Created as homage to Kevin Wynn, eight dancers move in strict unison, pushing the limits of physicality, connection, and support through intricate partnering. At its core, the work is built around a duet—two dancers breaking away from the group before being drawn back in. What does it mean to hold space for intimacy within a collective? How do we create a container where tension builds, releases, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats? This piece invites you into a world of shifting dynamics, where individuality and community constantly negotiate their place. New original costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell.

THE DANCERS

Madelyn LaLonde

Caitlyn Morgan

Tiffany “2Ts” Terry

Alyssa Manginaro

Travon Williams

Briana Marsiello

Trey Singletary

Jenna Kulacz

GUEST ARTISTS

Maya Finman-Palmer

Taylor Collier

The Team

Juliane Slater | Executive Director

Tiffany Rea-Fisher | Artistic Director

Men Ca Acnem | Rehearsal Director

Kat Files | Director Of Education

Benny Jean-Baptiste | Operations Manager

Sarah Kleinke | Digital Marketing Coordinator

Alisa Gregory | Events Coordinator

Artie Ticknor | Development Coordinator

Mollee Barse | Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director

Bill Terry | Management Consultant

Corey Ortega | Government Relations Advisor

John Seroff | Public Relations and Communications

Christopher Brusberg | Production Manager & Lighting Designer

Kat Files | Production Assistant

Rachel Dozier-Ezell | Costume Designer

Mollee Barse | Wardrobe Supervisor

Moti Margolin | Videographer

Tony Turner | Photographer

Failspace | NYC Season Graphic Designer

E125 EXECUTIVE BOARD

Richard D. Kirschner, Chair

Carolynn Dilworth, Treasurer

Paul Ukena, Secretary

Robert Dilworth

Nicholas Fox Weber

Alix Laager

Bryan McGee

Rimas Vargas-Vetter

Vanessa Wilcox

E125 YOUNG EXECUTIVE BOARD

Alisa Gregory, Chair

Marissa Fayer

Matthew Fisher

Seth Kirschner

Camille Turner

Caroline Yost

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

PRODUCING PARTNER

Paul Ukena & Rima Vargas-Vetter

SUPPORTING PARTNER