“...Tiffany Rea-Fisher ignites the Force in everything she touches. And, from the looks of it, this Creative Force will continue to do so well into the new decade.”
“I consider my signature to be a combination of empathy, joy, and athleticism; not always in that order. An idea that I’ve always held as true is that people primarily go to the theater to escape, so I ask myself if I wanted to escape, what would I want to see? Empathy, joy, and athleticism.”
The Path
2023 World Premiere
EMERGE125 2023 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music & Projections: Erica “Twelve45” Blunt
The Path: “I’m going to be real with you,” says Rea-Fisher, “There’s a romanticized sense of the artist as some sort of magician but, most often, the reality is simply about doing the work. That may not sound especially sexy, but it’s true. Epiphanies are easy but they are hardly reliable. If you do the work everyday, your unfettered creativity is revealed rather than forced. This is what The Path means to me: proceeding with greater and greater trust in myself, in my company, and in our future.” The Path marks the culmination of a six-year partnership between Rea-Fisher and EMERGE125's Sound and Music Coordinator Erica "Twelve45" Blunt. Many of the audio elements in The Path were conceived during the 2022 John Brown Lives! Fellowship for Activists and Artists, where Blunt and Rea-Fisher participated as part of the fellowship's inaugural cohort. As both a composer and remixer, Blunt brings a diverse ear and artist-forward soundtrack to her unique contributions with the company.
Behavioral Synchrony
2022 World Premiere
EMERGE125 2022 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music: The Halluci Nation
Behavioral Synchrony: The sonic focal point for this piece is the drum. Inspired after reading a Neuroscience 2020 article, that proved “Drumming in a group stimulates behavioral and physiological synchronization, which contributes to the formation of social bonds and the ability to cooperate,” Rea-Fisher felt that this was what she and her company needed to get through the pandemic together. Hold each other close, throw everything they had physically, mentally, and spiritually into the work, and sync their heartbeats. This idea resulted in a high-pace physically intense quintet that is Behavioral Synchrony.
John Brown Lives
EMERGE125 2022 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music: Erica “Twelve45” Blunt
Voices: Tiffany Rea-Fisher & Erica “Twelve45” Blunt
John Brown Lives: In the summer of 2020 Rea-Fisher was invited to come to the family farm of abolitionist John Brown who was hung for treason after raiding the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. After creating a dance film about the farm and participating in several events at the Farm related to the Black Lives Memorial installation created by artist Karen Davidson Seward, Rea- Fisher wanted to bring this inspiration back to the city and share it with her NYC family.
Poly String Theory
2022 World Premiere
EMERGE125 2022 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music: Kaiser Quartett
Poly String Theory: Rea-Fisher fell in love with the music of the Kaiser Quartett and felt impassioned to try to make a movement piece that was as frenetic and visceral as the music. Inspired by her dancers' dedication, motivation, determination, and strength, this study in applied pressure has become a favorite piece of repertoire within the company.
Rights of Renaissance
EMERGE125 2022 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music: Organized by Erica “Twelve45” Blunt
Voices in order of appearance: Tracy Dunbar, Mikayla Klein, Alisa Gregory, Daniela Funicello, Caitlyn Morgan, Jenny Hegarty-Freeman, & Madelyn LaLonde
Rights of Renaissance: This work began when Rea-Fisher stumbled across audio footage from her 2020 Harlem Stage dance film commission about the Harlem Renaissance. Dancers in the company were given a Time Magazine article to read written by Ibram X. Kendi which they then discussed with a partner.
“At no point does any dancer show up on stage while their voice is being featured. I think it is important for those not having a specific lived experience to sit with, understand, and actually care about what others are experiencing whether that is their lived experience or not. I believe that is how empathy is built.”
-Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Executive Artistic Director EMERGE125
Spirit Celestial
Section 1 (NYC Premiere), Section 2 (2018)
EMERGE125 2022 NYC Season
Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music: Kevin Keller
Spirit Celestial was commissioned by the Lake Placid Center for the Arts in 2018 and was Rea-Fisher’s physical response to visual artist Sarah Yomen’s beautiful work featuring crows. This piece was created as a gift for Jon Donk who brought the two artists together. The creation started with the ending solo which Rea-Fisher began in 2017 however she always saw this piece as a trilogy so for the 2022 season Rea-Fisher created a duet that serves as the middle section of the work and will create the final section starting in 2023 that will serve as the works opening.