2023 A Year to Remember...
2023 was a year of building.
Through the generosity of our wonderful EMERGE125 community, we have built a strong foundation.
E125 kicked off the new year with three incredible performances at APAP and the Booking Dance Festival! The company presented work at City Center Studios, Ailey Citigroup Theatre, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
We are grateful to have been a part of IABD's 33rd Annual International Conference, held in Toronto, Canada. E125 performed at Visionaries | Founders & Invited Guests and festival participants took contemporary dance lessons from Tiffany at the on the 1 | a dance class series.
It's always a good time in Tiffany Rea-Fisher's class! Through the Black Voices in Dance initiative, dancers came together at Steps on Broadway to learn E125 rep with music from our own DJ, Twelve45.
Classical Theatre of Harlem's sensational production of Twelfth Night, choreographed by our very own Tiffany Rea-Fisher and performed by four of our Company Dancers, was remounted at NYU Skirball in February 2023.
E125 made its debut at Chelsea Factory with a trio of fantastic performances in February 2023. The program included a World Premiere along with repertory from the past decade.
We were thrilled to bring back our Happy Hour fundraiser! Hosted by our Young Executive Board, attendees were encouraged to drop by after work with friends and spend time enjoying a live performance by our very own Erica "Twelve45" Blunt.
Dance Theatre of Harlem's Sounds of Hazel made its New York premiere at New York City Center in April 2023. With choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher and music by Erica Blunt, this new ballet was inspired by the trailblazing Hazel Scott, the classical and jazz musician and civil rights activist.
For E125's 2023 NYC Season, The Path marked the culmination of a six-year partnership between Tiffany Rea-Fisher and E125's Resident Composer, Erica "Twelve45" Blunt. This full-company performance was the first original evening-length choreography in over seven years from Rea-Fisher.
In celebration of John Brown Day, Geography of Grace premiered at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts in May 2023. After three long years in the making, it was a joy to share this film with our Adirondack community for the first time.
E125's first ever Artist's Corner was an intimate evening of conversation between Tiffany Rea-Fisher and Danni Gee, Director of Programming at The Joyce Theater. We left the event inspired by their conversation on being black dance curators in NYC.
Our 2023 Gala celebrated an incredible year of dance performance, creation, and dance education. Having our entire community back together in-person for the first time since the pandemic was a moment we were all waiting for.
2023 marked the end of a 5-year partnership with E125 and the Lake Placid School of Dance as Tiffany stepped down from her role as Director. As we reflect on our time at the School, we are so proud of the high quality dance education we brought to the Lake Placid and Adirondack communities.
The Juneteenth March 5K started in 2020 as a march to highlight multiple injustices and reforms at the center of the city’s power. The event is co-organized by E125, James Felton Keith and Harlem Run! All proceeds from the Juneteenth March 5K go towards the building fund of the Harlem Center. Over 1,300 people joined us for the 5K this year (quadruple from last year)!
With the announcement of major grants from the Mellon Foundation and Bay and Paul Foundation, E125 has solidified itself as one of the best funded and most creatively vital dance institutions in the country. These grants will help to support organizational expansion, provide raises for administrative and artistic raises, help fund significant new staffing, and support ongoing development work with non-profit advisors Advance NYC.
We are thrilled to have Juliane Slater join us as EMERGE125's new Executive Director! Slater joins E125 after having worked for the José Limón Dance Foundation for nearly 10 years.
Tiffany Rea-Fisher was selected to choreograph Public Works' The Tempest, making its run at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in August 2023. Company Members Alisa and Madelyn assisted in the choreographic process and E125 performed a significant and memorable dance cameo in the production.
E125 performed Memphis Hesitation at the Hudson Valley Dance Festival up in the Catskills! The Festival is produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS and this year raised a record-breaking $167,082!
Tiffany and E125 Company Members traveled upstate to participate in this year's Arts in the Adirondacks: Amplifying Diverse Voices. The day was full of workshops and performances for both the community and the students.
As we kick off our 2023-24 season, EMERGE has grown from 9 dancers to 14. We are also thrilled to have Karen More join us in the studio as E125's Rehearsal Director. We know that these artists will bring incredible collaborations and spectacular energy to EMERGE125.
This season we brought back our popular Fall Showing event, Fall for E125. It was an evening filled with dance, conversation, laughter, and fellowship. The audience got a sneak peek at our upcoming NYC Season, some classic E125 rep, and a beautiful solo that was created onsite at Center for Ballet and the Arts.
We close off the year with a huge congratulations to E125 Artistic Director, Tiffany Rea-Fisher who has been appointed as the Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence for the 2024 Season at National Dance Institute (NDI)!
By offering diverse dance education programs, E125 is provided with a unique and creative way to better serve our communities. In 2023 we are proud to have worked with schools and programs across New York such as Stars of Tomorrow, Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, Lake Placid School of Dance, Northwood School, Petrova Elementary School, and Trinity School.