National Dance Institute Appoints Tiffany Rea-Fisher as The Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence for the 2024 Season

Following her acclaimed choreography for the Public Theater’s summer 2023 production of The Tempest at The Delacorte Theater, the multi-talented artist Tiffany Rea-Fisher has been chosen as National Dance Institute’s (NDI) Artist-in-Residence for 2024.

The one-year residency, which began in October of 2023, is a recognition of Rea-Fisher’s two decades of inspiring talent as an artistic director, choreographer, dancer, curator, diversity advocate, and dance instructor. 

Tiffany Rea-Fisher is the Artistic Director of EMERGE125, a Mellon Foundation grant-funded dance  performance company headquartered out of Harlem and the Adirondacks, currently in residence at The Flea Theater. She is also the dance curator for Bryant Park Picnic Performances; the Executive Director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative; and the co-founder of Inception to Exhibition, a non-profit that facilitates low-cost, high-quality space rentals for use by artists from a variety of disciplines.

Over the course of her career, Rea-Fisher has been commissioned by the Dallas Black Dance Theater, the NYC Department of Transportation, Utah Repertory Dance Theater, and The National Gallery of Art in D.C. Her works have been seen on stage at the Joyce, the Apollo, New York City Center, Joe's Pub, Aaron Davis Hall, Bryant Park, Red Bull Stadium, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Chelsea Factory, and New York Live Arts. She has worked extensively with fashion designers to present their works, including for events and films with Louis Vuitton and Paola Hernández. Among Rea-Fisher’s recent accomplishments is the premiere of her 2022 Dance Theatre of Harlem commission, Sounds of Hazel, celebrating the life of the classical pianist, singer, Hollywood star, and trailblazing activist Hazel Scott. 

Rea-Fisher has become a go-to choreographer for major theater directors, including Carl Cofield (Best Director, N.A.A.C.P) and Saheem Ali (New York Theatre Workshop, Public Theater). As the resident choreographer with the Classical Theatre of Harlem, she has contributed to their productions of Macbeth, The Three Musketeers, A Christmas Carol in Harlem, Antigone, The Bacchae, Seize the King, and Twelfth Night, the latter of which prompted The New York Times to suggest she should have been nominated for a Tony Award.

Rea-Fisher is a COHI member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance, an Advisory Board member of Dance/NYC, a Bessies Award Selection Committee member, and a proud member of Women of Color in the Arts. Rea-Fisher was the first dance curator for the interdisciplinary arts organization The Tank, where she now sits on their Board of Trustees, and served for many years as the Director of the Lake Placid School of Dance. She is a 7-time consecutive AUDELCO award nominee, a 2022 Toulmin Fellow, a National Dance Project Award winner, a Creatives Rebuild New York Awardee, a John Brown Spirit Award recipient, and was awarded a citation from the City of New York for her cultural contributions.

Rea-Fisher is much sought after as a lecturer, speaker, and policy contributor on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts. She subscribes to the servant leadership model and uses disruption through inclusion to influence the culture of her work with her company, in dance education, and all of her many satellite projects. 

“I am honored to have been chosen by National Dance Institute for this residency,” says Rea-Fisher.  “NDI’s mission to meaningfully integrate dance and music into the lives of children of all ages and ability levels is deeply resonant with my own experiences as an educator and artist. I am very much looking forward to engaging with NDI’s students, faculty and Advanced Team dancers in the upcoming year.”

“We are thrilled to welcome the multifaceted Tiffany Rea-Fisher as our incoming Artist in Residence,” said Kay Gayner, NDI’s Artistic Director.  “Her extraordinary talent as a dancer, choreographer and artist is matched by her ability as an educator and advocate for the arts.  Because she subscribes to the servant leadership model and uses disruption through inclusion to influence the culture of her work with her company, I imagine her influence on the NDI staff and children will be profound.  Tiffany is not only an original and gifted creative artist, she is also an innovative, heart-centered leader.  Every step of her career matches NDI’s goals of reaching and engaging our dancers ever more deeply and effectively.”

NDI’s Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence Program stands as a testament to NDI's commitment to showcasing and nurturing the talents of artists of color. Previously, the program has provided platforms for illustrious artists like Camille A. Brown & Dancers; Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer  Léonardo Sandoval and musician Gregory Richardson of Music from the Sole; choreographer Earl Mosley of Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance; and Mai Lê Hô, Founder, Executive & Artistic Director of LayeRhythm.

NDI extends its gratitude to Helen Stambler Neuberger, Board Chair Emerita, for her extraordinary support of the Artist-in-Residence Program.

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