EMERGE125 Reveals 2026 Season at El Museo Del Barrio

EMERGE125, a Black, female-led dance company based in Harlem, will present its 2026 NYC Season, celebrating 10 years of Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher's leadership. This season features three dynamic new works choreographed by Rea-Fisher, exploring themes of progressive social change through powerful, physically charged movement.

E125 will return to El Museo del Barrio in Spanish Harlem for three performances to celebrate the 2026 Season. Last year's season at El Museo marked a milestone in public engagement, with audience attendance more than doubling from the previous year. That growth reflects not just the company's increasing visibility, but its deepening roots in the Harlem community and broader cultural relevance across the city.

On Opening Night on April 30, experience full performances of three new works exploring migration, protest, and environmental justice through powerful modern dance. Migrate is a moving exploration of natural migration and global immigration, set to a chamber music score by Jackson A. Waters. Protest (World Premiere) is a bold collaboration uniting movement and sound that embodies the tensions and resilience of protest and resistance. The third piece, an Untitled Work-in-Progress, is an interdisciplinary work imagining the rewilding and future of the California Grizzly bear, created with research support from the California Grizzly Alliance and environmental awareness non-profit vildwerk.

At the Renaissance Gala on May 1, join E125 for a special, shortened performance, including live music by the New York Youth Symphony, followed by Renaissance Gala: Legacies in Motion. This year's Gala will honor Rea-Fisher, as well as Classical Theatre of Harlem Producing Artistic Director Ty Jones and JamRock Productions founder Jamila Ponton Bragg.

The Matinee 4pm performance on May 2 will also feature a full dance performance program.

Over an active ten-year period under the leadership of Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher, EMERGE125 has remade itself as one of the most innovative movement arts companies in New York City. E125 has held a vital and continuous presence in New York City's dance ecosystem for more than four decades, touring internationally, presenting work on prominent stages, and contributing meaningfully to the American modern dance canon. Since 2016, Rea-Fisher's governance has redefined the organization's identity while remaining true to its founding vision. Grounded in the vibrant artistic culture of Harlem, E125's unique and holistic approach to artistic engagement has established the company as a significant economic driver and thought leader in the NYC arts world.

Through a set of core values that includes prioritizing artistic excellence, dancer care, community impact, reliable execution of planned programming, EMERGE125 has fully entrenched itself as a thriving, self-sustained organization that consistently produces high-caliber work. Under Rea-Fisher's visionary leadership, they have expanded their staff, cultivated strong and lasting partnerships, and scaled our programming, all while maintaining our uncompromising commitment to our mission of artistic excellence.