The Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast

Maia
Hi everyone, welcome to the Casual Dance Teachers Podcast. This is your host, Maia. Did you guys miss me? So if you are just joining us, you may not know that we had just recently concluded season one of the podcast and I had announced that season two would be starting up in August of 2025.

However, when I had the opportunity to speak to today's guest, I just could not pass it up. And she has some new work premiering very soon as of May, 2025. So I wanted to have this conversation and get this episode out to you as soon as possible.

Today's very special guest for our first ever bonus episode of the Casual Dance Teachers podcast is Tiffany Rea Fisher.

Now, as I mentioned, Tiffany has some new work coming out soon with her company Emerge125, a Black female-led dance company that expands the reach and impact of dance through creation, performance, and education. In addition to serving as artistic director of Emerge125, Tiffany Ray Fisher is an NDP award winner, a 2022 Creatives Rebuild New York grantee, a seven-time consecutive El Deco Award nominee, a 2021 Tolman Creator and a 2022 Tolman Fellow, a National Dance Project awardee, a John Brown Spirit Award recipient, a Mellon Grant awardee through her company, and was personally awarded a citation from the city of New York for her cultural contributions.

Tiffany Rea Fisher has also been commissioned by numerous companies, including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, New York City Department of Transportation, Utah Repertory Theatre, and many, many more. So while I could go on and on about Tiffany Rea Fisher's work, today we're actually going to be focusing on her work particularly in the theater space. And just to give you a little bit more background about that before we jump into the conversation, Tiffany has been a resident choreographer with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and has collaborated on their productions of Macbeth, The Three Musketeers, A Christmas Carol in Harlem, Antigone, Seize the King, and the company's 2024 adaptation of Agamemnon, recently staged at the Getty Center in LA.

Following her 2022 contributions to Classical Theatre of Harlem's Twelfth Night, for which the New York Times suggested she should have been nominated for a Tony Award, Rea Fisher's choreography was prominent in the Public Theatre's 2023 Delacorte production of The Tempest as part of their Public Works program. Okay, finally, before I officially bring Tiffany into the conversation, I also wanted to share this one additional excerpt from her bio that I thought so beautifully sums up the work that Tiffany is doing. She subscribes to the servant leadership model and uses disruption through inclusion as a way to influence her company's culture.

Oh my gosh, what an exciting opportunity for me to have this conversation and share it with all of you right before Emerge 125's new season premieres. Let's get into it. Tiffany, thank you so much for joining me on the show today.

Tiffany
Well, thank you for having me. I was really excited that you wanted to talk about, I love talking about dance and art and all things in between, so I was really excited.

Maia
Yes, thank you so much. And of course, there's so many things, dance and art, and also just like your leadership roles and the things that you've done in the dance world that we could cover, but we're going to kind of keep it small today. We're going to talk specifically about your theater choreography. That's a topic that I'm super excited about. I haven't covered it on the show before. I feel like it's going to be so helpful and you're kind of like the person to talk to about it, so I'm very excited about that.

Tiffany
You're very kind.

Maia
Can we start out maybe with just a little bit of intro? How did you get into doing theater choreography? What has been kind of your journey with that particular part of your career?

Tiffany
I got started, I think many people, it's like I got a phone call. I just got a phone call from a dear friend of mine who I trusted that said, I am not able to do this job, and I recommended you. That happens a lot.

And I was like, okay. And it was with Classical Theater of Harlem. It was for Macbeth.

I had never done theater before ever. And she said, I was hoping kind of something to the effect of like, I was hoping you would take it. So the director is going to be calling you soon.

I was like, what? I was driving from teaching classes in one of the Carolinas and I just pulled over and I took the call with not the director, but the full head of Classical Theater of Harlem, Ty Jones. And he explained what he saw regarding choreography for Macbeth. And I just told him, I said, you know, I want to be really honest with you.

I have a really vivid imagination, but I've never done this before. I feel very confident in concert dance. I know that I'm fluent in that, but I've never done theater before.

But if you're to kind of take a chance, I'm happy to try, but I wanted to be really honest about where I was coming into the process. And he agreed. I don't know why, like what made him, but literally, I think now coming up this summer, I think it's going to be my 10th project with Classical Theater of Harlem.

So it was a full match made in heaven. But I do like to say, I like to be a place of yes. And I like to try things, especially if they scare me, I think that I should try and try maybe two or three times before I decide it's not for me, because there's so many circumstances, you know, that it's like, maybe the thing is for you, but that environment wasn't for you.

Or that creative director wasn't for you, but it doesn't mean that the thing itself wasn't for you. But I mean, when I look back, it's so crazed. I knew nothing.

I came in day one with the whole piece choreographed because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. So I did the whole thing and like showed it to the director everywhere that the director said there's dance. I had it fully done on day one.

So even after that, they still kept me, which was so sweet.

Maia
So since then, is it much more collaborative, where you just go in with your own ideas and then kind of bounce things around until it's set?

Tiffany
Yeah, you typically, you know, day one, they'll do a the cast and all of the creatives will come into the room. And for me, this was I didn't realize how much bigger in scope and in collaboration, I think theater isn't compared to dance, even large scale dance.

And so they'll do each department will typically do a presentation. And so for my presentation, I did every dance thing I thought was happening. But yeah, I mean, for the first week, it's table reading, and you're just listening.

And you're sitting as the choreographer next to the director. And at least with with Karl Cofield, he would whisper in my ear, I see this here. And so you're just writing notes, writing notes, writing notes.

And you want to give a couple of drafts. So with the entrance of the king, you want to give this draft and have the director look at it and say more of this, less of that. And so it's Yeah, it's way more collaborative, you have to take into account, you know, the people in the room.

So you have to take into account the actors, because some of the dance moments that I had set on which were my dancers at the time that were working in my company, some of those moments for actors, but because they were dancing, I had dancers, that's what I did. So there's just much more sensitivity that that goes into it's not like a plug and play. It's not like everyone goes to their corners.

And then you just there are usually many, many, many, many production meetings leading up to it, making sure the whole creative team is on the same page. And because I was coming in so late, I wasn't in on any of those meetings. My first everything was day one, where they had already been in collaboration with other artists.

But luckily, you know, I didn't know what I didn't know. So I was able to just show up and try some things. And I'm so grateful to Ty and Carl, because they were so generous with me.

And they shared their knowledge with me. These are major people in the theater field, and they could have replaced me, and no one would have batted an eye. And they would, they would have been well within their right and, you know, could have easily it would have been fine.

But they didn't, they were willing to work with me and meet me where I was, and bring me along for the journey. And to this day, there's still, you know, like the people that I love collaborating with most on this earth. They're so wonderful.

So that was it was really a blessing. And I've learned a lot. And I continue to learn a lot in theater.

Maia
That's amazing. So I have so many questions bubbling up here. I'm gonna try to keep it focused.

But the first thing that's coming to mind with all of this is, you know, I think Macbeth, and I'm not automatically thinking dance, right?

Tiffany
Right.

Maia
There's such a kind of set vision of what Macbeth is. There's so much history behind it.
And I can imagine as a choreographer, I mean, you talked a little bit about like, you can come into it scared and not really knowing what you're doing. But I would feel like it would be so easy to just get swallowed up by like, oh my gosh, I have to pay homage to like, what Macbeth is and what people think of it, that it would be really hard to use kind of the general choreographic devices and how we know to create dance in a concert setting, but apply it to something like that, that has so much behind it. And like you said, when you're coming in later in the process to like already has actors and costumes and lighting, you're not able to set that around the movement, you have to set the movement to it.

So all of that to say, could you maybe talk a little bit about how you maintained your own unique choreographic voice within that process? And also what things maybe shape your choreographic voice when you're setting something for theater?

Tiffany
Yeah, absolutely. What I can say about classical theater of Harlem, in particular, that was helpful for me in this journey is that they are reimagining classics. So they are asking to bring something from the past into a current context.

So there was a lot of room for me, and they loved really the modern dance, concert dance aesthetic. And so specifically working with classical theater of Harlem, they produce, and this is where I think their sweet spot and their brilliance lies, is that they produce classical plays that have movement in them. It's not a musical.

So I think that my aesthetic within that works really well. And part of, I think, at least for Macbeth, what helped me is actually being naive. I was not coming into theater understanding the history.

I understood it from a literary perspective, but I really didn't understand it from a theater perspective. And I think that was a positive because then I wasn't under that weight. I wasn't like, oh my God, this person did that, and this person did this.

What am I going to do? It was brand new information for me. I was able to look at it brand new. And because they're looking for a reimagination and not a recreation, it really aligned really beautifully within that.

But I think what was very, very helpful is that they are looking for something new. And I think what's beautiful about creation is that, and I teach this in my, I used to teach a choreography course called Creative Tools. And I would give the people in the group same prompt, same this, same that.

And I would let them know that because you're you, your muchness will make it completely different. And they would never, ever believe me. And they're like, no, we're going to come up with the same pieces.

It's like, oh, you're not, there's no way. Because the prompts are open enough that you being you, you're going to interpret it differently. And you have to trust that that will be enough and that no one will interpret it the way you do.

And that's how you start finding your voice, right? Is that you have to trust that you're the only one seeing it this way, because you're the only one having your experience. And so it is going to be different. And if you can keep your eyes on your own paper, right, and not get pulled by what that person's choices or what this person's choices, you'll start understanding kinetically, what's happening for you and where your rhythms lie and where your pathways lie and where those idiosyncrasies that make you, you kind of pop up.

And when there's space given, you can find that. So that was really, I think, very helpful was that I had no concept of what came before. So I could do anything.

And I was encouraged to do so. And so I just really put my muchness into it. And it's like, this is going to be a Tiffany Rea Fisher imagining of this.

And you have the story so brilliantly, which is so different than concert dance, you know, so that is that's a huge, huge help as it relates to movement, because it can't be too abstract. I don't want to say arbitrary, but it really can't be too abstract, it really needs to be in service of not only the text, but the story. And I feel like that's the big difference that I love between concert dance, where I'm able within my company, a group of dancers that I have with me for 30 weeks out of the year, which is so wonderful, and I'm able to make whatever's in my head and heart, versus theater, where you want everyone walking away with the same understanding of what the story was.

So you have to be really rigorous with yourself. And it's a much more of a like kill your darlings type of situation, because it's done in collaboration with my my company, I'm the final artistic say, when I come into a group, the director is the final artistic say, and then you don't even want to go into like producers in that level, right? That's a whole other thing. So I love jumping back and forth between the two worlds, because right when I'm like, I cannot hear not any more text, and I just want this because that's how I feel, I just want to do whatever, because that's how I feel.

It's like, my theater project is over and I'm back with my company. And when I'm like, I just want to follow something, because I'm like, so tired of taking the lead, a theater project pops up, you know, so it's really lovely to jump back and forth and to keep both of those muscles, which are very different muscles, flexing and working.

Maia
Yes, I feel that so much.
I actually have mentioned on the podcast before that I do some choreography for my local theater company. For that same reason, sometimes having no rules and just creating something from scratch. And here I am explaining this to you.

But when I'm choreographing for my students, it's like I'm coming up with everything from scratch. And yes, they usually end in May. And then the theater company does like a big production with the dancing and stuff in the summer. And it's like, okay, now it's all rules. It's all structured. And I am just going to that. So I totally feel you on that.

Tiffany
Restrictions are helpful.

Maia
Yes, they are really helpful. One of the restrictions that I kind of have to have for me personally is like, if I'm choreographing for typically it's for a musical, so I'm, I'm trying to gauge if this is similar. I have to have the score, like written out sheet music, and I make my notes on that, which I have no idea if that's just a me thing, or anybody else. So are you getting a score? Are you getting recordings of the music that's being used? And how are you notating and doing all of that?

Tiffany
So when I'm working with plays that also have dance in it, so therefore they have music in it, but aren't musicals, typically I'm getting recordings. And I'm working in that way. And I will work a little bit more outside of the room and then kind of come into the room for feedback from the director until we get to a place that we can put the worlds together and then start to see how this feels and transitioning that way.

When you're working on a musical, I think, as you know, the choreographer and director kind of have to work like a braid. Like it really, it needs to be really deep respect, understanding, grace, love, all of that, you know, for it to work that way. For me, I don't read music.

So when I'm in a musical, typically I have associates. So I always make sure that I have an associate that can read music so that I'm able to speak to the actors. There's someone on my team that can speak to the actors in their terminology.

And that can work out in their notebook. Their binder typically has the sheet music in it, where mine does not, because it doesn't mean anything to me. And then I have another associate who can act as me if I need to be in the other room.

Because with a musical, you typically have, at least in my experience, you have like two to three rooms going at the same time. So if I need to step out and work with the soloist and someone else can work with, then my associates can stay in the room and work with the ensemble. We have one that's able to speak to team music.

We have one that's able to put the choreography that I've already made and put into their body onto the ensemble. So that has been really helpful. I think it is really, for me, I'm finding, it's not that it slows me down.

I do wish I could read music because I just think it would, it's just very helpful. It's a very helpful skill to have. But I do also like being able to give autonomy to my associates and for them to bring a skill that I don't have, I think it feels good.

I think that that's a feel-good thing. But I never want to be lacking in the room myself, if I'm there myself. I want to be able to be fluent in someone else's language.

And I think most music directors are totally used to the choreographer speaking to them in tongues, do you know what I mean? And in rhythm the way we would do. And you're like, you know when it's like da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. Like, you know, they're totally used to us just speaking gibberish at them.

And they're like, yeah, like this, like they're on the piano just doing their thing, right? Like, and so it hasn't slowed me down. But it is a skill that I hope as I continue and that I'm able to just add to my tools. You know, we're talking about like choreography tools, I think being able to read music is a really helpful tool in choreography.

Maia
Oh, good. Okay. This is kind of like a leading question. I set you up. Okay, because I wanted to ask you again coming at this from the point of view of being a dance teacher if we have young students who are on the path that they've expressed that they want to work in theater specifically, if we're teaching theater dance classes or just teaching dancers that we want to be prepared to work in that setting so that they have, you know, the range of skills to work in any setting that they can use dance. So obviously we've established you don't have to be able to read music, but it could be helpful.

Tiffany.
Yes, absolutely.

Maia
What are some other skills that you think would be valuable to be teaching amateur students to prepare them to potentially have a career in theater specifically.

Tiffany
Yeah, you know, what's interesting is that my partner also works in theater and it's interesting when offers come in there's a big ask right now, you know, there is a golden era of like the triple threat and then it kind of went away and It got much more compartmentalized and the actor just needed to act we would bring in dancers for the dance, we'd bring in the singers, we're moving to musicals, right? Like it kind of separated itself out. I think right now we're living in this kind of like multi hyphenate, right? Like that's a thing that people use to describe themselves.

I think being able to distinguish yourself as a dancer versus a mover. Because that's something that people say like, "I'm a good mover, but I'm not a dancer." Being able to actually say like nope, I can dance, and having a confidence in that like knowing that you can go into a theater jazz class and come out the other side unscathed You know is really really important.

I think being able, like on the same note, it's like a lot of people that know how to read music is because they play an instrument. The amount of asks of Actors to be able to play the guitar to be able to play the accordion. Yeah, it is a trend that I don't see going away. And I think there's a lot of different reasons for that, you know economy being one of them. It's like if I can get an all-in-one here, let's do that. It's getting more expensive to produce on Broadway, but I think that there's something like if I had continued, I started playing the flute, if I had continued that, even a base knowledge of that will get you to that callback because you're gonna beat out everyone else who doesn't play any instrument. You're automatically, because you can read that music, because you even have a base knowledge of some instrument, is going to be a huge step up the same way that being able to distinguish yourself as a dancer versus a mover is going to be huge as it relates to like the casting team.

Because When you're looking at the casting team, right? The director is looking at your acting, the choreographer is looking at your movement and the casting director is looking at the formula as a whole, right, of like, what that is. To be able to appeal to each person that's kind of on the other side of that and if you have the music director there then they're checking out your voice, right? So everyone is able to zoom in and so if you're able to at least get all of them to be like yeah. Like that's huge. Because It's rare that you can get four people to agree that you can move on to this next step. But it's crucial in your career that you get to that next step because in the callback they were in there down one more time and then the offer is made So I think thinking of it that way Understanding within this world there are these four people that are looking for these specific things and can you at least get over the threshold with each one of them if you can, that already kind of puts you in a whole different echelon.

Maia
Great. So Let's pivot for a second because I do very much want to talk about your dance company.

Tiffany
Yay!

Maia
Yay! Yes I know you have a lot of exciting stuff happening with that. So we do, in the interest of trying to keep my transitions going, maybe tell us a little bit about What you look for in your dancers for your company? Yeah, what sets them apart?

Tiffany
Absolutely. For my dancers in my company, so yeah, so Emerge 1 2 5, we're based in New York City and it ranges between 8 to 12 dancers depending on what the needs are of the season and we have about Typically a 28 to 32 week contract which is pretty rare I'm very proud of that fact that we're able to have that type of consistency. It's a highly physical and highly technical company, So that for me, I don't know, I think within the time that I've been the artistic director I've maybe had two dancers that weren't conservatory trained maybe. So that is something, it's like it's that level of finessing of the instrument that's needed.

But I also really love, like I thought if if I was going to be a dancer and if I was going to pursue this, that I was gonna be a tap dancer and then I found modern dance and it totally changed my life. But I still hear in tap. I still feel in tap like in the rhythms And so I really like to pull from different things. So even though modern dance has my heart, I'm a West Coast competition kid.

So, you know, I like to pull from all sorts of different types of dance. So that is something that's important to me is that you're able to be versatile and you're able to be like multilingual, right, within your body of what you're able to bring to the table.

And then last, but also first, is that I really in my heart of hearts, which is just a totally biased thing, is I have to feel you're a good person. I have to feel that if something was to go down on stage that you would make the decision that would be right for the group and not just right for you. I really love the challenge of creating and leading an ensemble. I'm not interested in 10 soloists doing my work. You know, I really feel like the era of the diva is over in the best way, the diva meaning negative, there's also diva that's super positive, but that there is a an understanding of the whole and that you have that cognizant to Be part of the whole so that the whole can be better than any individual part.

The other thing that's not necessary, but as a bonus is I really love hiring dancers that enjoy and are good at teaching because I think it's a different mindset to care about that next generation coming up. I think it's also, you know as they say if you really know it then you can teach it And if you don't then you can't, right. So it's always wonderful to see people hone in on something. Because our language is one that is nonverbal. So are you able to take the nonverbal turn it into verbal? Are you able to turn that into imagery? Are you able to turn it, right? Some people are visual learners. Some people are auditory learners. When you are at the head of the room It's your job as the teacher to be able to make sure that you're bringing all the learners along with you And so it's just a different mentality as it relates to movement. So that's definitely a plus for me and I love doing teacher trainings within my company for those that are interested. Maybe they don't have the skill yet and having them TA me until they they can kind of go on their own. But yeah, that's that's what I'm what I'm looking for. Like I said, the teaching is a bonus. That's not a must-have but everything that came before that for me is definitely a must-have.

Maia
Okay, so I learned something new about you so just go with the flow, okay. Do you think that dance competitions help build those skills that you just talked about or hinder?

Tiffany
Well, I will be fully honest with you and your audience. I'm in my 40s So the last time I did a dance competition was a really long time ago, and I didn't stay in that world. You know, there's people that came up through that and then they go back and they judge on weekends I really came to New York when I was 17 and modern dance took a hold and I haven't looked back What I can say for me What competition did for me? Is that it allowed me to understand where people my age were across the country. And So, you know that was really helpful. It also helped me with confidence as it related to like stage fright because every weekend you're performing. So performing is not scary anymore, It's just something that you do, where when I started coming to other places and you know, if you're working in other styles, maybe you only get two opportunities you get like your Nutcracker and then you get your full your end-of-the-year show It's much more pressurized.

But I think like anything it's definitely a double-edged sword, right? There's positives and negatives to both. I think the main thing that is going to help or hurt is like the training that you receive at your home studio. If it's good training then it's probably a positive, you know, if it's not good training, you're probably gonna sustain lots of injuries unfortunately, and you may not even make it to the place that you're able to look at conservatories or otherwise. So I I think for me it was, it was a positive experience because I wasn't the most upfront kid, but I did have a lot of talent and I was good at what I did, but I think it gave me confidence it pushed me in a way for me. That was positive But I also see the flip side of that for sure, you know, even me being far away from it It's it's very clear and you know, I always tell people art is powerful. And like anything that is powerful, it can be a hurt or a help.

And so for me, I always want the art or the art that I'm a part of to be a help. I never want to be someone's bad memory. Right? And that's like, that's what's so, when we're talking about things being powerful, also teaching.

We have those teachers that live in our minds because they were the ones that told us we could do it, that made us believe in ourselves. And they loomed so large for us. And we have that, that those teachers, that the flip was true.

Right? And they stay with us too. And they stay with us equal parts, which is so crazy. So, you know, I think if competition's for you, give it a whirl and see.

And if it's not for you, then that's okay. You know, like there's nothing wrong there. I've been lucky enough to be able to go through conservatory, have my dance career and go into choreography with people that have taken a similar path and with people that have never seen a competition stage.

And that was no problem. You know, so, but I think it is, yeah, I'm a pretty optimistic, positive person too. So I think I'm pretty balanced.

I'm like, oh, well, there's, there's positives and negatives. But I think for me it was, it was mostly positive, but it's also because my mom really made it positive for me. And she kept protections around me to make sure it stayed positive.

She was not pushing me into anything that didn't feel right for me. She wasn't pushing me into anything I didn't want to do. You know, anytime I was like, "I quit." She was like, okay. I was like, no, I'm not quitting. You know, like, she really, and I didn't realize that at the time. It wasn't until like, you know, I came into my own motherhood that I was like, oh, this is what she was doing, you know? So I think that that's really important because you're trusting. It's the other thing as a teacher, you know, the parents are trusting you with the thing they value most in this world. So you have to hold it with soft hands.

You know, and I think a lot of people don't for various reasons. And that's when it's like, please step aside. We don't need this to be a place of harm.

We don't need it. We don't need to beat people down to build them up. I really strongly disagree with that mode of thinking and of teaching.

I think you can get a lot more with positivity and you can get a lot more out of people if you create an environment in which they feel safe and trusted and brave. Then fear, you know? So, yeah, I went on a bit of a tangent there, but that's I think that's my very long answer to your very specific question.

Maia
No, it's great.

And it kind of brought it full circle, too, because at the beginning, I was so struck by what you were saying about stepping into your muchness and allowing that to kind of inform. And so to be teachers that see that the muchness in each of our students and allow them to identify that, because I would not use that term for myself. You know, like you said, I like sunk down into my chair like "muchness?"

So, yes, to be that teacher that would see that and allow a student to identify that in themselves, no matter what path they're on with dance.

Tiffany
That's right.

Maia
Yes, you brought it full circle. So thank you for that.

Tiffany
I'm so glad. And you know what's so funny, too, is like I'm still doing that with my dancers and their professionals. It's still it's not, you know, it's still like pulling that out of that and still being a champion and a cheerleader and all of that. You know, so I do like that as much as I don't get to put on the hat of teacher for my company because we have teachers that teach company class that are outside of me so I can really work on choreographer and I can wear director's hat. But I do still love that role because it's still needed once you're in the professional space. It's not like it goes away. You still sometimes need someone to see something in you that hasn't quite revealed itself to you yet.

Maia
Before we close, I know we just just touched upon your company and what you look for in your dancers. But again, you have some some good stuff coming up for us, and so I want to leave the listeners with some more information about the new season coming up for Emerge 125. Tell us a little bit more about that. Tell us where we can get information, stay in touch with you to see everything else that you have going on. All of that good stuff.

Tiffany
Yeah, it's it's very exciting.

So I'm presenting our New York City season at El Museo del Barrio and it's a new venue for us. It's this beautiful proscenium space. And I have six pieces that I'm presenting.

The first is actually more theatrical. It's called "Pre-Show Jitters" is the working title. But it talks about like everything that happens kind of physically before you take the stage. Because I always get asked, like, how do you all remember that? Or how do you do this? Or how, you know, so just giving, I love to give the audience a kind of peek behind the scene. And so we're opening the show with that.

I have two pieces of repertory that I'm bringing back. I think one is from 10 years ago. One's from 14 years ago. So it's been really wonderful to see my current artists bring those works back to life.
And for me as the creator to have a different relationship with them. Because I've had a decade plus of distance from these works, which is really beautiful. And creating two new works, that is just like, yay. You know, that's the stuff dreams are made of. Where you're just like, I'm going to make. And I'm going to give myself that challenge to make.

I'm finishing a work in progress from last year that was a solo that was six minutes. It was meant to be a 12-minute solo. So it now this year will fulfill its purpose and be that solo.

And then for the first time ever, I took a piece from years ago. And I kind of stripped it down for parts. And just went back.

Because there was a lot of things that I thought didn't work about the piece. But I thought what did work is that the movement vocabulary that I was working with, I did find interesting later. But I don't know that I had the right elements surrounding it at the time. So I kind of stripped it down for parts and put it together in a new way. Which was something that was fun and interesting for me.

But we are coming off of a residency. So for the last three years, we've been performing in the same space. And this is the first time that we are coming out. And we were partners with that organization before. So for six years, we were presenting in the same space. And now we're presenting somewhere new. Which is just always really, really exciting. My dancers are just dynamic. Like they just, it's a leave no prisoners type of situation. They're just so dedicated and such really beautiful artists. So I'm excited to see them. I'm excited to bring these six pieces to the New York community. And I'm excited to do it in our home base, which is in Harlem. That feels good to be kind of back home as well. Even though I'm deeply, deeply grateful to be able to have been a resident at The Flea. It helped me artistically to know that I had a place to put my work every year. And that I wasn't scrambling around the city trying to see who would produce me. Or who would, you know, just having that safety net as a creative was really, really, really wonderful.

And then after that, I go back to Classical Theatre of Harlem. To their show Memnon, which we did this summer, Or this fall, in LA with the Getty Villa, it's making its New York debut. So my company dancers will be in that. And then possibly, possibly Pericles, which would be a musical. So, you know, again, hitting all the things just right back to back.

We have like concert dance going into a play with dance going into like a musical. And then I will rest, I hope, after that for a bit.

Maia
Sure. I hope so. Oh, that's great. So in like the online world, if folks are looking to get tickets or just follow what you're doing, where do they find you?

Tiffany
Yes, they can go to our website, which is Emerge125.org. And right away, it'll be like, here's our season, like immediately.

And then on Instagram, we are Emerge125. I'm T.ReaFisher and R-E-A, even though it's spelled Rae. Or it's said Rae, it is R-E-A Fisher.

Between those three places, I think everything that we're doing will be, you'll know about. And through the website, if you wanted to be part of our newsletter, you could also sign up for our newsletter through our website as well.

Maia
Awesome. Thank you so much. I'm so excited for you. I'm so excited that you took the time to join us. Thank you. And I'm going to also throw one last question at you.

Tiffany
Sure.

Maia
If you have a favorite quote that you can share with us to close.

Tiffany
Oh, jeez louise, there's so many. I have the worst like memory ever.

Maia
I know. I'm sorry to put you on the spot with that.

Tiffany
No, it's okay. It's okay. So I'm, this is going to sound wildly self-serving, but I, I'm going to say the quote that I like to say for myself most, because I do remember that because I say it often, is for dancers to work their voice like they would any other muscle in their body.

I think it's really important to learn how to advocate for yourself, to learn how to speak up, to learn, you know, it's really, really important. And we spend so much of this time working the rest of our muscles, right? While keeping this one like dormant and silent. And I think it's really, really important to think about the body and its totality.

So your mind, your voice, right, has to be part of the physicality that you're bringing in the room and making sure that you are in spaces in which that totality is expected of you. Right. Not only like that, it's like nice to have, but that we expect you to show up and we expect you to have an opinion on things.

We expect you to be able to like be participatory in the ways that are beneficial and helpful to the product, whatever artistic product you're going for. So I always love it. It's always, you know, you know, as a teacher, it's hard when you come in and you're like, how are y'all feeling? And there's silence, you know, you don't want to go into like a void.

It's like, let me know. This class is for you. I need to know where you are. And I think having that boldness to be able to speak to someone at the front of the room, even if it's saying I need it again, that's OK, we'll do it again.

You know what I mean? Like that's OK. And so starting to get that is what I would kind of leave, leave the listeners with, I think that idea.

Maia
Wow. All right. I'm going to let Tiffany have the last word when it comes to our conversation. However, I did want to jump back in with just my final little wrap up for the show, which I honestly did try to keep brief, in line with my typical interview format and length of the episodes, but this one just, it was such a rich conversation. And there was just so much there that this is the best I could do as far as shaving it down. And I think that's so great with this being a bonus episode that's coming out between seasons one and two. You have some time to go back and revisit and re-listen as needed, because again, if you're listening to this during the spring or summer of 2025, our new season will begin in August of 2025. So please make sure to subscribe so you can get reminders when new episodes start coming out then. I also would encourage you if you're just finding us for the first time to join us in the Casual Dance Teachers Network Facebook group and follow the Casual Dance Teachers Podcast Instagram page, where we will continue to post updates, new information, opportunities, anything and everything pertaining to the Casual Dance Teachers Network in our socials, even between the two seasons. So we'll keep in touch with you there. As always, big thanks to all the members of our network, and especially to GB mystical, who wrote the theme music for the podcast. I'll see you all soon.