EMERGE125 Artist’s Corner: A Conversation with Tiffany Rea-Fisher & Alicia Graf Mack

The upcoming installment of EMERGE125’s ongoing Artist’s Corner series features an evening of conversation with two Black female dance directors – E125 Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher and Dean and Director of Juilliard Dance Alicia Graf Mack – as they discuss experiences, successes, and challenges within the field. As Juilliard’s first Black Dance director (as well as its youngest), Graf Mack has been busy remaking and redefining the celebrated Dance department since her arrival in 2018. Rea-Fisher recently finished choreography work on The Public Theater’s production of The Tempest and is currently working on choreography for the new musical Gun & Powder, coming to Paper Mill Playhouse in 2024. Rea-Fisher was also recently chosen by National Dance Institute as their 2024 Artist-in-Residence.

This event offers attendees the rare chance to hear an informal conversation between two accomplished artists – one a dancer, the other a choreographer – who also have a lot to say about being young, Black executives at New York City arts institutions, as well as the opportunity to join in the conversation during the Q&A, which will end the evening. Artist’s Corner is hosted by the EMERGE125 Young Executives Board and begins at 6PM with light refreshments and drinks.

Alicia Graf Mack began her inaugural season as Dean and Director of Juilliard Dance in the fall of 2018. Before assuming that role, Graf Mack enjoyed a distinguished career as a principal dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Graf Mack has danced as a guest performer with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Beyoncé, John Legend, Andre 3000, Alicia Keys, and Jon Batiste, in addition to numerous appearances in galas, festivals and nationally aired television shows. Graf Mack graduated magna cum laude with honors in history from Columbia University and holds an MA in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. As a dance educator, Graf Mack was an assistant professor at Webster University in 2010-2011 and 2015-2018, and taught as adjunct faculty at the University of Houston and Washington University in St. Louis. She is a co-founder of D(n)A Arts Collective, an initiative created with her sister to enrich the lives of young dancers through master classes and intensives. Graf Mack is the proud co-producer and host of a new podcast, Moving Moments, featuring authentic conversations with some of the most celebrated, ground-breaking artists in the field of dance.

Tiffany Rea-Fisher is the Artistic Director of EMERGE125, a Mellon Grant-funded 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 and the Executive Director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative. Her works have been seen on stage at the Joyce, the Apollo, New York City Center, Joe’s Pub, Red Bull Stadium, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Chelsea Factory, and New York Live Arts. Recent accomplishments include her 2022 Dance Theatre of Harlem commission, Sounds of Hazel, celebrating the life of the trailblazing activist and musician Hazel Scott, and choreography central to The Public Theater’s 2023 Delacorte production of The Tempest. Rea-Fisher is a COHI member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance, an Advisory Board member of Dance/NYC, and a member of Women of Color in the Arts. Rea-Fisher was the first dance curator for the interdisciplinary arts organization The Tank. She is a 7-time AUDELCO award nominee, 2022 Toulmin Fellow, National Dance Project Award winner, Creatives Rebuild New York Awardee, John Brown Spirit Award recipient, Bessies Award Selection Committee member, and was awarded a citation from the City of New York for her cultural contributions.

This edition of Artist’s Corner will take place on Monday, February 12 from 6-8 pm at The Phillips Club. Tickets are $61.99. Click here to book now.