Danielle Diniz’s A Place for Us weaves together elements of ballet, contemporary, and theatrical dance to narrate the stories of four individuals immigrating to the United States. Diniz draws inspiration from her own family’s journey—her grandmother emigrating from Mexico and her grandfather from Portugal— to create a deeply personal yet universally relatable portrayal of the challenges, hopes, and dreams that accompany the quest for a new life in America’s melting pot.
Commissioned by: Accent Dance NYC as part of NEXT: The Emerging Choreographer Commissioning Program
Choreographer: Danielle Diniz
Dancers: Justin Bowen, Kaylan Bradford, Elisa Toro Franky, Damontae Hack, Shizu Higa, Emily Masia, Katarina Smith, Evy Vaughan
Music: Gypsy Caravan, Grupo Mayombe, Philip Glass, Dennis Russell Davies and Christian Schmitt, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Cassidy Byars
Will A Ervin Jr.’s Narcissus is a multidisciplinary work of modern, contemporary, and street dance inspired by Greek mythology, the delicate nuances between self-love and ego, and the springtime flower by the same name representing rebirth, inner reflection, and hope.
Premiered: September 2023, Ailey Studios, NYC
Commissioned by: Accent Dance NYC as part of NEXT: The Emerging Choreographer Commissioning Program
Choreographer: Will A Ervin Jr.
Rehearsal Assistant: Zaki A’Jani Marshall
Dancers: Justin Bowen, Kaylan Bradford, Madison Dyke, Damontae Hack, Amina Konaté and Uilalani Marx
Music: Summer Walker & J. Cole, Australian String Quartet & Bryce Dresser
Christie Coleman’s compelling narrative about climate change and the impact of water contamination, inspired by the Laguna Pueblo people's efforts to address uranium leakage from nuclear tests and a former uranium mine.
Premiered: November 2022, Ballet Arts, NYC
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Christie Coleman
Dance film by: Angelo Vasta
Dancers: Sarita Apel, Rose Barbantan, Paige Cowen, Fatou Diouf, Christopher Makens, Tsubasa Nishioka, and Junyla Silmon
Music: Remy Van Kesteren, Reagan Remy
A lyrical, contemporary ballet duet by Cuban choreographer Pedro Ruíz.
Performed by: Accent Dance NYC, November 2022, Ballet Arts, NYC
Choreographer: Pedro Ruíz
Dancers: Elisa Toro Franky and Leonel Linares
Music: José White Lafitte
Lucia Jackson’s work takes the audience on a multicultural journey through times and space, combining contemporary movement with traditional flamenco.
Premiered: November 2021, The Picture House, Pelham, NY
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Lucia Jackson
Dancers: Lucia Jackson, Elisa Toro Franky, Dannys Gonzalez, Rodo Santamarino, Leonel Linares, Agostina Mocibob
Music: Anna RF, Erik Satie, James Newton Howard, Joaquín Rodrigo, Rosalía
David Fernandez’s whimsical work highlights a boy’s journey through the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican folk art, mythical creatures, and the importance of family.
Premiered: October 2021, Teatro LATEA, NYC, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: David Fernandez
Dancers: Noura Deane, Elisa Toro Franky, Agostina Mocibob, Erin Gallagher, Leonel Linares, Rodolfo Santamarina, Heather Wanderer, Julian Wanderer
Music: Jesus Echevvaria, Alejandro Giacoman, Felipe Villanueva
Lucia Jackson’s romantic duet set to Duke Ellington’s classic jazz standard.
Premiered: August 2019, The NYC Summer Streets Festival, NYC
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Lucia Jackson
Dancers: Elisa Toro Franky and guest artist Fadi Khoury
Music: Duke Ellington, arranged by Ron Jackson, sung by Lucia Jackson
Pedro Ruiz reimagines the traditional Danzón, the official dance of Cuba, through contemporary and ballet vocabularies.
Set on Accent Dance NYC for Summer Streets Festival, NYC, August 2019
Choreographer: Pedro Ruíz
Dancers: Sanford Placide, Agostina Mocibob, Jose Carlos Losada, Elisa Toro Franky, Dannys Gonzalez, Lucia Jackson
Music: Arturo Márquez
Filmmaker and photographer Mark Mann artfully captures Will A Ervin’s multidisciplinary work Narcissus. Created as part of our professional development commissioning program.
Filmmaker: Mark Mann
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Will A Ervin Jr.
Dancers: Justin Bowen, Kaylan Bradford, Madison Dyke, Damontae Hack, Amina Konaté and Uilalani Marx
Music: Summer Walker & J. Cole, Australian String Quartet & Bryce Dresser
Videographer Angelo Vasta captures Christie Coleman’s compelling environmental work, filmed in Red Hook, NYC.
Filmmaker: Angelo Vasta
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Christie Coleman
Dancers: Sarita Apel, Rose Barbantan, Paige Cowen, Fatou Diouf, Christopher Makens, Tsubasa Nishioka, and Junyla Silmon
Music: Remy Van Kesteren, Reagan Remy
Naranjo en Flor provides a 360-degree angle of the movement, breaking the usual wall between audience and dancer. The filmmaker utilizes the natural light and shadow of the environment to create volumes to highlight the expressive and human qualities of dance. The film crafts an abstraction of the tango form, blending ballet and contemporary vocabularies set against a live performance of this most traditional song in the tango canon.
Presented as part of: From NYC to NYC with Love: The Battery Dance Virtual Festival
Filmmaker: Don Solaris
Commissioned by: by Accent Dance NYC
Choreographer: Dardo Galletto
Dancer: Elisa Toro Franky
Music: Exposito Brothers, vocals by Lucia Jackson, guitar by Ron Jackson
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