Between Two Heartbeats explores what it means to exist between two places, two cultures, and two rhythms while discovering that belonging does not require leaving one part of yourself behind. Inspired by Ingrid Silva’s own journey from Brazil to New York, the work explores memory, adaptation, identity, and the communities we create along the way.
Performance date: October 2026, Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC
Commissioned by: Accent Dance NYC as part of NEXT: The Emerging Choreographer Commissioning Program
Choreographer: Ingrid Silva
Rehearsal Director: Dafne Marcelle Lee
Dancers: Alyssa Manguiat, Avery Renee, Darwin Black, Elisa Toro Franky, Gabrielle Sprauve, Kaylan Bradford, Olivia Winston, Shizu Higa, Sierra Sanders, and Will A. Ervin, Jr.
Music: Leandro Albuquerque
Echoes Between Us reimagines the reawakening of the ancient lost Chinese civilization of Sanxingdui by a modern day archeologist, fusing traditional Chinese dance with Western contemporary dance.
Performance date: March 2026, Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC
Commissioned by: Accent Dance NYC as part of NEXT: The Emerging Choreographer Commissioning Program
Choreographer: Miaotian Sun
Dancers: Juliet Bernstein, Sofia Forero, Damontae Hack, Shizu Higa, Emily Masia, Ke’ala O’Connell, Sierra Sanders and Miaotian Sun
Music: (edited by Miaotian Sun): Wan Nian Si by Huang Shi Fu, Mi Gong- maze by Zhang Xiao Di, Stillness of the Ground by HOYO-MiX, Trust by Master Minded, Bon Voyage by Jo Blankenburg, Chan Si by The Shining, Tian Ming Ren by Youzee Music, Sacrifice by Guo Si Da, Plumbicon by Monolake - (Live In Osaka), and Stardust by Poranguí - (Desert Dwellers Remix)
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.
Performance date: March 2026, Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC
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.
Performance Date: March 2026, Ailey Citigroup Theater, 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: Kaylan Bradford, Madison Dyke, Damontae Hack, Nayah Meresier and Lakeria Robinson
Music: Summer Walker & J. Cole, Australian String Quartet & Bryce Dresser
Mar y Tierra (excerpt) draws on Mediterranean musical traditions while blending contemporary dance and classical ballet. Ruiz’s work has been praised by The New York Times as “an explosion of sleek and sensuous pure dance.” Originally created for Ballet Contemporaneo of Camaguey, Cuba.
Performance Date: September 2026, Taylor Studios East, NYC
Choreographer: Pedro Ruiz
Dancers: Kevin Ortiz Lemus and Elisa Toro Franky
Music: Amargura by Elena Ledda
Pedro Ruiz’s vibrant reimagining of Cuba’s beloved dance.
Performance Date: March 2025, Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC
Choreographer: Pedro Ruiz
Dancers: Darwin Black, James Felton, Amina Konaté, Cori Lewis, Leonel Linares, and Cali Poole
Music: Gabriel Garcia Márquez
So Proudly We Hail celebrates American culture and the immigrant experience.
Performance Date: October 2026, Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC
Choreographer: Pedro Ruiz
Dancers: Elisa Toro Franky and Kevin Ortiz Lemus
Music: John Philip Souza; performed by the West Point Band
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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