For two days each, Haines and Skagway got to enjoy the diversity and power of EMERGE125, a New-York based dance company. The black, female-led company is on a historic tour that reaches 10 Alaskan communities.
Before the EMERGE125 dancers even took the stage at Skagway School, two second-grade boys seated in the front row forgot their concert manners. They jumped up and pointed at the dancers in the wings, and began pacing the row, trying to get the best view.
Tiffany Rea-Fisher, the artistic director, said she doesn’t mind.
“The audiences are really ready and hungry for dance, which is really wonderful,” she said. And it feels good as a performer to have that amount of energy being thrown at you when you are exerting so much energy yourself. I think I was expecting audiences to be a little bit more demure and quiet. And at the beginning, I encourage them to like — if you like something speak it out. And they really run with that. And it’s been really fantastic to be able to see that and see how it energizes the dancers when that happens.”
The company has been together in different forms for 21 years. Rea-Fisher was once its principal dancer. She now choreographs and leads the team.
Her dancers vary in ethnicity and body type. One has tattoos and a nose piercing, another has dyed hair.
“I don’t want people to conform,” she said. “I want to pick the person, and I want that whole person in the room. So I’m not going to ask you to cover up a part of you to be in the room, and the only time that we’ll have to cover up tattoos or piercings is if we’re doing a period piece.”
One of the core values of EMERGE125 is fostering the next generation. They hope to reach a broader audience in their travels
“For us in the company, dance has become our lives,” Rea-Fisher said. “But we were once kids in the audience that saw someone do something extraordinary, and that sparked something in us, whether we knew that or not. And so I talk about that continuum with the company quite a bit, and saying you’re now that person. And you have the opportunity to inspire the next generation of who knows. It doesn’t even have to be a dancer. They could be wanting to do lighting design, or costumes, or be a board member or join the arts council, or just being able to be a supporter of the arts. And that is really, really special.”
Besides the community show, EMERGE125 held a day performance for the schools and a movement class for all ages where toddlers to older adults chasséd across the gym floor.
The dance company is about halfway through its Alaska tour. After traveling the Southeast by ferry and small plane, they’ll visit several communities in Southcentral and the Interior.
Rea-Fisher said while the tour has a technical director, each community has a different level of performance equipment.
“If you have all the lights, fantastic,” she said. “If you have a flashlight, we’ll make it work, you know. We know that each community is giving best efforts. So we’re going to give best efforts. We’re never going to make someone feel bad about what they don’t have. We focus on what you do have and elevate that and bring that to the forefront.”
Jodi Kaplan is the agent for EMERGE125 and the producer of the Alaska tour. This is her fifth time in Skagway. She described the seven-week tour as “the longest performing arts tour in the history of modern Alaska.”
Kaplan said she appreciates the support she gets throughout the state from local arts organizations.
“There’s so much passion and commitment to the arts on every scale through the arts councils,” she said. “So not only do we get supported on the stage, we get supported behind the scenes. We’re given hospitality experiences. Like we had dinner at the Red Onion Saloon. We went on the brothel tour, the White Pass Railroad, and we’re even on our way right now to see the Show of 98. So the communities really embrace that. They give us potlucks. And it just really is – I call it going in a Brigadoon.”
Madelyn Lalonde is EMERGE125’s principal dancer. She’s been with the company for nearly eight years.
“I do believe the ethos of the company is what keeps us strong, and I believe it allows creativity and more imagination in the artistic process,” she said. “Tiffany always says, be unapologetically yourself. And I think that just opens up the heart space. And I just truly enjoy it.”
Next up for the dancers is Anchorage, followed by Homer.
