On April 27, associates from throughout the dance group gathered in Harlem at The Apollo Levels at The Victoria for the fourth annual 25 to Watch Dwell. The springtime power outdoors felt in step with the efficiency inside: a celebratory showcase for 11 of our 2026 “25 to Watch” picks. These gifted artists’ careers are starting to flower.
The night time started with faucet dancer Emiko Nakagawa’s Resonance, a tour de pressure solo with intricate footwork that left no musical beat unanswered. Two up to date dancers additionally carried out works of their very own creation. Kris Lee’s Who dis fah credited its rating to Mellowbastard (Lee’s music-making alter ego), however the viewers by no means heard it: Lee walked onstage, set a timer on their watch, put of their earbuds, and proceeded to have a one-person silent disco, exploring a dramatic semi-private world as we watched in silence. Kashia Kancey, in a lime-green robe with a large neck ruff, might need been an alien queen or a glam rocker or a excessive priestess—the entire above, most likely—in her fantastical solo, For My Amusement.
Atlanta Ballet’s Ángel Ramírez was all sunny ebullience and laser-sharp cabrioles in a variation from Coppélia. On the opposite finish of the ballet-hero spectrum, David O’Matz, of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, was the image of stylish grief in Albrecht’s variation from Giselle. BalletMet’s Sumi Ichikawa made luxuriant use of her beautiful port de bras in Leiland Charles’ Choices, Choices, which supplied a up to date twist on its Vivaldi rating. Freelance dancer Deniz Erkan Sancak introduced punk-rock power to the ballet-inflected vocabulary of Stephen Petronio’s No Extra Heroes. And A.I.M by Kyle Abraham standout William Okajima lent poetic refinement to Ethan Colangelo’s Passing, a winding stream of a dance.
-
Ángel Ramírez in a variation from Coppélia. Photograph by Emma Zordan. -
David O’Matz in Albrecht’s variation from Giselle. Photograph by Emma Zordan. -
Deniz Erkan Sancak in Stephen Petronio’s No Extra Heroes. Photograph by Emma Zordan. -
Sumi Ichikawa in Leiland Charles’ Choices, Choices. Photograph by Emma Zordan. -
William Okajima in Ethan Colangelo’s Passing. Photograph by Emma Zordan.
Up to date choreographers Anthony and Kel Matsena offered a vivid excerpt from their Kabel, danced by Kel and Harvey Burke-Hamilton, which teetered on the border between connection and battle. Mia J. Chong, now co-artistic director of ODC/Dance, confirmed an excerpt from Theories of Time, carried out by a trio of ODC/Dance artists whose relationships to one another appeared to morph and fragment over the course of the work. To shut out the night, Agora Artists offered Willow DuBose’s All Rise, a patchwork of types and moods that had its 4 dancers grooving to Minnie Riperton and gliding to Meredith Monk.
Every efficiency supplied a compelling reply to—as Dance Journal editor in chief Caitlin Sims mentioned in her opening remarks—“the always-fascinating query of, ‘The place is dance heading subsequent?’ ” Thanks to everybody who joined us for 25 to Watch Dwell and made the occasion potential, together with sponsors Ballet Academy East, Bennington School, London Up to date Dance Faculty, and College of Southern California Glorya Kaufman Faculty of Dance.
The put up Celebrating Rising Expertise at 25 to Watch Dwell 2026 appeared first on Dance Journal.