Photo by Hisae Aihara (@Hisae_AI)
New Premiere for New York Theatre Ballet
The creation of Noi-Tar-Gim (“migration” backward) for New York Theatre Ballet, which premiered at Judson Memorial Church on April 10–11, 2026, was deeply meaningful and moving. The work is an abstract meditation on the energetic currents of my father’s life—his contradictions, his tenderness, and his migrations through struggle and becoming. Structured in three evolving phases—Noi, Tar, Gim—the choreography explores shifting states of identity: joy and menace, marginalization and emergence, legacy and remembrance, with original music created by the gifted composer Darryl J. Hoffman. I am deeply grateful to Steven Melendez for commissioning this work during his tenure as artistic director, and to new artistic director, Antonia Franceschi for her visionary leadership in supporting its premiere. My heartfelt thanks to the extraordinary artists who brought it to life—Julia Felippi, Sarah Fernanda Stanford, Isaac A. Garcia, Giana Parlin, Omar Rodriguez, Kristina Shaw, Mitchell Welsh, and Sarah Simon Wolff—for their trust, rigor, and humanity. And to Ryan Rankine, whose care and insight as choreography assistant helped anchor the process.
To premiere at Judson Memorial Church —home to the experimental legacy of Merce Cunningham—while sharing a program featuring works by Anthony Tudor, and alongside choreographer Julian Donahue in the Legends & Visionaries program, was both humbling and affirming. It placed Noi-Tar-Gim in dialogue with lineage while pointing toward what is yet to come.
As I continue shaping the iegaMOVES Legacy Project with my team, it is exciting to witness the organic emergence of what I now call “New Visions”. These are new works that reflect my evolving choreographic voice—projects such as Noi-Tar-Gim, Stoop (with Praize Productions Inc.), and Congress and Constituents—new choreographic statements for Deeply Rooted Dance Theater during the company’s 30th anniversary year. In contrast, “Legacy” works are those that have stood the test of time—works forged through lived experience, collaboration, and growth, carrying the imprint of both artistic and human evolution. A work—whether New Vision or Legacy—earns its place through resonance: its impact on audiences, its critical relevance, and its truth within my ongoing journey.
Click Here to check out the full review of the premiere.
Newly Evolving Deeply Rooted
Holding “new visions” at the forefront of this third year, I also give thanks for 30 years of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater—a living institution co-founded with Gary Abbott and Linda Spriggs, and initially sustained at its founding through the visionary management of Diane Shober and my sister, La Verne Alaphaire Jeff. What it took to build Deeply Rooted against formidable odds cannot be overstated, and its continued growth under new leadership—Nicole Clarke Springer, Makeda Crayton, the board led by Chair Daniel Ash, staff, and extraordinary dancers—is all the more meaningful. I invite you to celebrate this milestone with us at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater on May 30.
New Chicago Black Dance Legacy Cohort
And finally, as we extend these New Visions outward, I am honored to continue my work as Co-Director | Artistic of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project alongside Co-Director | Executive Mashaune Hardy, as we launch the project’s third cohort. At a time when an expanded war looms, DEI is under attack, funding reductions are intentionally threatened, and the erasure of Black history persists—despite the undeniable truth that Black history is American history—our work remains clear. We must cherish, reclaim, and affirm. We must stay awake—woke—grounded in truth, courageous in vision, and unwavering in our responsibility to reflect that truth for the betterment of humanity.
This is a new year for iegaMOVES. These are new and established visions. The work and joy continues.
—Kevin Iega Jeff