Press Release: Meet the artists of UP NEXT! at APAP|NYC 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Jenny Thomas

Director, Marketing and Communications

APAP announces 2025 UP NEXT! artists

18 artists will pitch new, diverse, exciting, tour-ready works at the UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session at the APAP|NYC 2025 conference

October 17, 2024---The Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) announced earlier this week the 18 artists from across the U.S. and around the globe selected by an APAP panel to pitch their new work at the annual UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session at the APAP|NYC 2025 conference. The UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session will take place on Friday, January 10 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the New York Hilton Midtown, as part of the 68th annual conference which runs from January 10-14, 2025 at the Hilton and in venues near the Hilton and across New York City.

APAP|NYC is produced by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, the national service, advocacy and membership organization for the presenting, booking, and touring field. The annual convening attracts nearly 4,000 professionals—artists, agents, managers, producers, presenters and more—from around North America and the world to New York City every January for inspiration, networking, performance showcases, and the world's largest performing arts marketplace and EXPO.

Admission to the UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session is limited to conference registrants. The APAP|NYC Conference is a members conference.

To join APAP or renew membership, visit apap365.org/membership.

To learn more and register for the APAP|NYC 2024 Conference, visit apapnyc.org .

The artists and the new work selected for UP NEXT! 2025 are:

Balle t Folklorico del Rio Grande a nd Maria c hi Garib al di de J a i m e Cuellar

Eternamente: A Día de los Muertos Spectacular

(Los Angeles, CA, US; Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; Texas, US)

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar and Ballet Folklorico del Rio Grande bring you the blockbuster show "Eternamente: A Día de los Muertos Spectacular." We invite the audience to join us in a celebration of life with lively music and dance, beautiful costumes, and a virtual altar to those we have lost. This homage to Mexico's rich cultural heritage blends graceful traditional dance with vibrant storytelling that also tips a hat to the great Mexican singers of yesteryear. "Eternamente" transcends mere spectacle; it's a portal into the heart of us all, a tribute to the beauty of remembrance.

Brian Whittington

Yuck Show

(Houston, Texas, US)

The Yuck Show combines science spectacles, silly audience stunts, and comedy in an imaginative production to both entertain and inspire wonder about the science of the world around us. Ping pong balls explode into the air, slime oozes, and wild visual effects engage audiences.

Bridge & Wolak & Water Street Dance Milwaukee

Tangorium!

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Tangorium! is a multi-media, immersive show of passion and virtuosity—featuring dancers, staged music, and theater created by some of North America’s most versatile artists. Passionate about fusing genres, Canadians Michael Bridge (accordion) and Kornel Wolak (clarinet) devised virtuosic and alluring tango concert program, entwining classics from Bach to Heavy Metal. Enter Morgan Williams, the celebrated American choreographer whose Water Street Dance Company of Milwaukee is pushing the boundaries of contemporary art. He merged the moves of traditional Tango with contemporary dance. Tangorium! is a scalable production with a travelling set and technical requirements adaptable to theatres of all sizes.

Compagnia Baccalà

OH OH

(Losone, Locarno, Switzerland)

The defining elements of Compagnia Baccalà’s multi-award winning, wordless performances are physical theater and circus skills, rooted in classic Clown—think Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball. OH OH is an absurd pas de deux, an antic-filled voyage. The addition of Camilla Pessi playing an accordion and Simone Fassari a coronet only adds to the delightful mayhem. The company’s first work, PSS PSS, introduced these two hapless souls to one another and has been performed over 1,000 times across 5 continents. In OH OH, they meet again—and the antics ensue!

Cordâme

Mystical Goddesse

(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Mythological goddesses have long fascinated composer and double bassist Jean Félix Mailloux. He has crafted a repertoire exclusively dedicated to these deities. Through music, Cordâme personifies their characters and narrates their stories, creating an enchanting and dreamlike atmosphere. With harp, piano, strings, and vibrant percussion, the ensemble transports listeners to a captivating world, evoking a wide range of emotions through an original, beautiful repertoire.

Delirium Musicum

Cabinet of Curiosities Album Release Tour

(Los Angeles, California, US)

Led by French-American violinist and visionary Etienne Gara, Delirium Musicum's string players and its synthesizer bring sensorial and emotional magic into concert halls. Cabinet of Curiosity, the newest album of the band, to be released for Halloween 2025 by Warner Classics, defies expectations and expands the creative spirit of Classical music. The succession of short and diverse pieces of this show, spanning the French Baroque to movie music and more, and the ferocious artists of Delirium Musicum ignite the imagination of music fans and resonate with all, whether they love Classical music or never have been exposed to it!"

Electric Root

This is the Blues, Are You Listening? A Blues Revue Featuring Marquise Knox & Special Guests

(St. Louis, Missouri, US)

"This is the Blues, Are You Listening?" is a national Blues Revue produced by Electric Root, led by renowned Bluesman Marquise Knox. This electrifying production features legendary Blues elders and regional stars, bridging generations through the powerful tradition of the Blues. With soul-stirring performances enhanced by thoughtful set design and wardrobe, the show taps into the deep-rooted nutrients embedded in the music—hope, resilience, and joy. The Revue aims to elevate the profile of Blues music, foster intergenerational connections, and create inclusive experiences that unite diverse audiences through the healing power of Radical Hospitality.

Ephrat Asherie Dance

Shadow Cities

(New York, New York, US)

Shadow Cities explores what it means to be and to feel in-between. We are split between cities, memories and generations; We are an amalgam of cultures, fully embodied and fragmented all at once. Our identities are fixed and infinitely fluid, our movements concurrently malleable and explosive. We are utterly out of synch and suddenly in immaculate unison. This work asks how and why—halfway between so many disparate extremes in time, space and state—we sometimes feel most at home and our most enlivened selves. Shadow Cities reflects on the beauty, vastness and joy of the in-between.

Indigenous Performance Productions

The Land Has Spoken: Tales of Indigenous Horror

(Olympia, Washington, US)

The Native American canon is rife with haunting stories, curses, omens, and portents; menacing monsters, treacherous shape-shifters, and cunning tricksters. "The Land Has Spoken" brings these stories to life with tales by Native Dark Fiction writers Shane Hawk (enrolled Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa and Citizen Potawatomi descent) and Andrea L. Rogers (citizen of the Cherokee Nation). Immerse yourself in a chilling radio-style drama with stories acted by all Indigenous cast. Their haunting performances will be underscored by the spectral compositions of Chantil Dukart and live foley sound effects.

Jonathan Dely

Jonathan Dely and his All-Star Band

(New York, New York, US)

Fresh off of sold-out concerts at SFJAZZ and a starring role in legendary director Bob Giraldi’s 2023 film Goodbye Jonathan’s Soul, jazz trumpeter Jonathan Dely performs a genre-defying concert that showcases the highest level of artistry and musicianship from both him and his all-star band. Dely and his ensemble deliver a chameleon performance that interweaves musical styles, transitioning from jazz to classical to rock with seaming ease, a feat that has garnered praise from both critics and concertgoers alike who are enraptured by the sound of Dely’s trumpet and the versatility of his ensemble.

Lai Hung-Chung

The Peter Pan

(Taipei, Taiwan)

Hung Dance's "Peter Pan," choreographed by Lai Hung-Chung, reimagines J.M. Barrie's classic with a blend of Eastern and Western aesthetics. This dynamic dance drama explores the eternal child’s essence, with nine dancers embodying various facets of Peter Pan. The production integrates contemporary dance with Tai-chi and Chinese opera, celebrating children's imagination and the universal journey of growing up. It offers two versions: a 75-minute performance for touring, and an 80-minute version involving local young dancers and traditional costumes, emphasizing cross-cultural exchange and diverse cultural expressions.

Le Patin Libre

Melt

(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

In a weird and canicular post-apocalyptic city, two laughable figure skaters despair about the disappearance of ice, music and everything they love. Accompanied by an unemployed pianist, they will (re)discover the wheel and the joy of dance. Weaving and twisting the virtuosity of Le Patin Libre's iconic glide, they will finally triumph in love, imagination and... snow! The show can be accompanied by a roller disco for beginners and experts alike.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph & Wendy Whelan

Carnival of the Animals

(New York, NY and Washington, DC, US)

An evening length concert experience with dance, poetry and music, CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS is an intentional response to the January 6 insurrection navigating the reality of the political jungle by embodying shifting societal values and our relationship to democracy. Choreographed and directed by Francesca Harper and anchored in the words of Joseph and the transcendent movement of Wendy Whelan, CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS re-frames Camille Saint-Saëns’ classic work 100 years after its original publication. Composer Sugar Vendil reimagined Saint-Saëns’ zoological fantasy to create a composition that is both familiar and undeniably fresh, twisting, and quoting.

Preeti Vasudevan

Indian Letters

(New York, New York, US)

Indian Letters, a duet between award-winning dancers Preeti Vasudevan and Amar Ramasar, is a provocative dance-theater project about identity and the American immigrant journey. Merging live performance, film, and interviews, Indian Letters is about the relationship between two strangers brought together by dance and their subsequent friendship as they journey the socio-political climate of the United States. By asking the question "Where is home?", these two dancers rediscover themselves through each other’s lens and through a scintillating dialogue of cultural exchange as they navigate immigration, the #MeToo movement, classical dance, Sufism, and the bridge between heritage cultures and contemporary lives.

Rebecca Lazier

Noli Timere

(Princeton, New Jersey, US)

Noli Timere, Latin for 'be not afraid', is a soaring aerial performance conceived by choreographer Rebecca Lazier with renowned sculptor Janet Echelman. Eight multidisciplinary performers move upon and within a custom designed net sculpture suspended 25 feet in the air, creating a symbiotic collaboration where choreography and sculpture are continually transformed by one another. With original music by Jorane, Noli Timere fuses contemporary dance and aerial circus with art installation and advanced engineering to question how one navigates an unstable world. It uniquely renders interconnectedness visible and tangible, demonstrating how change in one element generates cascading effects throughout a system.

Rudi Cole and Julia Robert

Vortex

(Birmingham, England, UK)

Vortex is a full-length immersive movement production for 6 dancers, plus HUMANHOOD co-artistic directors Julia and Rudi, exploring the concept of a vortex as a physical and energetic phenomenon in nature, in specific fluid dynamics, and in the human psyche. In the words of Nassim Haramein: ‘Life is a vortex’; from our solar system to the circular movement in galaxies and atoms, to the evolution of consciousness towards singularity.

Studio Susan Marshall

Rhythm Bath

(New York, New York, US)

“Rhythm Bath” is an immersive, inclusive dance-installation created by choreographer Susan Marshall with set designer Mimi Lien. Developed in conversation and collaboration with neurodiverse individuals and communities, “Rhythm Bath” investigates what makes performances welcoming. The aim is to create an engaging experience for all, innovating alternatives to the exclusionary practices of typical theater-going that require audiences to be seated, still and quiet. “Rhythm Bath” blends performance, meditation and wonder, inviting you to sense the dance happening around you. Audiences come and go as they like—exploring an accessible, transporting space of shifting fabric, light, sound and movement.

Twin Flames

Native By Nature: Hugging the Cactus

(Cantley, Quebec, Canada)

"Native By Nature: Hugging the Cactus" is a concert project that includes original songs based on Twin Flames' experiences as Indigenous artists born and raised in Canada. The carefully selected set list includes one of their earliest songs, "Native By Nature", and culminates with selections from their soon to be released album "Hugging the Cactus." The lead single, ‘Hearts on Fire,’ – is a song the husband and wife duo of Chelsey June and Jaaji (Yaa Yee) were commissioned to write for a documentary about violence against women- yet is intended to instill hope in those who hear it.

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