NEW YORK, NY—Baryshnikov Arts will open its spring season with the world premiere of Fiesta Flamenca from March 4–5. The performance will be inspired by the origins of flamenco in café cantantes, placing the musicians and dancers among the audience in an intimate cabaret-style setting. This star-studded program will feature a dazzling lineup of renowned artists, such as dancers Raquel Heredia “La Repompa,” Juan Tomás de la Molía, Alberto Sellés, and singer-songwriter Mara Rey. All attendees 21 and over are invited to enjoy complimentary wine during the performance.

The season will continue with Tapestries, an evening-length dance theater piece by Suzzanne Ponomarenko told through the narrative of the Unicorn Tapestries (1495–1505) and a queer reimagining of Ukrainian folklore. Running April 23–24, the piece will consist of eight vignettes, each representing a different tapestry and folklore, threaded together to tell the tale of the Magical Unicorn. This hour-length performance unfolds through rigorous and quirky dance vocabulary abstracted from Ukrainian folk dance, ballet, post-modernism, and modern dance, alongside projections of newly imagined tapestries illustrated in a surrealist, dreamlike form by Emmy Castellani, a meticulously crafted eclectic score by Katie-James Rushin, and costumed by visionary designer David Quinn. Tapestries, developed in part during a Baryshnikov Arts Residency, serves as an embodied archive of the LGBTQIA+ people; an ever-evolving abstract multi-disciplinary Сморгасбург (Smorgasbord) of queer Ukrainian culture and history.

To conclude Spring 2026, on May 11, pianist Clara Yang and visual artist Xuan will combine artistic forces in Ex Machina, a multimedia performance that explores the evolving relationship between humanity and technology. A program of piano music by contemporary American composers including Reena Esmail, Christopher Cerrone, and Philip Glass will be combined with Xuan’s visual commentary to create an immersive theatrical experience that invites audiences to rethink the boundaries between human and machine. Ex Machina was developed in part during a Baryshnikov Arts Residency. This performance forms part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival. Program below:

REENA ESMAIL Crystal Prelude No. 1

LEE WEISERT Clinamina

CLARA YANG Nebula

CLARA YANG Conception

PHILIP GLASS Etude No. 11

LILIYA UGAY Hammers Over the Moon

PHIL YOUNG RoboDream

ALLEN ANDERSON Think That's You—A Personality Recognition Software Toccata

PETER ASKIM Analogue Confessions

STEPHEN ANDERSON Drones

CHRISTOPHER CERRONE Hoyt-Schermerhorn 

SELECT BIOS 

Alberto Sellés (Dancer) has built a remarkable career as a flamenco performer, working with companies such as Estévez/Paños and in productions by Manuel Liñán, as well as collaborating with artists like Arcángel and Kiki Morente. He has also explored his own singing to accompany his dance. His work has earned critical acclaim, including the Revelation Award at the Festival de Jerez (2014), First Prize at the Spanish and Flamenco Dance Choreography Competition (2020), and a nomination for Best Male Performer in Dance at the Premios Max (2023).

 

Juan Tomás de la Molía (Dancer) was born in Trebujena, Cádiz, in 2000. He began his flamenco training at the age of six at Peña Los Cernícalos in Jerez, studying under masters such as José Galván, El Choro, Javier Barón, and Rafael Campallo. He has been part of Manuel Liñán’s production Muerta de Amor and is the creator of Vertebrado, a show that earned him the Revelation Artist Award at the Festival de Jerez 2024, directed by Liñán. He has also won the National Competition of Córdoba (2022). Known for his refined technique and powerful stage presence, Juan Tomás is considered one of the most exciting new talents in contemporary flamenco.

 

Raquel Heredia “La Repompa” (Dancer) was born in Málaga into a family of flamenco artists, daughter of Rafaela Reyes “La Repompilla” and niece of Enriqueta Reyes Porras “La Repompa de Málaga.” She has shared her art around the world, performing in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. Highlights of her career include her first show Alma y Tacón, premiered at El Corral del Carbón and later performed in New York and Chicago. She has collaborated with companies such as Adrián Santana (Las 4 esquinas del Perchel), Juan Andrés Maya, and Jonathan Miró (Villa Rosa, Festival of Milan). Raquel has also participated in the homage Repompeando in Málaga and worked with John Galliano for Dior at the Palace of Versailles. She continues to perform in tablaos, peñas, and festivals across Spain and worldwide.

 

Mara Rey (Singer), born in Madrid in 1979, is a flamenco singer whose voice has graced stages in Mexico and Spain since childhood. Raised in a flamenco family, she has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Manuela Carrasco, Los Farruco, Poveda, and Duquende, performing in prestigious venues like the Lope de Vega Theater, the Bienal de Flamenco, and the Festival de Jerez. After reaching a wider audience as a semifinalist on the television program “Levántate,” Mara continues her artistic journey performing alongside her son José Rey and her brother Antonio Rey, bringing flamenco to new generations.

 

Suzzanne Ponomarenko (Director/Choreographer) is a choreographer, performer, and dance educator based in Queens, NYC. They established Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance in 2017 as a landing point for creating, producing, and performing dance works grounded in classical techniques intertwined with inventive, idiosyncratic, and rigorous movement alongside a thoughtful queer-centric studio practice. They completed their BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College and attended Naropa University for Transpersonal Psychology. They have most notably performed with Richard Move, Yvonne Rainer, Buglisi Dance Theatre, The Stanley Love Performance Group, and have served as rehearsal director for touring company, Catapult Entertainment. They are a part of Pioneer Go East Collective’s Mentorship Cohort (2025-26), were a 2025 Residency Artist at Baryshnikov Arts Center, and serve on the selection committees of The NY Bessie’s Dance and Performance Awards and The Clive Barnes Foundation.
 

Clara Yang (Pianist/Composer/Project Creator/Producer) has performed on major stages worldwide, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid. She has been featured on prominent series such as Carolina Performing Arts and Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series. She currently serves as Head of Keyboard Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. A charismatic performer, she has been praised for her “breathtaking technical prowess” (CVNC) and “probing emotional depth and daring individuality” (Peninsula Reviews). 

 

As a soloist, Yang has performed with renowned conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy and Long Yu, with orchestras such as the European Union Youth Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid, and North Carolina Symphony. Her solo album Folding Time (Albany Records) won a Global Music Award Gold Medal.

 

A dedicated advocate for new music and interdisciplinary work, she performed the world and U.S. premieres of Chen Yi’s piano concerto Four Spirits, and she performed in the Complete Glass Etudes concert alongside distinguished artists including Philip Glass and Timo Andres. Yang has collaborated with leading artists such as pianist Aaron Diehl, rock guitarist Yvette Young, hip hop artist Suzi Analogue, and new media artist Xuan. 

 

Xuan (Immersive Visual Artist) is a new media artist, filmmaker, and pianist working at the intersection of music, visual art, and technology. A trained classical pianist with a passion for “visual music,” she actively develops innovative, cross-disciplinary projects that broaden the immersive scope of new music and performance. Driven by themes such as femininity, power, alienation and multicultural identity, her work encompasses abstract scenography, experimental film, interactive installations, and public art.

 

Her work has been seen at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago), the Smithsonian Museum of Art (Washington D.C.), Baryshnikov Arts (NY), Constellation (Chicago), SFJAZZ (San Francisco), Le Poisson Rouge (NY), Design Biennale 2019 (Zürich), the RESCUE Residency in Santo Stefano di Magra (Italy), Sound Forms 2021 (Hong Kong), ibug Festival für Urban Kunst (Saxony, DE), Ad Astra Music Festival 2020 (Virtual/Kansas), the Mizzou International Composers Festival 2021 (Missouri), CAP UCLA’s Tune In Festival 2021 (Virtual/California), the MATA Festival x Found Sound Nation 2023 (NY), the Ojai Music Festival 2024 (CA), and the Experimental Media Performing Arts Center at RPI (Troy, NY).

 

TICKETING 

Member presale begins January 20. Public ticket sales begin February 3. Tickets will be available at baryshnikovarts.org. 

 

Baryshnikov Arts Residencies provide space for creative investigation in the performing arts: dance, music, theatre, multimedia, or any combination thereof. Each year, BA hosts up to 20 artists in residence, with support that includes the use of BA’s studios and theaters, work-in-progress showings, artist honoraria, and technical and administrative services. We’re pleased to present BA’s 2026 Residency artists.
 

Clown

Theatre

Dance

Dance/Theatre

Theatre

Sun Kim Dance Theater
Dance/Interdisciplinary 

Dance 

Interdisciplinary

Music/Dance/Interdisciplinary 

Dance 

 

Theatre

Dance 

Camryn Stafford  

Dance/Interdisciplinary

Dance

Dance

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION 

Baryshnikov Arts, founded in 2005 by Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is rooted in the belief that artists hold irreplaceable roles in our world by shaping perspectives, offering new approaches, and initiating crucial conversations in complex social, political, and cultural environments. Our mission supports artistic freedom, providing multidisciplinary artists with opportunities for creative exploration and unique artistic expression, and allowing audiences to view the world in new ways. We offer performance and commissioning opportunities, artist residencies, rentals, and more. baryshnikovarts.org