BOCA TUYA Unveils Fall Season With Omar Román De Jesús

BOCA TUYA announces its breakthrough fall season, led by artistic director and choreographer Omar Román de Jesús. The organization's fall highlights feature an international touring engagement in Panama, the appointment of their first Executive Director and Company Manager, and BOCA TUYA's first full-length, solo bill performance at the historic 92NY Harkness Dance Center at home in New York City. For more information visit .

BOCA TUYA's landmark fall 2024 season launched the final week of September with a sold-out triple bill performance at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. Román de Jesús's seminal duet Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight shared the Kaatsbaan stage with the world-renowned Limón Dance Company and Music From the Sole. An ode to love, defiance, and individuality, Playground Kids champions self-expression and individual freedom, encouraging all to embrace their uniqueness and the boundaries that confine them.

Artistic Director Omar Román de Jesús is no stranger to the demands and excitement of building a life in dance in New York. Over the last two years alone, he has amassed recognition as a Princess Grace awardee in choreography, a Harkness Promise Award recipient, an inaugural Baryshnikov Arts Center Fellow at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, and a persistent voice advocating for the place of Queer, LatinX leaders in dance.

Omar Román de Jesús approaches the fall 2024 season with vigor:

"Since the growth in our leadership, we have the bandwidth to seek innovative collaboration for stage, film, and our other interdisciplinary projects. I'm grateful for the ongoing partnership with 92NY here in New York whose support and continued belief in our work and mission is critical for our development. We've begun our 92NY Harkness Dance Center residency for a long term engagement that will allow us to dive into new works and to refine the details of signature repertoire like Los Perros del Barrio Colosal. What a pleasure to return to 92NY for a performance of our own at the Buttenwieser Hall after choreographing & performing alongside Ailey II (work by Hope Boykin), The Martha Graham Company (work by Jamar Roberts), and The Limón Dance Company at the 92NY 150th anniversary celebration earlier this year."

This enhanced capacity comes largely due to the company's two new administrative appointments - Executive Director Lindsay Clipner and Company Manager Rachel Secrest.

Clipner is BOCA TUYA's first Executive Director. Her breadth of knowledge spans experience as a cultural producer, filmmaker, dance photographer, choreographer, dance educator, administrator and leader of multiple arts organizations including her own platform, RISE ARTS.

"This is such a vibrant moment for BOCA TUYA and the company's influence in the landscape of contemporary dance. It is an honor to join Omar in the leadership of this company and further champion the voices of LatinX and Queer artists in New York," says Clipner who enthusiastically notes that she is "thrilled to witness the company bloom artistically and grow collaboratively as we reach across industries to curate interdisciplinary work for projects encompassing installation, film, stage, and beyond. We invite the arts community to celebrate BOCA TUYA right here at home as we present our first full evening, solo billed program at 92NY this November."

The company returned to Panama on October 17 for a performance with Festival PRISMA - Internacional de Danza Contemporánea de Panama featuring the international premiere of Román De Jesús's Caress them in a way that hurts a little - a work that embraces the simultaneous desire for gentle intimacy and the need for a touch that stirs the soul. The 2024 edition of PRISMA featured a global cohort of high-caliber contemporary dance artists with representation from Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Spain, Israel, The United States, Argentina, Italy, Chile, Germany, Paraguay, Brazil, The Czech Republic, and Japan.

A celebratory homecoming marks the apex of BOCA TUYA's autumn activities:

"We are so proud to be ending our fall season with a series of premiere events right here in New York in partnership with 92NY Harkness Dance Center," said de Jesús. The New York stretch denotes a pivotal moment in BOCA TUYA's future - highlighting Omar Román de Jesús' hallmark rhythmic prowess, memorable characters, and surrealist stories, the 92NY Harkness Dance Series program features:

Caress them in a way that hurts a little

Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight

Los Perros del Barrio Colosal

92NY Harkness Dance Series presents BOCA TUYA at Buttenwieser Hall in the Arnhold Center on November 14 & 15, 2024. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased through the 92NY events page.