ISHIDA Dance Company Returns With Rara Avis

Nationally acclaimed [ISHIDA Dance Company is back at The Long Center](https://my.thelongcenter.org/4216) with “Rara Avis” (rare bird in Latin), what critics are calling a “highly physical, visually stunning and emotionally resonant” show. Rara Avis follows a singer “who struggles with imposter syndrome as she returns to stage after taking a hiatus”—a night billed as “a unique opportunity to see some of the best and most interesting choreography from Europe and the U.S.”

**Meet Brett Ishida—And ISHIDA Dance Company: **The magical realism Ishida infuses in her choreography today traces back to her upbringing on “her grandparents’ citrus farm in a conservative community in California’s San Joaquin Valley without much arts available,” as she explained to Paper City last week. “She spent her young childhood ‘creating worlds… even at the age of 5, I was crafting productions — and got my older brother to do the lights.’” That devotion to storytelling through dance is one reason why “[there is nothing like ISHIDA anywhere in the United States, artistically or programmatically.](https://ishida.thundertix.com/events/245093)” The prestigious Dance Magazine named ISHIDA’s visionary leader, Brett Ishida, one of the [25 to Watch](https://dancemagazine.com/2025-25-to-watch/) “dancers choreographers, directors, and companies” that “editors and contributors from across the dance world predict” to be “on the verge of a breakout.”

Critics ranging from the Washington Post to Paper City Magazine have described the troupe’s choreography as [“dazzling,” “stunning and compelling,”](https://www.broadwayworld.com/houston/article/Review-NO-SPEAKING-LEFT-IN-ME-at-ISHIDA-DANCE-At-The-MATCH-20220813) and “[remarkable.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/06/23/washington-ballet-premieres-harman-hall/)” Their performances “show off the technique, lines, and beauty that you see in professional-level traditional ballet, but with more contemporary, and often more dramatic, movement,” as [OutSmart’s Rich Arenschieldt magazine explains](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2025/05/ishida-dance-inside-my-walls/). Brett’s storytelling “[addresses universal existential themes such as love, loss, belonging, regret, and community](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2025/05/ishida-dance-inside-my-walls/),” which makes the dance company’s performances both “beautiful” and “relatable to a modern audience.”

**When: **Friday, January 23, @ 8:00PM | **Where: **Dell Hall at the Long Center | **Tickets:** [Here](https://my.thelongcenter.org/4216).