Tayeh's North American premiere opened the Joyce's season and closes this weekend, so these are the last chances to see it in New York. The Surge is danced by an all-female company of ten performers whose ages span several decades, set to O'Connor's own recordings with narration pulled from her memoir Rememberings. It arrived in Chelsea from its world premiere at Aviva Studios in Manchester, and it is not scheduled to return.
What to expect
About seventy minutes without an intermission in the Joyce's Puri Auditorium. Tayeh choreographs O'Connor's raw spirituality and refusal into ensemble work for ten women whose ages and bodies deliberately do not match, cut through with spoken passages from Rememberings. The score is O'Connor's own music, played at volume, and the piece is built to hit hard rather than to console.
Good to know
- It runs a little over an hour with no intermission
- These are the closing performances of the New York run
- The Joyce is on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, near the Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue subway lines
- The score uses O'Connor's own recordings at concert volume
- The company is all female, ten dancers ranging widely in age and experience
Planning Sep 25–27, 2026 in NYC?
This list keeps changing as events are verified. We'll send you the final version the Thursday before — and you can unsubscribe right after if that's all you need.
Common questions
Do I need to know Sinead O'Connor's music?
No. The piece is set to her recordings and quotes her memoir Rememberings, but it works as dance on its own terms.
How long is The Surge?
About an hour and ten minutes, performed without an intermission.
Where is the Joyce Theater?
175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street in Chelsea, in the Tino & Rajika Puri Auditorium.
