ArtsEmerson is kicking off 2026 with a visually jaw-dropping performance that quite literally lifts dance off the ground. Noli Timere, a new aerial and sculptural work by choreographer Rebecca Lazier and renowned artist Janet Echelman, lands at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre for five performances only, January 29, 2026, through February 1.
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Part contemporary dance, part immersive installation and part gravity-defying spectacle, Noli Timere places eight performers inside a massive custom net sculpture suspended up to 25 feet above the stage. As dancers move through and across it, the net's shape shifts, responding to weight, balance and motion like a living organism. The result is a constantly evolving environment where choreography, structure and space are inseparable.
The title, Latin for “be not afraid,” hints at the emotional heart of the piece. Directed and choreographed by Guggenheim Award winner Lazier, with an original score by Québécois composer Jorane, the work explores trust, vulnerability and interconnectedness.
“What began as a simple question—how to bring humans into a suspended net sculpture—opened new ways of imagining space, relationships, and interdependence,” says Lazier in a statement. “Woven from a six-year collaboration between myself, Janet Echelman, Jorane, engineers, performers, riggers, and designers, Noli Timere forms a world where choreography and sculpture, music and dance, hope and fear, and human connection become inseparable— rendered visible and tangible through shared movement.”
For Echelman, whose monumental net sculptures have become global landmarks (including a beloved installation over Boston’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway), Noli Timere represents a new artistic frontier. “For the first time, I’ve created a new kind of sculpture as a world for dancers to inhabit, where the sculpture itself becomes a dancer, just at a different scale,” Echelman said in a statement. “Noli Timere is the culmination of a long artistic search to express how to navigate a world where the ground is no longer solid – and how to do this without fear.”
Tickets start at $27.50, with discounts available for groups, and the 60-minute show is recommended for all ages. For more information, click here.