Matty Davis Presents an Open Reheasal at The Church

The Church will host an open rehearsal with artist and choreographer Matty Davis on Sunday, December 14, from 3 to 4 p.m. The event is free with RSVP.

The open rehearsal marks the culmination of Davis’ residency and invites the community to witness the early-stage development of a new performance. Attendees will observe Davis’ choreographic process as he constructs an in-progress work that examines the forces shaping trust, love and responsibility.

Davis, a New York City–based artist and choreographer, creates work defined by intense physicality and inventive movement language. His performances have been described as “balancing ecstatically on the edge of life and death,” according to choreographer Jesse Zaritt. His practice uses choreography to cultivate high-stakes relationships that push collaborators and audiences to confront essential emotional and interpersonal dynamics.

Following “The Essence & The Choice” (2025) — a work created and performed with his 13-year-old stepson and featuring dramaturgy by two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Chloé Cooper Jones — Davis is developing a new performance that explores the fragile boundary between trust and civility and the impulses that can cross into violence. A Q&A will follow the rehearsal.

Davis’ work has been presented nationally and internationally, including by the High Line in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Dallas Contemporary, the ICA Miller at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He is the recipient of a 2025 MacDowell Fellowship and a 2026 Bogliasco Fellowship. His work has been featured in BOMB, Frieze, The Brooklyn Rail and The New York Times Magazine. He currently teaches at Columbia University.

Davis is part of The Church’s 2025 residency program. The open rehearsal will take place at The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor. For more information, visit thechurchsagharbor.org.