• Thu 12 Jan and Jan 13, 7:00 - 8:15 p.m.
• Asia Society (725 Park Avenue at 70th Street)
• 70 minutes
• Comps to ISPA delegates through Rachel Cooper. Contact info: Rachel Cooper rcooper@asiasociety.org or text WA +1-917-365-3032
  Buy Wednesday Tickets Buy Thursday Tickets

Conceived and directed by Bill T. Jones
Featuring choreography by Bill T. Jones with Janet Wong and the Company
Lighting and scenic design by Robert Wierzel
Sound design by David van Tieghem
Costume and installation by Liz Prince
Video design by Janet Wong
Performed by Barrington Hinds, Jada Jenai, Shane Larson, s. lumbert, Danielle Marshall, Marie Lloyd Paspe, Jacoby Pruitt, Nayaa Opong, and Huiwang Zhang

• January 11-13 at 7:30 PM, January 14 at 2 PM
• New York Live Arts (219 W 19th Street New York, NY 10011)
• 60 minutes, with no intermission
• New York Live Arts is generously offering ISPA delegates 15% off tickets to Curriculum II on January 10-14. Use code ISPA23 at checkout to redeem the discount.
  Buy Tickets

• Friday, January 13, 2023 3PM-4.30PM (pitching session); 4.30pm – 6pm (reception)
• Irish Arts Center (726 11th Avenue, at 51st Street)
• 90-minute pitch, 90-minute reception
• Tickets: Free, but RSVP required. RSVP by Wednesday, Dec 21 to nik.quaife@dfa.ie

• Sunday, January 15 at 7:00 pm
• David Geffen Hall (10 Lincoln Center Plaza)
• Questions: 212-875-5456 or info@prototypefestival.org
• Use code GIFT10 for $10 off
  Buy Tickets

Grammy-nominated baritone Will Liverman, an alumnus of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, and producer and multi-instrumentalist DJ King Rico create a new work inspired by Rossini's The Barber of Seville, that has grown into an original piece all its own. Ahead of its February 3 world premiere at Chicago’s Harris Theater, go behind the scenes as musician Damien Sneed moderates a discussion with director, co-book writer, and dramaturg Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, choreographer Maleek Washington, Liverman and Rico, and cast members perform highlights. Learn about this joyful and original commission by Lyric Opera of Chicago, which is rooted in a Black barbershop on Chicago's South Side. A soul opera, the work moves from gospel and funk to rap, hip-hop, barbershop quartet, and R&B, all with the operatic artform at its heart—in a very human comedy that redefines everything that opera can be. Don’t miss this irresistible upbeat work that celebrates the strength of community.

Leadership for this Works & Process program is provided by the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera.

• Saturday, January 7, 7:30 pm (75 minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

• Thursday, January 12, 7:30 pm (75 minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

See two APAP ArtsForward and National Dance Project Grantees.

A living archive of five generations of New York City club dancers, UNDERSCORED is a multi-faceted project rooted in the intergenerational stories and memories of NYC underground club heads. Commissioned by Works & Process and created by the dancers of Ephrat Asherie Dance and NYC club legends ranging in age from 27 to 79, UNDERSCORED is a collaboration that celebrates and explores the ever-changing physical and musical landscape of New York’s underground dance community. Building on the intergenerational transference of knowledge and culturally reflective movement that happens night after night on dance floors across the city, UNDERSCORED shares lived experiences, stories, and vibes from seminal parties, including David Mancuso’s the Loft, Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage and Timmy Regisford’s Shelter and the experiences of legends Archie Burnett, Michele Saunders, and Brahms “Bravo” LaFortune.

Tap, percussive dance, samba, house, and live music come together in I Didn’t Come to Stay, commissioned by Works & Process and described by the New York Times as “An unforced crowd-pleaser, original and true to itself.” Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and bassist and composer Gregory Richardson lead eight dancers and a five-piece band in a performance inspired by Carnival that explores tap’s lineage and connections to other Afrodiasporic forms. Together the pair embrace shared roots across the diaspora and reflect on racial and cultural identity, while also celebrating the joy, strength, depth, and virtuosity of Black dance and music.

UNDERSCORED was commissioned by Works & Process and was developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Catskill Mountain Foundation (2022), Bridge Street Theatre (2021), Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2020), and the Guggenheim Museum. Additional residency support provided by CUNY Dance Initiative, LUMBERYARD, and The Yard. Past performances have taken place at Harlem Stage, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Guggenheim Museum, The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, and The Yard.

I Didn’t Come to Stay was commissioned by Works & Process and was developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Catskill Mountain Foundation (2022) and Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2020), additional residency support provided by American Tap Dance Foundation, Chelsea Factory, Pillow Lab residency, and The Yard. Past performances have taken place at Jacob’s Pillow, the Guggenheim Museum, Guild Hall, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and New York City Center.

The Missing Element was commissioned by Works & Process and has been developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2020 and 2021). Past performances have taken place at the Guggenheim Museum, Guild Hall, Jacob’s Pillow Gala, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Little Island, NY PopsUp with Amy Schumer, and very recently at the Guggenheim Bilbao’s 25th Anniversary.

• Friday, January 13, 7:30 pm (75 minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

• Saturday, January 14, 7:30 pm (75 minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

“Each woman’s voice stands powerfully on its own.” —Dance Enthusiast

SpeakMyMind is commissioned by Works & Process and has been developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Bethany Arts Community (2022 and 2023), Catskill Mountain Foundation (2022), and Millay Arts (2022). Iterative performances have taken place at the Guggenheim Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

• Sunday, January 15, 7:30 pm (75-minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

“Long overdue but well worth the wait." — New York Times

Ballroom community legend and House of Oricci founding father Omari Wiles brings ball culture to the Guggenheim with New York Is Burning, featuring Wiles’s AfrikFusion, fusing traditional African dances and Afrobeat with house dance and vogue. The 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning received critical acclaim for its depiction of the New York drag ball scene and of voguing as a powerful expression of personal pride in the face of racism, homophobia, and the stigma of the AIDS crisis. Just as Paris Is Burning did for New York in the 1980s, New York Is Burning reflects the aspirations, desires, and yearnings of a diverse group of dancers in a city beset by health, racial, and financial crises. Commissioned by Works & Process prior to the pandemic as an homage to Paris Is Burning on the documentary’s 30th anniversary, Wiles’s work centers on the artists for whom his dance company serves as a surrogate family.

“Princess Lockerooo is a whirling force with a singular focus: spreading the gospel of waacking.” — New York Times

Don’t miss a first look at this in-process Works & Process commission by Princess Lockerooo. In 1970s a dance form called waacking was born in the Black, gay underground clubs of Los Angeles. Tyrone Proctor, and friend, Billy Goodson risked their lives to perform such an effeminate, expressive dance, at a time when being openly gay subjected them to violence and prison. The dance was popularized on Soul Train and picked up by celebrities, then nearly became extinct with the AIDS crisis. Today, waacking has been re-born as a booming social media sensation and queer rights movement. In this new work, the “Queen of Waacking” honors her mentor, pioneering queer Black waacker and Soul Train legend, Tyrone Proctor who died in 2020, and carries on his legacy through the dance he championed his entire life.

Wiles developed the Works & Process commission, New York Is Burning for his company, Les Ballet Afrik, in a summer 2020 Works & Process bubble residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a spring 2021 Works & Process bubble residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation, and a January 2022 Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” residency at The Church, Sag Harbor in partnership with Guild Hall. Throughout this time, in some of New York State’s first permitted performances during the pandemic, Works & Process coproduced Les Ballet Afrik’s outdoor, filmed, and preview performances at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum rotunda and the world premiere in the Peter B. Lewis Theater. The company also performed previews at Jacob’s Pillow, New Victory Theater, and SummerStage. New York is Burning is a 2022 National Dance Project Finalists.

Princess Lockerooo’s Works & Process commission is being developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Bridge Street Theatre (2022), Watermill Center (2023), and The Pocantico Center (2023).

• Tuesday, January 17, 7:30 pm (75 minutes)
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
• Questions: Duke Dang, ddang@worksandprocess.org
• Presenters Comp Code: ISPA
  Buy Tickets

“Imagine an improv comedy show where dancing, not laughs, is the currency. Then imagine a musicians’ jam session where the band is compelled to keep the dancers’ pace instead of the other way around. ...what’s distinct about LayeRhythm is the way it bridges the two groups with crowd participation.” — New York Times

Embodying the continuum of concert and social dance, LayeRhythm led by Mai Lê Hô weaves a singular mix of freestyle dance, live music, and audience interaction, celebrating the vibrancy of street and club dance cultures. Spotlighting Black trans femme choreographer Courtney Washington, Mother Balenciaga, founder of the Kiki House of Juicy Couture, a leader of the House of Balenciaga, and founder of Masterz at Work Dance Family, the evening will feature choreographed work from the Masterz, including ALL INCLUSIVE, alongside improvisations by musicians, dancers and emcees, captivating young and old, theater- and clubgoers.

ALL INCLUSIVE was commissioned by Works & Process and was developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Bethany Arts Community (2022) and Kaatsbaan Cultural Center (2021). Past performances have taken place at the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, OTA Weekly, and with NY PopsUp in The Oculus and Coney Island.

LayeRhythm has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at The Church, Sag Harbor (2023).