Les Ballet Afrik and Ephrat Asherie Dance

In 2020, Works & Process will commission and premiere two works, one each by Les Ballet Afrik and Ephrat Asherie Dance. At this Works & Process, excerpts are performed from both commissions and legendary dancer Archie Burnett will moderate the discussion with choreographers Ephrat Asherie and Omari Wiles. 

 

Having received the honorary status of Legend after ten years of competing in the Vogue Ballroom scene and performing across the globe, choreographer Omari Wiles brings the ballroom to the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim with excerpts of New York is Burning (March 2020 premiere), performed by Les Ballet Afrik and guest artists. 

 

In 1990, the documentary Paris is Burning was released to critical acclaim. The film chronicled New York City Drag Balls, Ball culture, and Voguing in the 1980s, capturing the elaborately structured Ball competitions and showcasing rival houses. Beyond the Ballroom, each house served as surrogate families for young Ball-walkers who faced rejection from their biological families for their gender expression and sexual orientation. The Voguing that took place at these Balls has entered mainstream culture in the years since, serving as a touch point for a multi-leveled exploration of a queer African-American and Latino subculture.

 

To celebrate the 30th anniversary and to pay homage to Paris is Burning, Omari Wiles, founding father of the House of Oricci, in March 29 and 30 will premiere New York is Burning, a Works & Process commission made in and for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater at the Guggenheim. Performed by his company, Les Ballet Afrik, New York is Burning will bring the Ballroom to the Guggenheim and feature Wiles’s AfrikFusion, a style that fuses traditional African dances and Afrobeat styles with House dance and Vogue.

 

Excerpts from Ephrat Asherie’s UnderScored (fall 2020 premiere) are performed by EAD company members with guest artists from New York City’s underground dance community. Blurring the lines between performance and living archive and beginning with the legendary parties at The Loft and the Paradise Garage, UnderScored is inspired by intergenerational club-life memories and explores the ever-changing physical and musical landscape of New York City’s underground dance scene.

 

 

$45, $40 members (unless otherwise noted)

$10 TodayTix Lottery and student rush tickets one hour before performance, based on availability (student tickets for those under 30 with valid ID)

Priority ticket access and preferred seat selection starts Dec 10 for $500+ Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members at the Associate level and above.

For more information, call 212 758 0024 or 212 423 3587, Mon-Fri, 1-5 pm, or visit worksandprocess.org

 

Peter B. Lewis Theater

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street

Subway: 4, 5, 6, or Q train to 86th Street

Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 bus on Madison or Fifth Avenue

 

Lead funding for Works & Process is provided by the Ford Foundation, Florence Gould Foundation, the Christian Humann Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Evelyn Sharp Foundation, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.