Arts Brookfield partners with Works & Process for a series of four performances at Manhattan West Plaza in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Referencing different styles of street dance, the pieces that will be presented were each originally commissioned by Works & Process for the Guggenheim Museum, and marries the institution’s renowned circular rotunda space with the cypher, an open performance circle prevalent in hip-hop. Originally conceptualized in-the-round, this series therefore adapts naturally to Manhattan West Plaza’s performance circle. Each Wednesday night will spotlight a different artistic group and feature beatboxing, breaking, flexn, krumping, live bands, DJ sets, and MCs. On the final night, the performance morphs into a full-blown dance party with fabled DJ Bravo LaFortune and other club legends.
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.
UNDERSCORED was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Mellon Foundation. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals for a residency at The Jay and Linda Grunin Center, made possible through support from the Mellon Foundation. UNDERSCORED is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Works & Process in partnership with ArtPower at UC San Diego, The Momentary and The Yard. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit npnweb.org.
Photo: Robert Altman