AFROBEAT, HOUSE, VOGUE, AND WAACKING

Les Ballet Afrik: New York Is Burning by Omari Wiles

Waacking with Princess Lockerooo

Sunday, January 15, 7:30 pm

Underground, radical, Black and queer art rarely gets the recognition it deserves . . . until it's appropriated and then popularized by mainstream culture. Vogue from the East Coast and waacking from the West Coast is no different. See today's leading tradition bearers share the stage and honor their history.

"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