Works & Process Announces Underground Uptown Dance Festival, A Part of JanArtsNYC

Works & Process announces the 2026 Underground Uptown Dance Festival, a festival of commissioned dances January 9-13, 2026.

Gather round the Guggenheim theater and rotunda for one-night-only events bringing together street, social, and club traditions with ballet, contemporary, and modern dance. Continue the conversation with complimentary wine in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda.

Transcend the proscenium. Embody joy. Build community. Connect audiences and artists along the continuum of spectating and participating. 

Every project in the festival is supported with fully funded Works & Process creative residencies to support the development of new works and commissions spanning intergenerational connections, Afrobeat, Ballet, Ball Culture, Contemporary, Freestyle, Harlem Lite Feet, Hip-Hop, House, Improv, Mambo, Modern, NYC Underground Club Culture, Poppin, Salsa, Street Jazz, Vogue, West African, and more!

*Works & Process Commission

Works & Process Uptown Underground Dance Festival is a proud partner of JanArtsNYC, the annual collection of world-class public performances and innovative industry gatherings taking place throughout the month of January at various NYC venues, presented by the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and the APAP|NYC Conference.  

"We are so proud to once again feature Works & Process Uptown Underground Dance Festival as a participant of JanArtsNYC, a collection of best-in-class live performance events taking place this January throughout our beloved city," said Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner, Pat Swinney Kaufman. "For 13 years, JanArtsNYC has helped position January as "Performing Arts Month" in NYC, where the world's best come annually to premiere a vast unfolding of the newest works in theater, dance, opera, music and performance, centered around the annual APAP|NYC Conference."

PROGRAM:

January 9, 2026, 7 pm

Choreographic Portrait: Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington

MasterZ at Work Dance Family* and Parsons Dance*

Rotunda Dance Party: The MasterZ Ball

Ticket purchase to this performance includes admission to the Rotunda Dance Party with MasterZ at Work Dance Family at 8:30 pm.

See a portrait of Black trans femme choreographer Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington—founder of the Kiki House of Juicy Couture, a leader of the House of Balenciaga, and founder of MasterZ at Work Dance Family, and Legend in the Ballroom community.

For nearly forty years, Parsons Dance has brought life-affirming performances and joy to audiences worldwide. Led by David Parsons, “one of the great movers of modern dance” (The New York Times), the company is praised for its dancers’ athleticism and technical skill. Parsons Dance premieres a new co-commission with Works & Process by Washington.

The evening also features Washington’s new Works & Process commission The 24/7 Diner, which fuses street dance, street jazz, ballroom, vogue, and hip-hop and is inspired by chance encounters at New York City diners and stories told over shared meals.

Works & Process executive director Duke Dang moderates the discussion.

To conclude the evening, join MasterZ at Work Dance Family for a Rotunda Dance Party. All audience members are encouraged to take part in the MasterZ Ball, featuring four categories: Face, Runway, Performance, and Dance Off.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Barbara Rohdie and Linda Stocknoff.

Co-commissioned by Parsons Dance as a part of its Generation NOW Choreographic Fellowship and Works & Process. This work was made possible by a creative residency at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and a Works & Process technical residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation.

Commissioned by Works & Process, MasterZ at Work Dance Family’s The 24/7 Diner was made possible, in part, by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and Mellon Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts. The 24/7 Diner was developed in Works & Process Residencies at Modern Accord Depot (2024), Bethany Arts Community (2025), and The Campus at Marlboro Music (2026).

January 10, 2026, 7 pm

Chrysolation by Chrybaby Cozie & Harlem Lite Feet*

New Jersey Ballet: Wings of Desire by Roderick George*

Chrybaby Cozie presents the premiere of Chrysolation, a Works & Process commission and New Jersey Ballet previews Wings of Desire, a co-commission with Works & Process and ArtYard, choreographed by Roderick George.

Harlem Lite Feet pioneer Chrybaby Cozie and members of the renowned Bomb Squad dance through their lived experience of the origins and evolution of this vibrant New York City dance tradition. Litefeet, also known as "getting lite," is a dynamic street dance style that originated in Harlem and the Bronx in the early 2000s. The term reflects its emphasis on light, rapid steps that give the impression of weightlessness.

Roderick George’s Wings of Desire, inspired by classical ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, and La Bayadère, is a raw, emotionally charged ballet exploring relationships, sensuality, morality, and the human gaze. At its core, the work contemplates time, fate, and the intertwining of love and loss. Set to an original score that bridges past and future musical traditions, Wings of Desire celebrates freedom, connection, and the extraordinary artistry of the New Jersey Ballet dancers. Coming directly from a Works & Process residency at ArtYard, this performance offers an early preview ahead of the ballet’s premiere in April at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Commissioned by Works & Process, Chrybaby Cozie has created Chrysolation with Works & Process residencies at the Campus at Marlboro Music (2025 and 2026) and developed Chrysolation with support from 92NY as part of the inaugural Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jerome Robbins Dance Division, Hi-ARTS, New York State Council on the Arts, and administrative support from Creative Netwerk.

January 11, 2026, 7 pm

Akinola by Adesola Osakalumi*

Les Ballet Afrik: New York Is Burning by Omari Wiles*

Culminating a Works & Process residency at Bethany Arts Community, award-winning actor, choreographer, creative director, singer, and dancer Adesola Osakalumi presents a first look of Akinola. Osakalumi excavates the linkages between old world traditions and new world innovations, while expanding the conversation around the depth and cultural significance of street and urban arts. Drawing on a movement vocabulary inspired by the rich cultural retentions of both American and West African traditions––rhythms, stories, and practices that live through the body––this work explores what it means to move with intention, honoring the past while pushing toward new possibilities for expressing identity, legacy, and community through dance.

Also on the program, 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 thirtieth anniversary, Wiles’s work centers on the artists for whom his dance company serves as a surrogate family.

Adesola Osakalumi and Omari Wiles will discuss their creative process.

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.

January 12, 2026, 7 pm

At the Altar by Baye & Asa

Alien of Extraordinary by Sun Kim Dance Theatre

Rotunda Dance Party: Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights

In partnership with Guggenheim Member Monday

Ticket purchase to this performance includes admission to the Rotunda Dance Party with Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights (with live music) at 8 pm.

Baye & Asa preview At the Altar, a new evening-length work by choreographers Amadi “Baye” Washington and Sam “Asa” Pratt commissioned as part of The Democracy Cycle at PAC NYC, and co-commissioned by American Dance Festival. An exploration of cultural, religious, and political deities, this work reckons with the pitfalls of extreme idolatry and interrogates our collective struggle for survival and salvation. The work poses these central questions: Who/what do we worship? How do we worship? Who are the righteous? Who are the blasphemers? PAC NYC’s Director of The Democracy Cycle Boo Froebel moderates the discussion with Washington and Pratt.

Sun Kim Dance Theatre presents excerpts from Alien of Extraordinary, a dance-theater piece born from the labyrinth of the U.S. artist visa system, which flattens human stories into forms and reduces lives to paperwork. Choreographed by Sun Kim, a South Korean immigrant who specializes in the street dance style of popping, the work takes its title from the “alien of extraordinary ability” (O-1) visa and draws from Kim’s personal experience with it. Performed by a richly diverse ensemble of immigrant dancers, Alien of Extraordinary features theme music by klezmer musician and composer Michael Winograd. The piece is an invitation to witness the immigrant artist’s journey in all its fragility and resilience––creating a meeting ground for empathy, imagination, and shared belonging. Ephrat Asherie moderates the discussion with Kim.

To conclude the evening, join Sekou McMiller & Friends for the Palladium Mambo Dance Extravaganza. With a musical flair and explosive energy, dancer and choreographer Sekou McMiller is at the forefront of Afro Latin Dance performance and education. His unique fusion style, rooted in Afro-Caribbean traditions and laced with a range of dance techniques from the African diaspora, brings you a Palladium Mambo Dance extravaganza with live music. Bring your dancing shoes and join McMiller in the rotunda for a dance party for all. Presented in partnership with Guggenheim Member Mondays.

At the Altar received a Works & Process Residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation (2026).

Alien of Extraordinary is created with the support of a Works & Process Residency at Modern Accord Depot (2025) as well as a CUNY Dance Initiative Residency at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.

Sekou McMiller & Friends received a Works & Process Residency at The Watermill Center (2026).

January 13, 2026, 7pm

Johnny Loves Johann: Johnny Gandelsman with John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood

Los Perros del Barrio Colosal and Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight by BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús

See excerpts of Johnny Loves Johann, a new work uniting violinist Johnny Gandelsman with choreographers John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood. This performance pairs Gandelsman’s unique interpretation of Bach’s Cello Suites—performed live on violin—with original choreography performed by its creators, celebrating the humanity and dance at the center of this iconic music.

Also featured are two works by Omar Román de Jesús with his company BOCA TUYA. In Los Perros del Barrio Colosal, power dynamics intertwine with the raw essence of human nature, seen through the eyes of street dogs who are hungry, territorial, and relentless. This work unravels a visceral tale of dominance and submission, questioning who leads and who follows in the unending cycle of survival and control. Brimming with energy and wit,Los Perros pulls audiences into its vibrant, chaotic world with humor and unrelenting charm. In a world that often seeks to stifle individuality, Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight stands as a beacon of defiance, encouraging all to embrace their uniqueness and challenge the boundaries that confine them. Traversing the enigmatic landscapes of desire, identity, and aspiration, it advocates for the liberation of the soul.

Amy Kolling, Senior Director for Artistic and Production at Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will moderate the discussion with the creators.

Carolina Performing Arts and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts serve as lead co-commissioners for Johnny Loves Johann. This work also received commissioning support from the Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work (with additional support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund); the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond; Works & Process; and The Yard. Additional funding support was provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Alva Greenberg, Michael Hostetler and Erica Pascal, John Mittelman, Marty Peretz, Michael and Amy Tiemann, and Ken and Florence Umezaki.

BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús is supported with a Works & Process residency at The Adams Theater.

About Works & Process

Championing performing artists and their creative process for each step from studio to stage, Works & Process features artists both those from the world’s largest organizations and emerging new talent. Works & Process amplifies performing arts traditions that transcend the stage, and encourage audiences to spectate, participate, and continue the conversation beyond the stage. Works & Process programs blend artist discussion and performance highlights, with post-performance receptions at the Guggenheim Museum and beyond. During the summer, Works & Process curates and presents free outdoor dance programs with Manhattan West and City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage.

Works & Process residencies provide artists with made-to-measure creative residencies that are fully funded and sequenced, offering 24/7 studio availability, on-site housing, health insurance enrollment access, industry-leading residency fees, and transportation to over a dozen residency partners across CT, MA, NJ, NY, and VT.

Works and Process, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Tax ID: 13-3592291

Stay connected: @worksandprocess

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