Legendary HBO Max Season 2 star Omari Wiles and his company Les Ballet Afrik bring AfrikFusion ballroom culture, vogue and dance to the East End of Long Island, through January 14, 2022 .

Works & Process at the Guggenheim Dance Commission “New York Is Burning” continues its development in a residency at The Church, Sag Harbor. Screening of the Ballroom documentary “Paris Is Burning” at the Sag Harbor cinema. Vogue Class, Open Rehearsal and Show & Tell at The Church, co-hosted with Guild Hall. The Church, Guild Hall and Works & Process at the Guggenheim continue the LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” pilot, adding partner Sag Harbor Cinema, working together to foster regional support for the creative process and encourage artists and audiences to embrace the artistic process as a destination.

Introducing the East End of Long Island to the underground LGBTQ Ballroom culture that began in the 1970s as a haven for black and brown youth, January 3-14, 2022, the legendary HBO Max Season 2 star, Omari Wiles and his company Les Ballet Afrik are in residence at The Church, Sag Harbor. The company will develop its Works & Process New York Is Burning dance commission, which will premiere at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in the fall of 2022. During Ballet Afrik’s LaunchPAD residency, to foster a better understanding of the artistic process and Ballroom Culture, the public is invited to attend community events co-hosted by The Church, Guild Hall, Sag Harbor Cinema, and Works & Process, designed to promote appreciation of the artistic process.

The Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” programs consist of fully funded residences in the Hudson Valley and Long Island. In this iteration, The Church, Sag Harbor will provide dedicated rehearsal space and accommodation space in its historic building. Works & Process will provide artists with living wages, health insurance and transportation coverage. In partnership with Guild Hall, community events are organized for the public and young local artists to interact with these amazing groups. In anticipation of their theater renovations, Guild Hall is partnering with organizations to produce offsite programs.

SCREENING AT THE SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Paris Is Burning ballroom documentary with an introduction by Omari Wiles

Thursday January 6, 7 p.m.

Sag Harbor Cinema, 90 Main St, Sag Harbor, NY 1196, (631) 725-0010

www.saghabocinema.org

Proof of vaccination and mandatory masks.

EVENTS AT THE CHURCH, CO-ORGANIZED BY GUILD HALL AND WORKS & PROCESS

Public rehearsal of Ballets Afrik

Saturday January 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Audience invited to observe

Vogue dance classes for teens only

Wednesday January 12, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

For more information, email Anthony Madonna ( [email protected] )

New York Burns in Public Show & Tell

Thursday January 13, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Invited audience

Tickets $ 10

The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor, NY 11963, (631) 919-5342

www.thechurchsaghabor.org

Proof of vaccination and mandatory masks.

Commissioned before the pandemic, New York Is Burning was to honor the 30th anniversary of the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, which was critically acclaimed for its portrayal of New York’s LGBTQ Ballroom scene and voguing as a powerful expression of personal pride. in the face of racism, homophobia and the stigmatization of the AIDS crisis. In a strange resemblance and much like Paris Is Burning did for New York in the 1980s, New York Is Burning reflects the aspirations, desires and aspirations of a diverse group of dancers in a city again in the throes of health, race and financial crises. Led by choreographer and dancer Omari Wiles, the founding father of the House of Oricci and a legend within the Ballroom community, New York Is Burning focuses on the artists for whom the dance company serves as a surrogate family, most notably Kya Azeen, Eva Bust A ‘Move, Algin Ford-Sterling, Alora Martinez, Shireen Rahimi, Milerka Rodriguez, Yuki Sukezane and Yuhee Yang. The long-awaited world premiere in fall 2022 will bring Ballroom to the Guggenheim in a piece featuring Wiles’ AfrikFusion, a style that combines traditional African dances and Afrobeat with house dance and vogue.

New York Is Burning is commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim and, at the height of the pandemic, received Works & Process residencies at the Catskill Mountain Foundation and the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. The Works & Process bubble residencies were made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. New York Is Burning is also supported by the Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process and Destination” residency at The Church, Sag Harbor, in partnership with Guild Hall and Sag Habor Cinema.

New York Is Burning, is the second in a series of LaunchPAD programs, the first LaunchPAD program took place from November 29 to December 5, 2021 and featured Third Bird, a new Works & Process commission and a collaboration from Bridgehampton resident Isaac Mizrahi, with choreographer John Heginbotham and composer Nico Muhly.