ArtsOrb

01/06/2025

Sunday January 12th ~ Join us for a Rotunda Party at 8:30pm in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum with LayeRhythm as part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival.

For the fourth night of Works & Process’s Underground Uptown Dance Festival, discover two under-construction Works & Process commissions that explore George Balanchine and the intergenerational connections between West African and Afro-club culture. See excerpts from Emily Coates’s The Scattering (working title) and Djapo, by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles, Dancer. Then, take part in participatory play-based improv, led by LayeRhythm, that connects the audience with emcees, live musicians, and street and club dancers in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum rotunda.

Embodying the continuum of concert and social dance, LayeRhythm, led by Mai Lê Hô, interweaves a singular mix of freestyle dance, live music, and audience interaction to celebrate the vibrancy of street and club dance cultures. The evening will feature improvisations by musicians, dancers, and emcees, captivating the young and old, from theater to clubgoers.

LayeRhythm has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at The Church in Sag Harbor (2023), the Catskill Mountain Foundation (2024), and ArtYard (2025).

LayeRhythm at Works & Process’s Rotunda Dance Party at the Guggenheim Museum on May 20, 2024. Featuring Osyris and Michael “Nebz” Narine (center). Photo: Lauriane Ogay

01/06/2025

New York City (and everyone visiting for APAP) - make your way to the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival to see Music from the Sole this Saturday January 11th at 7pm in Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

On the third night of Works & Process’s Underground Uptown Dance Festival, see highlights from two Works & Process commissions by Music from the Sole and Kwikstep and LaRokafella NYC, with a discussion moderated by Melanie George Associate Curator of Jacob's Pillow. Then hop into the cipher for a Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Rotunda Dance Party with the breakers, krumpers, and flexers of The Missing Element, featuring music from The Beatbox House.

Blurring the line between concert, dance, and music performance, Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that celebrates tap’s roots in the African diaspora. Co-founded by the composer and bassist Gregory Richardson and the Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer , the group draws from Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban styles. This preview culminates the company’s Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Guild Hall.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Jeff and Susan Campbell.

Co-Commissioned by Works & Process, Music From The Sole’s new work has been developed in a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2024) and Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence (2023 and 2025). This new work is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Works & Process, the Joyce Theater Foundation, The Yard, Guild Hall, Dance Place, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and NPN. More information: npnweb.org. Additional support was provided by the Harkness Dance Foundation, a 2023 Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency at Dance Place, and a 2024 Jacob’s Pillow's Pillow Lab. This project is a part of .
-
Music From The Sole’s Commission Preview at Works & Process at the Guggenheim on September 30, 2024. Commissioned by Works & Process. Featuring Jennifer Vincent, Lucas Santana, Leonardo Sandoval, Orlando Hernández, Matt Parker, and Brittany DeStefano. Photo: Elyse Mertz

01/06/2025

Seattle ~ Don't miss Robyn Mineko Williams's new work for Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance January 17th - 25th at Cornish Playhouse At Seattle Center and then at Vashon Center for the Arts on January 23rd.

12/19/2024

We are excited to have LayeRhythm in our third addition to our inaugural cohort as they move into their 10 year anniversary in 2025…
•
LayeRhythm
•
LayeRhythm is a revolution in motion, a fusion of street dance and club culture that transcends boundaries and challenges the status quo. Rooted in the raw energy and creative brilliance of freestyle movements like house dance, Litefeet, flexn, breaking, locking, and more, our art defies conventional economic structures and hierarchical norms.

At its core, LayeRhythm is a celebration of the pulse of the city—where gritty, vibrant heartbeats foster thriving creativity and innovation. It’s a homage to the dancers, musicians, emcees, and vocalists who contribute their talents with fearless authenticity, carving out their own spaces and inscribing their own stories within the cultural fabric.

Drawing inspiration from the brilliance of freestyle artists, we weave together a tapestry of movement and sound that defies categorization. Each piece is a testament to the power of improvisation and spontaneity, a reflection of the ever-evolving nature of artistic expression.

Yet, LayeRhythm transcends mere celebration of dance and music—it’s a heartfelt vision for a different way of existing, a world where creativity is valued above all else and where art has the power to disrupt, dismantle, and rebuild. Through immersive and collaborative performances, our aim is to create spaces where artists are empowered to thrive, where economic barriers are met with innovative solutions, and where hierarchies are flattened.

At the heart of our artistic narrative lies a fervent conviction: live dance and music serve as powerful agents of healing, not only on a physical plane but also emotionally, traversing the boundaries of social, economic, and cultural divides.

12/15/2023

Announcing our second ArtsOrb Artists in our Inaugural cohort :
•
Music From The Sole
•
Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that celebrates tap's Afro-diasporic roots, particularly its connections to Afro-Brazilian dance and music, and its lineage to forms like house dance and passinho (Brazilian funk). Led by Brazilian dancer/ choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and by bassist/ composer Gregory Richardson, their work embraces tap’s unique nature as a blend of sound and movement, incorporating wide-ranging influences like samba, passinho, Afro-Cuban, jazz, and house. Since their first performances in 2015 at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, Music From The Sole has grown to a group of 15 dancers and musicians, touring across the US and abroad.
•
ArtsOrb is thrilled to be working to support MFTS’s art making and assisting the company as it moves into its future growth and sustainability.

12/07/2023

Introducing our first ArtsOrb Artist in our Inaugural cohort : Robyn Mineko Williams

Robyn Mineko Williams is a director, interdisciplinary artist, dancer and producer. She works and creates within the lanes and intersections of performance, design, culture, and place. In 2015, Robyn founded Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists (RMW&A) with the mission to collaborate with a roster of dynamic artists and create a body of theatrical dance works, prioritizing public, immersive and malleable forms of presentation.

ArtsOrb is thrilled to be working to support Robyn’s continued art making and assisting RMW&A towards future growth and sustainability.

11/28/2023

Visit our project page, linked below, from New York Foundation for the Arts website to learn more about our inaugural project!

ArtsOrb was created to forge networks which support and uplift new and diverse voices within the dance world. In November of 2023, we launched our website, social media platforms, and initiated a monthly newsletter with the kick off our inaugural fundraising effort SUPPORT OUR FIRST CYCLE OF AR.....

11/27/2023

We are excited to introduce ArtsOrb.

ArtsOrb is an emerging organization that advocates for and supports dance artists as they transition from early success to more sustainable futures.

Our pilot project will provide mid-career artists with support as they workshop, develop, and produce new work.

Today, we launch our inaugural fundraising effort under the fiscal sponsorship of the New York Foundation for the Arts (you can find our project page on their site).

AND our own website is now live - sign up for our newsletter to hear more about our project as it progresses and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

ArtsOrb is an emerging organization that advocates for and supports dance artists as they transition from early success to more sustainable futures.