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To support and facilitate the much-needed exchange of inspiration and the transference of knowledge between generations of Ladies of Hip Hop, in January 2021 within the safety of a Works & Process bubble residency at Bethany Arts Community, a group of eleven major practitioners, gathered, including dance elders (ages 50–60), innovators (ages 33–49), and young celebrants (ages 20–32). Led by Executive Director Michele Byrd-McPhee, this intersectional project incubated and captured the knowledge, beauty, and power of Black female street dancers and resulted in a rare for the time, indoor video performance, commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim, and co-produced by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Works & Process at Lincoln Center: Ladies of Hip-Hop - YouTube
Emerging from the pandemic, and as the Ladies of Hip-Hop look beyond the traditional lens of exposure for Black bodies in dance, which has overwhelmingly focused on Eurocentric dance aesthetics including modern, contemporary, and ballet, Works & Process and Bethany Arts Community continue to commission the project. As Ladies of Hip-Hop reconvene they will create a concert dance piece which will be featured in a series of events that will preserve and celebrate the beauty, strength, and lived experiences of Black women in street dance.
WHERE: David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
WHEN: March 25, 7:30 pm
A preview performance by the Ladies of Hip Hop will open The Dance Floor: Fresh, Bold & So Def, presented by The Universal Hip Hop Museum in collaboration with Hip Hop Education Center and Works & Process.
For more information, visit: The Dance Floor: Fresh, Bold & So Def · Lincoln Center
Premiere
WHERE: Peter B. Lewis Theater, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
WHEN: March 27, 7:30pm
Alongside the premiere, Linda Murray, Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, moderates a discussion with Byrd-McPhee, who along with Barnes are artists-in-residence currently working on the Dance Division’s long-standing Dance Oral History Project.
For more information, visit: Ladies of Hip-Hop | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation
This world premiere is co-commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim and Bethany Arts Community. The Ladies of Hip-Hop’s Works & Process bubble residency and Works & Process LaunchPAD residency is hosted by Bethany Arts Community. Works & Process bubble residencies were made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective is supported by the 2021–2022 Choreographers in Residence Program at County Prep High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. For more information, visit countyprepdance.org.
Ladies of Hip Hop (LOHH) is a nonprofit organization that provides artistic opportunities for girls & women in Hip-Hop culture. Through female-powered workshops, performances, public talks, and professional development training, LOHH is educating and cultivating Hip-Hop's next generation of female leaders. Ladies of Hip-Hop has been a driving force in the empowerment of girls & women in Hip-Hop. LOHH began as a training ground for female Hip-Hop dancers looking for a different perspective of the dance. It quickly grew from a day of dance workshops to a week-long international festival including female DJs, Mcees, graffiti & visual artists from around the world. LOHH has built an international tribe of girls and women supporting each other.
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