Sep 9 @ 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm
For the fourth year, Works & Process, known for its performing arts programming at Guggenheim New York, brings its captivating pop-up dance and music series back to Manhattan West. With live bands, dance lessons, and performances by celebrated New York artists, each week offers something different: from Afro-Latin Dance to Swing, from Contra to Freestyle!
Free performances take place on Wednesdays in September from 5-6:15pm on Manhattan West Plaza!
SCHEDULE:
+ September 9: LayeRhythm
+ September 16: Sekou McMiller & Friends: Mambo Dance Party
+ September 23: A Barn Dance with Brooklyn Contra
+ September 30: New York Swings with Josh Lee and the Family
9/9: LAYERHYTHM (Live Music * Performances * Audience Participation):
Rooted in the raw energy and creative brilliance of freestyle movements like house dance, litefeet, flexN, breaking, and locking, LayeRhythm creates street/club music and dance experiences built on live improvisation, where the audience’s energy and ideas shape what happens on the floor in real time, dissolving the boundaries between spectators and artists. Join LayeRhythm for a performance of live music and street dance, ending with an open dance floor for all! Founder and house dance specialist Mai Lê Hô brings together artists historically under-recognized in the traditional performing arts landscape. Learn more about the artist at layerhythm.org
9/16: SEKOU McMILLER & FRIENDS (Live Music * Performances * Dance Lessons * Social Dancing):
Learn how to mambo like they used to in New York’s legendary Palladium Ballroom, where the social dance movement was born! Sekou McMiller & Friends host an intergenerational Mambo social dance party and lesson featuring elders from the Palladium with a live music performance by the Palladium Mambo Band. All are welcomed for this intergenerational celebration of Dance and community. Learn more about the artists at sekoumcmiller.com
9/23 BROOKLYN CONTRA (Live Music * Dance Lessons * Social Dancing):
Join us for A Barn Dance With Brooklyn Contra, presenting New York’s most approachable social dance! There will be live music from the Some Assembly Required Quintet playing joyous, dynamic, interpretations of traditional Appalachian and Irish tunes to help you whirl away the night. Contra dance is an easy-to-learn folk dance similar to square dancing with some swing dance flair. Originating in northern Appalachia based on English and French formal dances, contra is now danced around the country by multi-generational communities. No partner necessary and all dances are taught before the dance! Learn more about the artist at brooklyncontra.org
9/30 NEW YORK SWINGS with JOSH LEE AND THE FAMILY (Live Music * Performances * Dance Lessons * Social Dancing):
New York Swings brings the excitement of Lindy Hop and Authentic Jazz dance to stages around the world. They share their signature playfulness, athleticism and historically-grounded dedication of the craft to new audiences. Led by choreographer and community driver, Gaby Cook with a cast of New York’s most talented dancers in the field. Learn more about the artist at nycswings.net
Josh Lee and the Family is a Philadelphia based ensemble dedicated to honoring the musical and dance traditions of the swing era. Led by Grammy-Winning saxophonist Josh Lee, the band plays classics from composers like Basie, Ellington, Buck Clayton and more, as well as original music inspired by those historic bands. As a member of the Count Basie Orchestra, Josh has devoted his life to keeping this incredible music alive for generations to come. Learn more about the artist at www.joshleeandthefamily.com
ABOUT WORKS & PROCESS:
So performing artists can create with dignity, Works & Process supports creative process from studio to stage by producing over 25 fully funded residencies annually with over a dozen partners in seven states and presenting behind-the-scenes events that blend artist discussion and performance highlights. Beyond Guggenheim New York, we also partner with organizations across New York City, including 92NY, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jerome Robbins Dance Division, and Free Food Refettorio Harlem. During the summer, we curate and present free outdoor dance programs with Manhattan West. Learn more HERE.
Interested in sponsorship or event rentals? Contact Rentals@Brookfield.com for more information.
Dec 10 @ 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Celebrate the season with an afternoon of festive ice sculptures, live caroling, hot cocoa, and sweet treats.There’s always something new to discover at Manhattan West!
SCHEDULE
11:30AM – 2:30PM
• Ice Sculptures by Okamoto Studio
• Seasonal bites & cocoa from Daily Provisions and Eleni’s Cookies
12:00AM – 12:45PM & 1:15PM – 2:00PM
• Caroling by The Mistletones
Jul 9 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
In the early 2000s, a tight-knit group of musicians sparked a soul revival, crafting fresh music with the warmth and grit of long-forgotten analog technology. Their sound helped ignite a movement—one that continues today—of artists and labels reimagining vintage soul with a modern and diverse edge. Largely rooted in New York, many of the musicians and label heads in this series—Chulo, Diamond West, and Big Crown Records—have been playing together for over two decades, sharing stages and studios with icons like Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, Antibalas, and Charles Bradley. Though their individual paths have branched into new musical territories and genres, the constant is an embrace of musicianship and the shared belief that real music comes from collaboration, growth, and honoring tradition—all under a timeless, soulful umbrella.
SCHEDULE:
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
JULY 9:
Los Hacheros are the modern-day torchbearers of the Golden Age of Latin music. Their beat revives folkloric styles like son montuno, guaracha and salsa, and combines them with the firey rhythms of Puerto Rican Bomba and the grittiness of 1970s East Harlem. Producer / guitarist Jacob Plasse is the founder of the Daptone-distributed Latin revival label, Chulo Records.
Mickey Pérez, stalwart of the New York City DJ game, represents and presents a diasporic sound irrespective of national borders spanning many different rhythms of dance music across Africa, the Caribbean, South America & Black America.
JULY 16:
Rogê, a Latin Grammy nominee Rogê (pronounced haw-zheh) was once the prince of Rio de Janeiro’s nightlife, gaining an avid following for his swinging samba-funk, tinged with Brazilian Soul. His acclaim rose when he cowrote the theme song for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. His rise on the American scene has included a 2020 tour with Seu Jorge, Budos Band, and two nights at the Hollywood Bowl as the opening act for the Gipsy Kings. He has released nine albums, including his newest, Curyman, produced by the Budos Band’s Thomas Brenneck, a top session guitarist and collaborator with the stars (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé & Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse) on Diamond West Records.
Binky Griptite is an American guitarist, record producer, and radio DJ. He is best known as a founding member and guitarist of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Soul Providers, and Antibalas, among other Daptone Records-related projects. From 2017 to 2021, he hosted the weekly radio program The Boogie Down on WFUV.
JULY 23:
Thee Heart Tones are a group of young musicians from Hawthorne, California, carrying the torch contributing to Chicano Soul while putting their own spin on it. Lead singer Jazmine Alvarado’s show stopping voice is nothing short of perfect over the band’s heavy duty downbeat ballad backings. These rising star teenagers represent a new era of Soul music, and influenced by the sounds of their own generation which they incorporate into songs that hold court with some of the finest in the genre. Their talent, charm, and taste are far ahead of their years, they are young people with old souls making songs that are loved by all ages.
JULY 30:
Flor de Toloache, the Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning and two-time GRAMMY®-nominated all-female group, honors and revolutionizes mariachi with a bold, boundary-pushing spirit. They have played NPR’s Tiny Desk series, the Kennedy Center Honors (paying tribute to Linda Ronstadt), Coachella, and the steps of The White House and have collaborated with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, John Legend, Miguel, Café Tacvba, and Natalia Lafourcade. Like the legendary love potion from the Toloache flower, Flor de Toloache casts a spell with their genre-blending and powerful storytelling, captivating audiences worldwide.
Victor Axelrod‘s creativity has extended across more than two decades of the Daptone label’s releases. A founding member of Antibalas and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, he earned a Grammy Award for his contribution to Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” and has worked on dozens of projects (sometimes under the moniker “Ticklah”) with Mark Ronson and with artists including Lady Gaga, Adele, and Erykah Badu.
