Works & Process Announces Spring 2025 Season

Championing artists and their creative process for each step from studio to stage, the Works & Process spring 2025 season starts in January: Works & Process Artists-in-Residence, provided with fully funded, week-long LaunchPAD residencies, gather for the first Dance Out East on Long Island on January 9–11, in partnership with The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. Also kicking off the season is the third Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim New York on January 9–13, as part of JanArtsNYC.

The fortieth season of Works & Process at the Guggenheim continues in the museum’s Peter B. Lewis Theater with events that highlight creative process by blending artist discussion and performance. A highlight of the programming will be a series of social dances in the Guggenheim’s rotunda, including a swing social to open the first Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival in partnership with 92NY. Dance will to a key aspect of this Works & Process season, with new dances by BalletX, Ballet Hispánico, Andy Blankenbuehler, New Jersey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and the Vail Dance Festival. All events feature post-performance receptions that continue the conversation and help foster understanding, appreciation, and community.

Additional theater programming will spotlight the creative process of Broadway productions BOOP!, Purpose, and SMASH. There will also be commissioned works from the Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

General ticketing opens on November 21 at worksandprocess.org.

Tickets starting at $20 or free.

SEASON AT A GLANCE

Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim Museum

• Jan 9

KR3TS (Keep Rising to the Top) with Violeta Galagarza*

Afro Latin Soul with Sekou McMiller & Friends

Rotunda Dance: Salsa Social

• Jan 10

It’s Showtime NYC! Pyramid by Cal Hunt and Johnathan Moore*

Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington’s MasterZ at Work Dance Family*

Rotunda Dance: Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle

• Jan 11

Music From The Sole’s House Is Open, Going Dark (working title)*

Wus Poppin NYC with Kwikstep and Rokafella*

Rotunda Dance: The Missing Element with The Beatbox House*

• Jan 12

The Scattering by Emily Coates*

Djapo by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles*

Rotunda Dance: LayeRhythm*

• Jan 13

THE DRAMA by Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob*

BalletCollective: The Night Falls by Karen Russell, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and Troy Schumacher

Rotunda Dance: Princess Lockerooo’s Winter Waack Battle

*Works & Process Commission

Dance Out East

Works & Process in partnership with The Church Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center

• Jan 9

The Church in Sag Harbor: The Scattering by Emily Coates*

• Jan 10

Guild Hall of East Hampton: Music From The Sole’s House Is Open, Going Dark (working  title)*

• Jan 11

The Watermill Center: Djapo by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles*

*Works & Process Commission

Fortieth Works & Process at the Guggenheim Series – Performance Highlights and Discussions

• Boston Lyric Opera: The Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, libretto by Sarah Ruhl with Anthony Roth Costanzo, Sarah Ruhl, Zack Winokur, and Pam Tanowitz – Jan 14
• Miami City Ballet: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Pam Tanowitz – Jan 25
• Buena Vista Social Club by Marco Ramirez with Saheem Ali, Patricia Delgado, and Justin Peck – Jan 26
• Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Phylicia Rashad – Jan 27
• SMASH by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Rick Elice, and Bob Martin, with Susan Stroman and Joshua Bergasse – Feb 3
• Never Alone by Andy Blankenbuehler – Feb 7
• Williamstown Theatre Festival: Jeremy O. Harris’s New Play First Look – Feb 9
• BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical with Jerry Mitchell – Feb 10
• Ballet Hispánico: Tango with Alejandro Cervera, Graciela Daniele, and Matthew Neenan – Mar 3
• San Francisco Opera: THE MONKEY KING (猴王悟空) by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang with Diane Paulus – Mar 9
• BalletX: Maslow’s Peak by Jennifer Archibald – Mar 23
• Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: This House by Ricky Ian Gordon, Lynn Nottage, and Ruby Aiyo Gerber – Apr 6
• Glimmerglass Festival: The House on Mango Street by Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros – Apr 7
• New Jersey Ballet: Maria Kowroski and Harrison Ball – Apr 14
• The Metropolitan Opera: John Adams’s Antony and Cleopatra – Apr 28
• Vail Dance Festival – May 4

Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, in collaboration with 92NY

Works & Process at the Guggenheim events include:

• Opening Night Rotunda Dance: Swing with Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists and Gaby Cook – Apr 21
• Closing Night: Brenda Bufalino & Company: Visions & Revision – Apr 27

Rotunda Social Dances

• Salsa Social – Jan 9
• Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle – Jan 10
• The Missing Element with The Beatbox House – Jan 11
• LayeRhythm – Jan 12
• Princess Lockerooo’s Winter Waack Battle – Jan 13
• Tango – Mar 3
• Swing with Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists and Gaby Cook – Apr 21

Works & Process Commissions on Tour

• Music From The Sole’s I Didn’t Come to Stay
• Ladies of Hip-Hop: Black Dancing Bodies Project: “SpeakMyMind”
• THE DRAMA by Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob

WORKS & PROCESS UNDERGROUND UPTOWN DANCE FESTIVAL AT THE GUGGENHEIM (JAN 9–13)

Gather round the Guggenheim in a series of one-night-only events spanning both the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed theater and rotunda. Experience New York City’s extraordinary club, street, and social dance traditions, all rooted in the circle and the cipher and blended with concert dance.

Championing creative process from studio to stage, Works & Process has provided the featured projects with iterative presentations and long-term support through fully funded Works & Process LaunchPAD creative residencies, which offer artists industry-leading fees, 24/7 studio space, on-site housing, transportation, and health insurance enrollment access.

Part of JanArtsNYC, the Underground Uptown Dance Festival is one of the city’s largest and most influential arts gatherings and draws more than 45,000 performing arts leaders, artists, and enthusiasts from across the globe.

KR3TS (Keep Rising to the Top) with Violeta Galagarza*

Afro Latin Soul with Sekou McMiller and Friends

Rotunda Dance: Salsa Social

Thursday, January 9

7 pm: Theater

8:30 pm: Rotunda Dance

See a first look of new works by Latin Grammy and Bessie Award–winner Violeta Galagarza and Afro-Latin dance pioneer Sekou McMiller. The evening concludes with a salsa lesson and dance party in the rotunda for all.

Rooted in Spanish Harlem, KR3TS will debut new works that blend hip-hop with traditional dance styles. Led by Executive Artistic Director Violeta Galagarza, KR3TS’s next generation of choreographers have a legacy spanning four decades and over 5,000 alumni in all areas of dance. Experience the virtuosity of KR3TS and the transformative power of dance in A Journey through the Human Experience, a captivating dance performance that delves into an array of dance styles to portray the complexities of modern life.

The evening also features highlights from Sekou McMiller and Friends’ Afro Latin Soul, an exuberant exploration of the jazz and African roots of salsa dance and music. Inspired by the golden age of mambo at the Palladium nightclub in New York City during the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, Afro Latin Soul weaves together dancers, musicians, and composers to celebrate rhythmic nature and unite interconnected cultures.

At the forefront of a new movement in Afro Latin dance, Sekou McMiller’s unique fusion style has a strong Afro-Caribbean essence that is laced with many different dance techniques and an explosive energy. Join McMiller in the rotunda for a salsa lesson and dance party for all.

KR3TS’s new work is commissioned by Works & Process and has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at Bethany Arts Community (2024) and Bridge Street Theatre (2025).

Afro Latin Soul has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at The Pocantico Center (2024). Additional residency support was provided by a Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab.

It’s Showtime NYC! Pyramid by Cal Hunt and Johnathan Moore*

Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington’s MasterZ at Work Dance Family*

Rotunda Dance: Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle

Friday, January 10

7 pm: Theater

8:30: pm Rotunda Dance

See two Works & Process commissions centered on street dance by It’s Showtime NYC! and MasterZ at Work Dance Family. Then step up and step into the Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle in the rotunda.

New Yorkers are, by nature, archaeologists. Be it graffiti, hieroglyphics, or freestyle dance on the street, lived stories are shared to those willing to pause and take in the messages. See the world premiere of Pyramid, commissioned by Works & Process, featuring It’s Showtime NYC!, a company of dancers with a history of performing on New York’s streets and subways. Created in collaboration with composer and cellist Johnathan “Akuma” Moore, with dance dramaturgy by BRAT, Pyramid is an original music composition and dance work through which the composer and the company dancers each investigate the notion, “This is how you sound to me.” Moore’s composition animates each dancer’s struggles and triumphs as live building blocks of the pyramid, choreographed by It’s Showtime NYC! Artistic Director Cal Hunt. In his cello composition, Moore incorporates techniques typically employed by funk bassists, such as layered electronic loops, freeing himself to join the performance as a bonebreaker or flexN artist.

The evening also spotlights Black trans femme choreographer Courtney Washington, Mother Balenciaga—the founder of the Kiki House of Juicy Couture, a leader of the House of Balenciaga, and founder of MasterZ at Work Dance Family. Washington’s new Works & Process commission 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.

To close the evening, step up and step into the Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle in the rotunda. Founded by Michele Byrd-McPhee, Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective (LDC) is an all-female intergenerational dance collective that creates dance works illuminating the strength, power, and diversity of women in hip hop. Ever present in the work are the freestyle, cipher, and call-and-response origins of street and club dance culture.

Pyramid is commissioned by Works & Process, Artists Community Alliance, Howard Gilman Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Bethany Arts Community, Bridge Street Theatre, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council/The Arts Center at Governors Island, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature with special thanks to NOoSPHERE Arts, SummerStage, Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center and City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation. Music composition commissioned by Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation. The work has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at Bethany Arts Community (2023). It’s Showtime NYC! is a program of Dancing in the Streets.

Commissioned by Works & Process, MasterZ at Work Dance Family’s new work has been developed in a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Modern Accord Depot (2024) and Bethany Arts Community (2025).

Music From The Sole’s House Is Open, Going Dark (working title)*

Wus Poppin NYC with Kwikstep and Rokafella*

Rotunda Dance: The Missing Element with The Beatbox House*

Saturday, January 11

7 pm: Theater

8:30 pm: Rotunda Dance

See highlights from two Works & Process commissions by Music From The Sole and Kwikstep and Rokafella, then hop into the cipher for a 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 Leonardo Sandoval, 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.

The evening also features Wus Poppin NYC, a one-night-only show and tell from the hip-hop legends Kwikstep and Rokafella. The pair gathered pioneering dancers from New York’s poppin community for their Works & Process LaunchPAD creative residencies at the Rockefeller Estate’s Pocantico Center (2023) and Bethany Arts Community (2024). Wus Poppin NYC is the culmination of Kwikstep and Rokafella’s work to document the form’s history and to facilitate intergenerational transference of knowledge.

Fusing together awe-inspiring street dancers from krump, flexN, and breaking communities with the virtuosic music-making of The Beatbox House, The Missing Element explores the universal elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. Commissioned by Works & Process, The Missing Element is an immersive experience where street dancers and beatboxers utilize their abilities to embark on an adventure of sound and dance—working together to find The Missing Element. All music and sound are 100% human-generated.

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.

Wus Poppin NYC is commissioned by Works & Process and has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at The Pocantico Center (2023) and Bethany Arts Community (2024) and additional residency support from Abrons Arts Center.

The Missing Element was commissioned by Works & Process in 2019 and was developed in Works & Process Bubble and LaunchPAD residencies at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2020 and 2021), Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence (2022), and Catskill Mountain Foundation (2023), made possible in part through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.

The Scattering by Emily Coates*

Djapo by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles*

Rotunda Dance: LayeRhythm*

Sunday, January 12

7 pm: Theater

8:30: pm Rotunda Dance

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 and Djapo, by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles. 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 rotunda.

Dancer and choreographer Emily Coates returns to Works & Process with her new performance project The Scattering. The work sources Balanchine’s brief history in New England to reflect on how the body and spirit of a choreographer scatters, living on in unexpected places. Drawing on her background as a former member of New York City Ballet—and working with Ain Gordon (direction and dramaturgy), Derek Lucci (performer), Charles Burnham (musician-composer), and Melvin Chen (pianist) —Coates collages the misplaced and overlooked archival traces and transmissions of Balanchine and related artists into a new whole.

West African dance cultural icon Marie Basse-Wiles and her son, ballroom icon Omari Wiles, co-create Djapo. The work joins dancers from the Maimouna Keita School of African Dance (MKSAD), founded by Basse-Wiles, and Les Ballet Afrik, founded by Wiles. For thirty-two years MKSAD has brought together dancers from across the African diaspora in an annual conference. Basse-Wiles has trained scores of renowned artists whose impact resonates internationally, including through tours to Senegal, Mali, Gambia, and Guinea. Wiles has followed in his mother’s footsteps while walking to the beat of his own drum. He created AfrikFusion, informed by Afro-club culture, vogue, and West African dance. See excerpts from this new work, which is the continuation of a rich dance history.

Embodying the continuum of concert and social dance in the rotunda, 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.

The Scattering is commissioned by Works & Process. This iterative presentation culminates a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at The Church (2025) in Sag Harbor, home to George Balanchine’s grave. The project will continue to be supported with a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, New York where Jacques d’Amboise lived for seven decades. Additional developmental support is provided by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, and New England Foundation for the Arts Dance Fund. The Scattering was created in part during a residency at Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab.

Djapo is commissioned by Works & Process and has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at Bethany Arts Community (2024) and Watermill Center (2025), and a music commission grant from The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

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

THE DRAMA by Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob*

BalletCollective: The Night Falls by Karen Russell, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and Troy Schumacher

Rotunda Dance: Princess Lockerooo’s Winter Waack Battle

Monday, January 13

7 pm: Theater

8:30 pm: Rotunda Dance

In this two-part evening, discover how THE DRAMA and The Night Falls center storytelling as salves on stage. Then express yourself and enter a space of liberation and empowerment by joining Princess Lockerooo for a lesson and waacking battle in the rotunda.

Created by Martha Graham Dance Company principal dancer Lloyd Knight, choreographer Jack Ferver, and filmmaker Jeremy Jacob, THE DRAMA highlights Knight’s life in an intimate and personal solo dance work inspired by two important women in his life: his mother and the legendary modern dance choreographer Martha Graham. This Works & Process commission lays bare what it takes both physically and psychologically to pursue a life in dance and touches on Knight’s upbringing and what drew him to dance from an early age. THE DRAMA immerses the audience in its shifts between high octane choreography and a candid script, set against a sweeping film and sound score. Marketing and Artistic Director of DANCECleveland Sarah Sumbrum will moderate a discussion with Knight, Ferver, and Jacob.

Choreographed and directed by Troy Schumacher (New York City Ballet)— with scenario and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize–finalist Karen Russell (Swamplandia!) and music and lyrics by Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin)—The Night Falls is a new myth for the present, fractured era. In this New York Times “2023 Best of Dance” selection, people across the U.S. begin to have the same nightmare. The haunting song eventually lures these lost souls, cleaved into a dancing body and a singing spirit, to a kitschy Floridian roadside attraction that is inhabited by the creatures who make the seductive refrain. The Night Falls explores the visceral power of art to brace us against the abyss. Members of the creative team will participate in a moderated discussion with Spoleto Festival leadership.

Distinguishable by its rotational arm movements, posing, and emphasis on expressiveness, waacking brings together the glitz and glamour of Hollywood films, the vibrant energy of disco, and the colorful underground gay club culture of 1970s Los Angeles. Get ready to be blown away in the rotunda with a waacking battle organized by Princess Lockerooo, who was recently featured on Dancing with the Stars and lauded by the New York Times as the “Queen of Waacking.” Enrich yourself in a waacking 101, go head-to-head in an epic showdown and battle, then dance the night away in the rotunda.

THE DRAMA is commissioned by Works & Process and DANCECleveland and has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at Bridge Street Theatre (2024 and 2025), Modern Accord Depot (2022), and Watermill Center (2023). Additional residency support was provided by a fellowship at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Leadership support for THE DRAMA is provided by Christopher Jones and Deb McAlister.

Co-produced by BalletCollective, Inc., and PEAK Performances at Montclair State University, The Night Falls was developed during a Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals 2018 residency and further support was provided during a virtual creative residency in 2021. It was made possible, in part, by the Alexander Kasser Theater Endowment Fund, PEAK Patrons, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Watch the 2023 Works & Process program of BalletCollective: The Night Falls.

Princess Lockerooo has been supported by Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Bridge Street Theatre (2022), The Pocantico Center (2023), Watermill Center (2023), and Catskill Mountain Foundation (2025).

*Works & Process Commission

DANCE OUT EAST (JAN 9–11)

Kick off the new year with dance and be the first to see new performances commissioned by Works & Process on Long Island’s East End at The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. Culminating week-long creative residencies, the inaugural Dance Out East provides unique insight into the process of new choreographed works, which will sequence into the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim Museum.

THE CHURCH IN SAG HARBOR

The Scattering by Emily Coates

Thursday, January 9, 6 pm

Dancer and choreographer Emily Coates’s new performance project sources George Balanchine’s brief history beyond the metropolis starting with his arrival in America in 1933. Draws upon on her background as a former member of New York City Ballet, Coates reflects on how the body and spirit of a choreographer scatters, living on in unexpected places. Working with Ain Gordon (direction and dramaturgy), Derek Lucci (performer), Charles Burnham (musician-composer), and Melvin Chen (pianist), she collages misplaced and overlooked archival traces and transmissions of Balanchine and related artists into a new whole.

Coates’s residency at The Church poignantly responds to the art center’s own embrace of Balanchine’s history. Upon the windows of their building is a likeness of the famed choreographer, featured among a series of portraits known as “The Saints of Sag Harbor,” etched by artist and The Church co-founder Eric Fischl. Replacing the church’s more typical stained-glass windows, these portraits pay homage to icons from Sag Harbor’s vast history of internationally influential artists and makers, including Balanchine, whose grave is located in the village.

The Scattering is commissioned by Works & Process. This iterative presentation culminates a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at The Church in Sag Harbor (2025), home to George Balanchine’s grave. The project will continue to be supported with a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, New York where Jacques d’Amboise lived for seven decades. Additional developmental support is provided by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, and New England Foundation for the Arts Dance Fund. The Scattering was created in part during a residency at Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab.

GUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON

Music From The Sole’s House Is Open, Going Dark (working title)*

Friday, January 10, 6:30 pm

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 Leonardo Sandoval, the group draws from Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban styles. House Is Open, Going Dark is the culmination of the company’s technical residency at Guild Hall and follows multiple residencies through the Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artists-in-Residence program. See a preview of their newest work, which opened Guild Hall’s newly renovated Mitchell and Hilaria Morgan Theater this past summer.

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), Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab (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 and a 2023 Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency at Dance Place.

THE WATERMILL CENTER

Djapo by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles*

Saturday, January 11, 2 pm

West African dance cultural icon Marie Basse-Wiles and her son, ballroom icon Omari Wiles, co-created Djapo. The work joins dancers from the Maimouna Keita School of African Dance (MKSAD), founded by Basse-Wiles, and Les Ballet Afrik, founded by Wiles. For thirty-two years MKSAD has brought together dancers from across the African diaspora in an annual conference. Basse-Wiles has trained scores of renowned artists whose impact resonates internationally, including through tours to Senegal, Mali, Gambia, and Guinea.  Wiles has followed in his mother’s footsteps while walking to the beat of his own drum. He created AfrikFusion, informed by Afro-club culture, vogue, and West African dance. See excerpts from this new work, which is the continuation of a rich dance history.

Djapo is commissioned by Works & Process and has received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support at Bethany Arts Community (2024) and Watermill Center (2025), and a music commission grant from The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

*Works & Process Commission

Works & Process at the Guggenheim

1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128

Tickets starting at $20

Boston Lyric Opera

The Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, libretto by Sarah Ruhl

with Anthony Roth Costanzo, Sarah Ruhl, Zack Winokur, and Pam Tanowitz

Tuesday, January 14, 7 pm

In this work written by Tony Award–winning playwright Sarah Ruhl and co-conceived with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, a group of contemporary artists arrives at an artists’ retreat in nature, but extreme weather soon impacts them without warning and changes their lives forever. Featuring excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, paired with additional arias and ensemble works by the composer, The Seasons challenges us to see our own disordered seasons more clearly. Directed by Zack Winokur, with choreography by Pam Tanowitz, the work is a meditation on the relationship between our contemporary moment and Vivaldi’s iconic music.

See highlights from The Seasons prior to the world premiere in March 2025 at Boston Lyric Opera (BLO). Ruhl, Costanzo, Winokur, and Tanowitz will participate in a moderated discussion with BLO Artistic Director Nina Yoshida Nelsen, and excerpts from the opera will be performed.

Spring 2025 Opera Series made possible by Eugene and Jean Stark.

The Seasons is a co-production with Boston Lyric Opera, AMOC*, and SCENE. It is co-presented by ArtsEmerson.

Miami City Ballet

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Pam Tanowitz

Saturday, January 25, 3 and 7 pm

Don’t miss this first look at two new ballets premiering in spring 2025 at Miami City Ballet. See highlights from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Carmen, reimagined for a modern dance audience with music by Georges Bizet and newly commissioned music by Juan Pablo Acosta. Explore Pam Tanowitz’s Coincident Dances, a duo of pieces with music by Jesse Montgomery. Before the world premieres in Florida, members of the creative team will participate in a discussion moderated by Jerome Robbins Dance Division Curator Linda Murray, and company members will perform excerpts.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Charles and Deborah Adelman and Jeff Davis and Michael Miller.

Buena Vista Social Club by Marco Ramirez with Saheem Ali, Patricia Delgado, and Justin Peck

Sunday, January 26, 7 pm

Step into the heart of Cuba, beyond the glitz of the Tropicana, to a place where blazing trumpets and sizzling guitars set the dance floor on fire. Here, the sound of Havana is born—and one woman’s remarkable journey begins. Inspired by true events, the new Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club brings the Grammy Award–winning album to thrilling life—and tells the story of the legends who lived it. Cast members perform highlights from this unforgettable tale of survival, second chances, and the extraordinary power of music. Prior to Broadway opening, join members of the creative team as they discuss their creative process.

Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Phylicia Rashad

Monday, January 27, 7 pm

“A blistering Steppenwolf production with explosive, knee-buckling intensity.” – Chicago Sun-Times

From Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the Tony Award–winning playwright of Appropriate, comes Purpose, directed by two-time Tony Award–winner Phylicia Rashad. Prior to the start of Broadway previews, join the cast and creatives for a first look at the production direct from a white-hot run at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

For decades, the influential Jasper family has been a pillar of Black American politics, serving as civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen. But like all families, there are cracks and secrets just under the surface. When the youngest son, Nazareth, returns home to Illinois with an uninvited friend in tow, the family is forced to reckon with itself, its faith, and the legacies of Black radicalism. Spirited, hilarious, and filled with intrigue, Purpose is an epic family drama from one of the country’s most celebrated voices.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Nina Matis, in honor of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins.

SMASH by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Rick Elice, and Bob Martin with Susan Stroman and Joshua Bergasse

Monday, February 3, 7 pm

SMASH, inspired by the hit TV show, is finally coming to Broadway this spring! A hilarious behind-the-scenes rollercoaster ride about the making of a Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell, it’s got all the iconic songs, kick-ass choreography, and backstage pandemonium that make Broadway the beloved institution it is today. The production will be helmed by five-time Tony Award–winner Susan Stroman and feature a score by Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award–winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who wrote over two dozen songs for the television show (many of which will be heard in the musical); a book by Tony Award–nominee Rick Elice and Tony Award–winner Bob Martin; and choreography by Tony Award–nominee Joshua Bergasse. Members of the creative team will participate in a moderated discussion and excerpts will be performed in advance of previews.

Never Alone by Andy Blankenbuehler

Friday, February 7, 7 pm

See a first look of director and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler and writer Kate Quinn’s new work, Never Alone, which culminates a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Potash Hill and a Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab.

Set during World War II, Never Alone follows the story of a woman with an unmatched gift for breaking codes and a British naval officer aboard a submarine deep in the perils of the U-boat war in the North Atlantic. Their love affair begins in a basement dance hall in bomb-cratered London, where they dance away the horrors of war. Bound by the iron confines of wartime secrecy and desperately in love, they are destined to fight on distant ends of the same dangerous mission, and never know it. Never Alone is a story about committing everything to fighting an enemy that cannot be seen. It is about the loneliness that can accompany that fight, but it is also an affirmation that where the heart is involved, we are truly not alone. Blankenbuehler participates in a discussion moderated by Artistic and Executive Director of Jacob’s Pillow Pamela Tatge, and highlights from the first chapter of Never Alone are performed.

Williamstown Theatre Festival

Jeremy O. Harris’s New Play First Look

Sunday, February 9, 7 pm

Go behind the scenes of celebrated writer, producer, and actor Jeremy O. Harris’s new play prior to its world premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Recently announced as the inaugural creative director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Creative Collective, Harris will share his creative process. Excerpts will also be performed as the culmination of a workshop that was part of the production’s Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Potash Hill.

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical with Jerry Mitchell

Monday, February 10, 7 pm

Please welcome to the stage, live for the first time ever . . . Betty Boop! That sassy-sweet champion of empowerment, that spit-curled icon of joy, that songstress of strength comes alive in BOOP!, a new Broadway-bound, musical-comedy extravaganza that’s fun for the whole family.

Cast members perform highlights from the new musical as Tony Award–winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray) discusses bringing Fleischer Studios’ Queen of the Screen to the theater. Learn more about the new musical—with music by multiple-time Grammy-winning composer David Foster (“I Have Nothing,” “After the Love Is Gone,” “The Prayer”), lyrics by Tony-nominated Susan Birkenhead (Working, Jelly’s Last Jam), and book by Tony-winning Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom)—prior to the Broadway premiere in April 2025.

Ballet Hispánico

Tango with Alejandro Cervera, Graciela Daniele, and Matthew Neenan

Rotunda Dance: Tango

Monday, March 3

7 pm: Theater

7:45 pm: Rotunda Dance

Ballet Hispánico’s Choreographic Institute takes center stage at Works & Process in a program presented in conjunction with the Guggenheim exhibition Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930. This special event delves into the dynamic artistry of tango, showcasing excerpts from choreographers Alejandro Cervera, Graciela Daniele, and Matthew Neenan. Witness how the fluid, circular forms and electrifying tension of tango intertwine with the vibrant works of Orphist artists like Sonia Delaunay. Ballet Hispánico Artistic Director and CEO Eduardo Vilaro will lead a discussion with the choreographers, illuminating the synthesis of movement and visual art.

After this one-night-only performance in the theater, head upstairs to the rotunda for an exclusive performance by Ballet Hispánico, followed by an interactive dance lesson with NYCity Tango Collective and a social dance for all.

Presented in conjunction with the Guggenheim’s Member Mondays.

San Francisco Opera

THE MONKEY KING (猴王悟空) by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang with Diane Paulus

Sunday, March 9, 7 pm

Go behind the scenes with composer Huang Ruo, librettist David Henry Hwang, and director Diane Paulus as they discuss their newest collaboration, THE MONKEY KING (猴王悟空), with moderator Ken Smith. Commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, the work is drawn from an episode in Journey to the West (16th c.), a Ming dynasty novel that is widely considered one China’s greatest literary classics. THE MONKEY KING follows the ambition of its title character, who wreaks havoc on the heavens in a bid for immortality. Hear excerpts ahead of the production’s world premiere as part of San Francisco Opera’s fall 2025 season.

Spring 2025 Opera Series made possible by Eugene and Jean Stark.

BalletX

Maslow’s Peak by Jennifer Archibald

Sunday, March 23, 3 pm

Jennifer Archibald, hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer for her “sleek, lovely, highly athletic” choreography, explores human nature and survival in this daring, full-length work inspired by William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. Prior to its world premiere in Philadelphia, members of the creative team, including Archibald and award-winning director and designer Guy de Lancey, will discuss their collaboration with Christine Cox, BalletX’s artistic and executive director and co-founder.

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

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

This House by Ricky Ian Gordon, Lynn Nottage, and Ruby Aiyo Gerber

Sunday, April 6, 7 pm

See excerpts of the new opera This House—by composer Ricky Ian Gordon, with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize–winner Lynn Nottage and her daughter Ruby Aiyo Gerber—prior to the world premiere at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2025. Gordon, Nottage, and Gerber will participate in a moderated discussion and excerpts will be performed.

A house is more than four walls and a roof; it is a keeper of memories and a witness to legacy. In This House, Zoe Walker returns home after many years away, to the Harlem brownstone her family has lived in since the 1920s. There, she asks her mother, Ida, and her brother, Lindon, to let her renovate the dilapidated building—but Ida and Lindon cannot let go of the past. The house is their whole world, and every room is full of ghostly voices and painful memories. As hidden truths about the family’s legacy come to light, Zoe begins to realize that the secrets harbored within these walls are deeper and more profound than she ever dared to imagine.

Spring 2025 Opera Series made possible by Eugene and Jean Stark.

Glimmerglass Festival

The House on Mango Street by Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros

Monday, April 7, 7 pm

Learn more about this new opera prior to its world premiere at Glimmerglass Festival in July 2025. A coming-of-age classic, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street has been acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world. Through a series of interactions, from fascinating to funny to frightening, the novel’s young female protagonist comes to understand that storytelling is the medicine she can offer her community—and herself. Cisneros, winner of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, has teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel for an opera inspired by her classic book.

Bermel and Cisneros will participate in a moderated discussion alongside Glimmerglass Festival Artistic and General Director Rob Ainsley and dramaturg Kelley Rourke. Excerpts from the opera will feature acclaimed soprano Mikaela Bennett, who will create the role of Esperanza for the premiere.

Spring 2025 Opera Series made possible by Eugene and Jean Stark.

New Jersey Ballet

Maria Kowroski and Harrison Ball

Monday, April 14, 7 pm

See highlights from former New York City Ballet principal dancer Harrison Ball’s second commission for New Jersey Ballet. Fresh from the success of his first ballet commission, Ball is quickly becoming a must-see voice in ballet, known for his dynamic and expressive movement style. Join Ball and artistic director Maria Kowroski for a moderated discussion prior to the work’s premiere at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Rotunda Dance: Swing with Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists and Gaby Cook

Opening Night Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, in collaboration with 92NY

Monday, April 21, 7:30 pm

A social dance party opens the first annual Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, presented in collaboration between uptown neighbors 92NY’s Harkness Dance Center and Works & Process. All are invited to take a Lindy Hop lesson with Gaby Cook, while band leader, trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and arranger Danny Jonokuchi leads his band, The Revisionists, in an evening of music and swing in the Guggenheim’s rotunda!

Presented in partnership with Guggenheim Member Mondays.

W&P Commission: Brenda Bufalino & Company: Visions & Revision

Closing Night Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, in collaboration with 92NY

Sunday, April 27, 3 and 7 pm

Tap dance icon, choreographer, poet, and drummer Brenda Bufalino closes the inaugural Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival. With stories and work spanning a lifetime, Bufalino starts with the film The White Buffalo Suite, which her company the American Tap Dance Orchestra premiered in 1990. Her cast of collaborators includes dancers Alice Baum, Tammy Sakuri, and Dylan Szuch as well as accordion player and pianist Ben Rosenbaum and bass player Joe Fonda.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Maureen Footer and Stephen Kroll Reidy.

The Metropolitan Opera

John Adams’s Antony and Cleopatra

Monday, April 28, 7 pm

On May 12, 2025, preeminent American composer John Adams returns to the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the company premiere of his latest opera, Antony and Cleopatra—a glorious adaptation of Shakespeare’s immortal drama. Groundbreaking director Elkhanah Pulitzer brings a new production to the Met stage, transporting the story of troubled romance and political strife from ancient Rome to the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s. Ahead of this historic premiere, Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with the creative team, and members of the cast will perform highlights from the score.

Spring 2025 Opera Series made possible by Eugene and Jean Stark.

Vail Dance Festival

Sunday, May 4, 7 pm

Every summer, leading and rising choreographers, composers, companies, dancers, and musicians all come together at the Vail Dance Festival in Colorado. Directed by Damian Woetzel, the festival features a mosaic of offerings, including NOW: Premieres, an evening of new works; an expansive roster of international stars and emerging talents taking on new artistic challenges; and the UpClose series, exploring aspects of dance in a rehearsal style format. The festival also spotlights community initiatives such as Celebrate The Beat, a free dance education program for local children affiliated with the National Dance Institute. Join Woetzel as he moderates a program that blends performance highlights danced by festival artists, with behind-the-scenes insights into what goes into creating the festival each year.

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

Works & Process at National Sawdust

80 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Custom of the Coast by Kamala Sankaram and Paul Muldoon

Sunday, February 9, 4 pm

Don’t miss this first look at a new opera intercutting the life stories of an eighteenth-century Irish pirate who was sentenced to death and an Indian-born, Irish dentist who died in 2012 after being denied an abortion. Composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Paul Muldoon will participate in a moderated discussion. Prior to world premiere at the 2025 Kilkenny Arts Festival, excerpts will be performed as the culmination of a workshop that was part of the production’s residency at Potash Hill and sponsored by Works & Process LaunchPAD and Experiments in Opera.

Works & Process at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division

40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023

Free, RSVP required

Lite Feet with Chrybaby Cozie

Thursday, May 15, 6 pm

Join pioneers of Harlem Lite Feet to hear directly from them the stories of how this New York City dance tradition and culture was created and how it has grown. Members of Bomb Squad under the tutelage of Chrybaby Cozie perform highlights.

Works & Process Artists-in-Residence

Works & Process Artists-in-Residence are provided with longitudinal support for their creative process, including commissions, iterative presentations, and fully funded LaunchPAD creative residencies, across a network now spanning Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies include industry-leading fees of $1,050 per artist per week, transportation, health insurance enrollment access, 24/7 studio availability, and on-site housing. These residencies culminate in public events with local communities. Culminating performances in New York City provide artists with fees of $400 per performance.

ArtYard

LayeRhythm

Jan 2–11

Bethany Arts Community

MasterZ at Work Dance Family

Jan 2–9

Bridge Street Theatre

KR3TS (Keep Rising to the Top) with Violeta Galagarza

Jan 2–9

THE DRAMA by Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob

Jan 9–12

Catskill Mountain Foundation

Princess Lockerooo

Jan 6–11

Passionfruit Dance Company: Dimensions

Mar 25–29

The Scattering by Emily Coates

Mar 31–Apr 6

The Church

The Scattering by Emily Coates

Jan 2–9

Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence

Music From The Sole

Jan 5–10

Potash Hill

Custom of the Coast by Kamala Sankaram and Paul Muldoon

Never Alone by Andy Blankenbuehler

Lite Feet with Chrybaby Cozie

Williamstown Theatre Festival: Jeremy O. Harris’s New Work

Feb 1–8

Watermill Center

Djapo by Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles

Jan 5–11

Additional Partners

Chautauqua Institution

Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

Millay Arts

Modern Accord Depot

NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts

The Pocantico Center

The Yard

Works & Process Commissions on Tour

Music From The Sole: I Didn’t Come to Stay

Jan 25: Newman Center

Jan 30: Seattle Theatre Group

Ladies of Hip-Hop: Black Dancing Bodies Project: “SpeakMyMind”

Apr 4: Marcus Performing Arts Center

Apr 10: Omaha Performing Arts

THE DRAMA by Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob

Feb 15 and 16: DANCECleveland

Works & Process Lead Donors

Lead funding provided by Adam and Abigail Flatto, Ford Foundation, Bart Friedman and Wendy Stein, Howard Gilman Foundation, Christian Humann Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Stephen Kroll Reidy, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Caroline M. Sharp, The Evelyn Sharp Foundation, Eugene and Jean Stark, and Anonymous.

Additional support provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Jeff and Susan Campbell, Cate Caruso, Stuart H. Coleman and Meryl Rosofsky, Duke Dang and Charles E. Rosen, Lucy and Philip Dobrin, Elizabeth Sharp Edens and Wes Edens, The Fanwood Foundation, Agnes Gund, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Denise and Andrew Saul, Randall Sharp, and the Simian Foundation.

Works & Process is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 Artists-in-Residence are provided with commissions and made-to-measure LaunchPAD 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 fifteen residency partners across MA, NJ, NY, and VT.

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

Stay connected: @worksandprocess