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THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: “Gather Round” Collaborators about Free Street and Club Dance at Manhattan West Plaza
By Theo Boguszewski
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Published on September 16, 2024
"Gather Round" at Manhattan West Plaza. Photo: Sean Cheescake
Interviews with Courtney Whitelocke from Brookfield Properties, Duke Dang from Works & Process, and Princess Lockerooo, Queen of Waacking
NYC is arguably one of the great cultural capitals of the world, thanks in large part to the easy accessibility of free public programming. From street performers to free outdoor concerts, there’s live music and dance to be found around every corner. “Gather Round,” which comes to Manhattan West Plaza this month, lends a more formal setting to street and club dance, while preserving the spontaneous nature of the art forms.
On Wednesdays in September from 4:30 - 6:30 PM, New Yorkers are invited to witness as breakers compete in Behind The Groove with Kwikstep and Rokafella, members of the Ballroom community vogue in the Gather Round Kiki Ball, Waack dancers contend as part of the Fabulous Waacking Festival Fall Edition with Princess Lockerooo, and NYC’s top beatboxers spar during The Beatbox House.
The production is curated by Works & Process, and was previously commissioned for and presented in the Guggenheim Museum’s rotunda. The Dance Enthusiast’s Theo Boguszewski spoke with Courtney Whitelocke, Vice President of Arts & Events from Brookfield Properties’ Arts & Culture Team, Works & Process Executive Director Duke Dang, and “Gather Round” artist Princess Lockeroo about the role they each played in the development and execution of this exciting series.
Schedule of free presentations: CLICK HERE
Theo Boguszewski for The Dance Enthusiast: What is the history of Manhattan West? What other public spaces does Brookfield present art in around NYC?
Courtney Whitelocke, Vice President of Arts & Events for Brookfield Properties: Manhattan West is an 8-acre mixed-use neighborhood that spans 31st to 33rd Streets and 9th to 10th Avenues. The campus includes three major office towers (One, Two, and Five Manhattan West), a mixed-income residential tower, the Pendry Manhattan West hotel, and dozens of restaurants, bars, cafes + shops. At the center of the campus is a 2.5-acre public pedestrian plaza, known as Manhattan West Plaza, which hosts year-round free public arts and events programming.
Manhattan West is a project nearly 40 years in the making and is almost entirely built atoprailroad tracks that travel in/out of Penn and Moynihan Station. Brookfield constructed a platform to cover the tracks, in essence creating new land upon which to create a new neighborhood in NYC. You can find a comprehensive summary of the project and its history HERE.
Aside from Manhattan West, Brookfield Properties Arts & Culture animates the public spaces of multiple properties across NYC with free, world-class events programming. We have recently presented programming at Brooklyn Commons, One New York Plaza, One Liberty Plaza, and the Grace Building.
What was the origin of the partnership between Works & Process and Brookfield’s Manhattan West Plaza? How will the artists utilize the unique space?
Duke Dang of Works & Process: This partnership formed between Works & Process and Manhattan West right after the pandemic; I was attending the APAP conference, and I ran into Ariana Hellerman (of Brookfield Arts & Culture) and she said, “You know, Brookfield is opening Manhattan West, and maybe we could work together. It's outdoor space. Do you have any ideas?” And right there in Manhattan West is this circular plaza. And we're like, wait, we've already commissioned and presented all these works made for the circular rotunda of the Guggenheim. Wouldn't it be great to present these projects in the circular plaza at Manhattan West and continue to longitudinally support these artists that we've been championing and supporting in these fully funded residencies? The first Gather Round was last July, every Wednesday, and we were celebrating hip hop. This year's theme is about street dance and battle culture.
Princess Lockerooo: This will be my first time performing at Manhattan West, though I’ve done several outdoor festivals in New York, such as SummerStage, Lincoln Center’s Summer For The City and the Orchid Evenings at the New York Botanical Garden. What’s unique about Manhattan West is its location — it’s right in the heart of the busy city. My hope is that everyone who walks by won’t be able to resist stopping to witness the beauty and magic of Waacking. New York can be a stressful place to live and work, but we plan to bring joy and light to the entire plaza, brightening people’s day.
Are there any particular audiences you hope to reach with this show?
DD: When you're at Manhattan West, it's an outdoor space, it's pedestrian. So there's always this element of chance. We deliberately programmed it from 4:30 to 7 PM, because that's when people get out of work, and Manhattan West is at the entrance of the Moynihan Train Hall. And in the past year, the spur of the Highline has now opened onto the Manhattan West Plaza. The hope is to bring in this amalgamation of New York City. You have the corporate worker in the high rise. You have a commuter that needs to get to the train. There's a Whole Foods there, so somebody might be going to the grocery store. It's a beautiful plaza that has seating and chairs and trees, and people are just hanging out.
CW: When programming events for a property, a variety of different factors are considered – including surveyed tenant interests and pop-culture trends. Brookfield Properties Arts & Culture carefully curates a variety of artistic disciplines to appeal to tenants, residents, and community members so that there is something for all to enjoy.
PL: Waacking has its roots in the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities, so I always strive to connect with and reach those audiences. My goal is to return this dance form to the communities from which it came, as much of its history has been lost or forgotten. Beyond that, I hope to reach anyone who needs a little happiness in their life — people who could benefit from the joy and empowerment that Waacking brings.
How did you select the choreographers and dancers for this series? Can you share more about the artists involved and what they bring to the performances?
DD: We have a long history of working with many of these artists. Coming up this week is “Gather Round Kiki Ball,” organized by Hype Kitty. We initially met Omari Wiles because we commissioned a piece from him called “New York is Burning,” which was supposed to premiere on the 40th anniversary of Paris is Burning (but got delayed because of the pandemic). And through Omari, we met Courtney Balenciaga Washington, another dance maker from the ball community that we have supported over the past four years. Courtney is an incredible black trans femme artiste. And we also met Hype Kitty, who is an incredible organizer and a leader in the community. It was very natural to bring ball into the series; it’s a New York tradition. And it's about celebrating ball culture, but it’s also a battle, it is competitive.
And then the following week — Princess Lockeroo; we’ve been working with Princess Lockaroo for the last four years. Waacking is also a battle oriented tradition, and we felt that it dovetailed beautifully into this series that we were planning. And we’ve been supporting the Beatbox House since 2018. This year they're going to be organizing the US Beatbox Championships, in November in Pittsburgh.
This year's theme is about street dance and battle culture. And part of this is recognizing that battling is innately part of these cultures. Sometimes it's frowned upon in this high/ low art paradigm that some people still exist in. But I'm like, if you go to ABT or City Ballet or any modern dance company, there still are auditions. And auditions are battles, they’re competitions. I was thinking about what was going to be in the zeitgeist at this time that was allocated to us, which is September. And it was like, of course, like, we're going to be on the heels of the Olympics. And breaking was making its debut as an event, so why not celebrate this?
According to the press release, many elements of “Gather Round” will have an audience participation portion. Can you share a little more about what you have planned for the Fabulous Waacking Festival Fall Edition?
PL: The audience interaction will be fun and empowering. We’ll be paying homage to Soul Train and the song that started it all: "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," by The Temptations. This was the first song that inspired Waacking. All you need to know is that you are fabulous! So, just come with an open mind, an open heart, and let’s have fun together. It’s spontaneous — no need to sign up in advance. Just be ready to join in!
Outside of the performance fee, what kinds of resources were given to the artists that were involved in this series?
DD: All of these artists have received multiple cycles of fully funded Works & Process launchpad residencies. We have been supporting members of the ballroom community in residencies since 2019. Kwikstep and Rokafella were in a residency at Pocantico in Fall of 23, and then we presented them as part of the 2024 Underground Uptown Dance Festival at Lincoln Center, and in the rotunda just a couple months ago. It's longitudinal support, multi year. Our frustration with the ecosystem is oftentimes it works on a yearly cycle. We're not just interested in presenting. Presenting is just the most visible part. I'll use a slow food analogy; what we're presenting is like fair trade or organic, because we have these long-standing relationships with these artists.
The partnership with Manhattan West is very generous. They are coming in with artist fees that are in line with what we have publicly posted on our website. And marketing support, and the space. And also, just including these communities that oftentimes have not been welcomed in these spaces.
And what's great about Ariana and Manhattan West is the openness to shift beyond this paradigm of, "We're going to present something, you're going to perform." Instead it’s, "Why can't we just highlight these traditions as they exist in their communities?" Which is not this Eurocentric, performative notion, it's more about participation and what happens when you gather around in a circle together in community.
And this is the way I describe it; when you go to a birthday or a wedding, the moment the music starts, you know what happens? People get up, they get in a circle, and they dance, it’s such an incredibly joyous experience. So why can't that be part of what we define as the performing arts?
