VIDEO: Watch Works & Process at Catskill Mountain Foundation with Omari Wiles and Les Ballet Afrik

Go into the Works & Process bubble residency with Omari Wiles and Les Ballet Afrik at Catskill Mountain Foundation and learn about the creative process of "Take Me Back" from "New York Is Burning."

Since its release in 1990, the documentary "Paris Is Burning" has received critical acclaim for its depiction of the New York drag ball scene and of voguing as a powerful expression of personal pride in the face of racism, homophobia, and the stigma of the AIDS crisis. To honor the film's thirtieth anniversary, Works & Process commissioned Omari Wiles, founding father of the House of Oricci and a legend within the ballroom community, to produce "New York Is Burning." With its premiere at the Guggenheim postponed due to the pandemic, the project was supported with a summer 2020 Works & Process bubble residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, where Wiles continued to develop the commission for his company, Les Ballet Afrik. That residency culminated in a filmed performance at Lincoln Center, serving as an affirmation of love, acceptance, and joy.

Just as "Paris Is Burning" did for New York in 1980s, New York Is Burning reflects the aspirations, desires, and yearnings of a diverse group of dancers in a city beset by health, race, and financial crises. Wiles's new work centers on the dancers for whom the dance company serves as a surrogate family including Kya Azeen, Eva Bust A' Move, Algin "DJ Align" Ford, Alora Martinez, Shireen Rahimi, Milerka Rodriguez, Karma Stylz, Yuki Sukezane, Craig Washington, and Yuhee Yang. In preparation for its official premiere, "New York Is Burning" received a second bubble residency. When it premieres, the piece will bring ballroom to the Guggenheim in a work featuring Wiles's AfrikFusion, a style that combines traditional African dances and Afrobeat with house dance and vogue.

The bubble residency followed COVID-19 safety protocols and medical counsel, including testing artists before they isolated together for two weeks to create the work, culminating in a live, in-person performance in the Guggenheim rotunda on May 4, 2021. Behind the scenes filmed at Catskill Mountain Foundation on May 3, 2021.

Works & Process bubble residencies and Works & Process reopening performances are made possible through the generosity of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Stephen Kroll Reidy.

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