New York Live Arts Presents YACKEZ

Yackez, the art pop/multimedia collaboration of Larissa and Jon Velez-Jackson, aka Twitta and Papi Jon, will work the crowd again in their latest dance spectacle, Give It To You Stage, a large-scale dance musical in two acts. The performance of all original music written and performed by the duo also features their Queer pro-wrestling dance ensemble and a special appearance by older adult members of Larissa's citywide dance-fitness classes, creating a multi-generational interdisciplinary spectacle. Commissioned by New York Live Arts and presented through its Live Feed creative residency program, the performances will take place March 29-April 1, 2017, at 7:30pm at New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street, NYC. For tickets and information, call 212 924 0077 or visit newyorklivearts.

Give It To You Stage tells the story of Larissa and Jon's struggles while trying to make it as artists in New York, from piecing together finances for their shows to tackling difficult decisions about expanding their family. Larissa brings in a chorus of older adult dancers from her fitness teaching day job, while Jon adds elements from his strange obsession with professional wrestling. Their large cast also serves as a defiant celebration of diversity in these trying times of political and social turmoil. The show redefines family friendly entertainment, thanks in part to the presence of YackMan, the group's confused yet sweet mascot.

Jon Velez-Jackson is a songwriter, journalist, and the band wrestling coach. Larissa Velez-Jackson is a NYC-based choreographer and multi-platform artist. She was recently nominated for a 2016 New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" award for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer. Yackez often performs with their beloved mascot YackMan and their wrestling post-modernist dance ensemble The Yackez Dancers (Tyler Ashley, Laurie Berg, Lillie De, Sarah Holcman, Antonio Ramos, and Ashley R. T. Yergens).

Give It To You Stage is supported by New York Live Arts Live Feed program, which is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional residencies for the development of Give It To You Stage are provided by the Watershed Lab residency at Mount Tremper Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Process Space residency, Gibney Dance Center DIP residency and CUNY Queens College Drama Theater and Dance department in partnership with New York Live Arts and funds from Larissa Velez-Jackson's Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award (2016).

NEW YORK LIVE ARTS
Located in the heart of Chelsea in New York City, New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times.

At the center of its identity is Artistic Director Bill T. Jones, world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and is the company's sole producer, providing support and the environment to originate innovative and challenging new work. New York Live Arts produces and presents dance, music and theater performances in its 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts offers an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists and commissions.

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by Con Edison, the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Harnisch Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bancorp, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Performance Network, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the O'Donnell- Green Music and Dance Foundation, the Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Wege Foundation. Public support for New York Live Arts is from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural A airs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

PERFORMANCE VENUE AND DATES
NEW YORK LIVE ARTS
March 29-April 1, 2017 at 7:30PM
219 West 19th Street, NYC (btw. 7th and 8th Avenue)
Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at 212 924 0077
or online at newyorklivearts.org

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