News: Virtual Vogue Dance Class with Ballroom Legend Omari Wiles April 24

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, will present a virtual Vogue Dance Class with Ballroom Legend Omari Wiles on Friday, April 24, 2020 at 6:30pm. Details are available here.

In 1990, the documentary Paris Is Burning was released to critical acclaim. The film chronicled New York City Drag Balls, Ball culture, and Voguing in the 1980s, capturing the elaborately structured Ball competitions and showcasing rival houses. Beyond the Ballroom, each house served as surrogate families for young Ball-walkers who faced rejection from their biological families for their gender expression and sexual orientation. The Voguing that took place at these Balls has entered mainstream culture in the years since, serving as a touch point for a multi-leveled exploration of a queer African-American and Latino subculture.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary and to pay homage to Paris Is Burning, in the fall, Omari Wiles, founding father of the House of Oricci, will present the premiere New York Is Burning, a Works & Process commission made in and for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater at the Guggenheim. Performed by his company, Les Ballet Afrik, New York Is Burning will bring the Ballroom to the Guggenheim and feature Wiles's AfrikFusion, a style that fuses traditional African dances and Afrobeat styles with House dance and Vogue.

Ahead of the fall premiere of  New York Is Burning, Wiles will teach a virtual introduction to vogue dance class. Get ready to sweat and work!

The class will held be on Instagram Live (@worksandprocess). Participants should have access to a computer or phone. Participants must have an Instagram account.

To learn more about Ball culture, watch the documentary Paris Is Burning.

For more information, email info@worksandprocess.org or visit worksandprocess.org.

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