Works & Process to present Underground Uptown Dance Festival at Guggenheim

Works & Process will present the Underground Uptown Dance Festival, a multi-day celebration of commissioned dance works, Jan. 9–13, 2026, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan.

Part of JanArtsNYC, the annual citywide performing arts initiative, the festival will feature one-night-only programs in the Guggenheim’s theater and Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda, bringing together street, social, and club dance traditions alongside ballet, contemporary, and modern forms. Performances will be followed by artist discussions and, on select evenings, participatory rotunda dance parties. Complimentary wine will be offered during post-performance gatherings.

The festival highlights new and in-development works supported through fully funded Works & Process creative residencies. Styles represented throughout the week span Afrobeat, ballet, ballroom and ball culture, contemporary, freestyle, Harlem Lite Feet, hip-hop, house, improv, mambo, modern, popping, salsa, street jazz, vogue, West African dance, and New York City underground club culture.

“Works & Process Uptown Underground Dance Festival” is a proud partner of JanArtsNYC, presented by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the APAP|NYC Conference. Pat Swinney Kaufman, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, said the festival continues JanArtsNYC’s mission of positioning January as “Performing Arts Month” in New York City by showcasing world-class performances and new works.

The festival opens Jan. 9 with a choreographic portrait of ballroom legend Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington, featuring MasterZ at Work Dance Family and Parsons Dance, including the premiere of new co-commissioned works and a MasterZ Ball rotunda dance party. Subsequent programs feature artists and companies including Chrybaby Cozie, New Jersey Ballet, Adesola Osakalumi, Omari Wiles and Les Ballet Afrik, Baye & Asa, Sun Kim Dance Theatre, Sekou McMiller & Friends, Johnny Gandelsman with leading choreographers, and BOCA TUYA led by Omar Román de Jesús.

Each evening emphasizes the Works & Process mission of connecting artists and audiences through both performance and dialogue, encouraging participation, community building, and exploration beyond the traditional proscenium.

All performances take place at the Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. The festival runs January 9–13, 2026.

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