New York, N.Y. welcomes the New Year with a vibrant dance experience as three new performances are set to kick off. These commissioned works by Works & Process will be showcased at The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. It's an inaugural event that culminates week-long creative residencies and offers a unique insight into the process of new choreographed works.

Uncover the Magic of Dance on Long Island's East End

Dance Out East: The Scattering by Emily Coates

At The Church in Sag Harbor with Works & Process at the Guggenheim, dancer and choreographer Emily Coates presents a new performance project. It sources George Balanchine's brief history beyond the metropolis, reflecting on how a choreographer's body and spirit scatters and lives on in unexpected places. Coates, a former member of New York City Ballet, collaborates with Ain Gordon (direction and dramaturgy), Derek Lucci (performer), Charles Burnham (musician-composer), and Melvin Chen (pianist). They collage misplaced and overlooked archival traces and transmissions of Balanchine and related artists into a new whole. The poignancy of her residency at The Church responds to the art center's embrace of Balanchine's history, with a likeness of the famed choreographer on the building's windows.

This iterative presentation culminates a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at The Church (2025), where George Balanchine's grave is located. The project also continues with a residency at the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, New York, where Jacques d'Amboise lived for seven decades. Additional developmental support comes from Jacob's Pillow, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, and the New England Foundation for the Arts Dance Fund.

Dance Out East: Music From The Sole's House Is Open, Going Dark (working title)

At Guild Hall of East Hampton with Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Music From The Sole blurs the line between concert, dance, and music performance. Co-founders composer and bassist Gregory Richardson and Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval draw from Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban styles. After multiple residencies through the Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artists-in-Residence program and the opening of the newly renovated Hillarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater, a preview of their newest work, House Is Open, Going Dark*, is presented, culminating the company's technical residency at Guild Hall.

Co-commissioned by Works & Process, this new work has been developed in a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2024) and Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence (2023 and 2025). It is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Works & Process, the Joyce Theater Foundation, The Yard, Guild Hall, Dance Place, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and NPN. Additional support is provided by the Harkness Dance Foundation, a 2023 Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency at Dance Place, and a 2024 Pillow Lab.

Dance Out East: Djapo by Marie Basse Wiles and Omari Wiles

At The Watermill Center with Works & Process at the Guggenheim, West African dance cultural icon Marie Basse-Wiles and her son, Ballroom Icon Omari Wiles (CATS: The Jellicle Ball), co-create Djapo. It brings together dancers from the Maimouna Keita School of African Dance (MKSAD), founded by Basse-Wiles, and Les Ballet Afrik, founded by Wiles. MKSAD has brought together the African diaspora for 32 years in an annual conference, and Basse-Wiles has trained generations of renowned artists whose impact resonates worldwide. Her son Omari Wiles has followed in her footsteps while creating AfrikFusion informed by Afro Club Culture, Vogue, and West African dance.

Djapo is commissioned by Works & Process and has received LaunchPAD residency support at Bethany Arts Community (2024) and The Watermill Center (2025). It is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.

DANCE OUT EAST celebrates dance on the East End of Long Island, building partnerships to support artists and their creative process. The inaugural 2025 Dance Out East is a collaboration with Works & Process and partners like The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center.

WORKS & PROCESS is a non-profit performing arts organization that champions performing artists and their creative process. It provides rare, longitudinal, and fully-funded creative residencies and commissioning support. Works & Process presents at the Guggenheim Museum and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Each summer, it curates and presents free dance programs. Works & Process LaunchPAD "Process as Destination" offers multi-week residencies with various benefits to artists.

THE CHURCH was established in 2019 by artists Eric Fischl and April Gornik. Housed in a deconsecrated 19th-century church, it fosters creativity and honors Sag Harbor's artistic history. Core programming includes visual art exhibitions, concerts, educational programs, and more.

GUILD HALL of East Hampton is the cultural heart of the East End, a museum, performing arts, and education center. It presents over 200 programs and hosts 60,000 visitors each year. The museum holds exhibitions, and the theater produces various programs. It also supports the next generation of artists.

THE WATERMILL CENTER, founded in 1992 by Robert Wilson, is an interdisciplinary arts and humanities laboratory. It offers artist residencies and education programs, providing a creative space. Its facilities enable artists to integrate different resources into their practice, and it demystifies the artistic process through public programs.

For additional information:Michelle TabnickPublicist646 765 4773michelle@michelletabnickpr.com