UNDERSCORED, premieres on November 13, 7:30pm, at the Guggenheim Museum.

Commissioned by Works & Process, UNDERSCORED is a multi-faceted project that acts as a living archive of five generations of NYC club dancers. Rooted in the intergenerational stories and memories of NYC underground club heads, UNDERSCORED was created in collaboration with legendary elders from the underground dance community such as Archie Burnett, Michele Saunders, and Brahms “Bravo” LaFortune and Ephrat Asherie Dance company members Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Manon Bal, Ron “Stealth-1” Chunn Jr., Teena Marie Custer, Val “Ms. Vee” Ho, and Matthew “Megawatt” West. The performers, ranging in age from 27 to 79, share lived experiences, stories, and vibes from seminal underground parties, including David Mancuso’s the Loft, Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage and Timmy Regisford’s Shelter. Featuring costumes by David Dalrymple and building on the intergenerational transference of knowledge and culturally reflective movement that happens night after night on dance floors across the city, UNDERSCORED explores the ever-changing physical and musical landscape of New York City’s underground dance community.

In conjunction with the premiere of Ephrat Asherie Dance’s UnderScored, club legend and ambassador of NYC underground dance culture, Archie Burnett shares his stories in a conversation with Ephrat Asherie. A world-renowned club legend, Archie has graced dance floors across NYC and the globe for over four decades. As overall Grandfather of the iconic House of Ninja, Archie is responsible for introducing Vogue culture and being the catalyst for burgeoning ballroom communities in Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, to name a few. Catch one of his Whacking or Vogue classes and your mind will be blown. A glorious and magnanimous presence in any and every room, Archie will tell it to you like it is, “Come, experience, get some and get lit.

Our company will perform an excerpt of our work, UNDERSCORED, at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts.

Created and performed by members of the company with special guest artists from New York City’s underground scene, Asherie’s newest work is inspired by the intergenerational memories of club dancers. EAD invites audiences to join them on an exhilarating journey through the ever-changing physical landscape of New York City’s underground dance community.

Earlier this month, I had a week-long teaching residency in Baltimore, MD, where I taught classes for Baltimore City Community College and Townsend University. On my final day, I had the pleasure of teaching over 100 high school students from Baltimore county.