Dance in the New Year at the second annual Dance Out East. Be the first to experience three new Works & Process dance projects on Long Island’s East End at The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. See the culmination of week-long creative residencies, gain unique insight into the process and preparation of new choreographed works that will sequence into the Works & Process events at Guggenheim New York.

Event Tickets $25
Visit: www.danceouteast.org

Saturday, January 10, 2 pm
The Church in Sag Harbor with Works & Process
The Lineage Project by Kristine Bendul & Abdiel
https://www.thechurchsagharbor.org/event-calendar/dance-out-east-kristine-bendul-abdiel

Dance powerhouses Kristine Bendul & Abdiel are known for their work in Broadway and off-Broadway musical theatre productions, ballet and modern concert dance, and their gender-neutral approach to ballroom partnering, which equally exchanges roles of lead and follow, with both in heels! During a weeklong Works & Process residency at The Church in Sag Harbor, Ron De Jesús will choreograph a new piece for Kristine and Abdiel, blending Adagio partnering with contemporary movement. De Jesús, who had an extensive career with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Twlya Tharp, has been recognized for his work across concert dance and musical theatre. Set to “Black Cream” by The Harold Wheeler Consort (1975), this new duet reimagines classic Adagio patterns through a modern lens—honoring the form’s history while exploring new lifts, transitions, and expressive possibilities.

Join us for a “first look” at what they’ve created together during the residency, followed by a conversation with the artists.

Saturday, January 10, 7 pm
Guild Hall of East Hampton with Works & Process
Naomi Funaki: Ikigai*
Tino & Rajika Puri Creative Residency
https://www.guildhall.org/events/dance-out-east-naomi-funaki-ikagi/

Recognized as a 2023 Princess Grace Award recipient in dance, a 2024 Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” 92NY Artist-in-Residence and 2025 Asian American Jadin Wong Fellow, tap dance artist Naomi Funaki shares an in-process presentation of a new evening-length work, Ikigai. Reflecting on the 2011 Tohoku earthquake & tsunami, Fukushima nuclear disaster, and personal experience, Funaki blends rhythm, live music, and narrative to explore resilience, memory, and connection.

This in-process presentation is a culmination of Funaki’s weeklong Works & Process Tino and Rajika Puri creative residency at Guild Hall. Consisting of both performance and conversation, the evening offers audiences an intimate glimpse into the work’s development and the ideas shaping its evolution prior to its March 8th premiere with Works & Process at Guggenheim New York as part of the Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival.

Ikigai was commissioned and created, in part, with the support of Works & Process Residency Tino & Rajika Puri Creative Residency and The Joyce Theater Foundation’s Creative Residencies Program made possible by lead funding from TD Charitable Foundation. Additional support provided through residencies at 92NY, CUNY Dance Initiative at Hunter College, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and an Asian American Arts Alliance Jadin Wong Fellowship.

Sunday, January 11, 2 pm
The Watermill Center with Works & Process
Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
In memory of Robert Wilson and Michéle Pesner, both of whom dedicated their lives to the advancement of culture, including dance, on a global and local basis.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dance-out-east-palladium-nights-by-sekou-mcmiller-friends-tickets-1977397966548

The collective known as Sekou McMiller + Friends is led by the esteemed choreographer, Sekou McMiller, and comprises a talented ensemble of seasoned professional dancers, musicians, composers, and club/street performers. Palladium Nights is a new evening-length choreographic work that explores the cultural legacy and artistic impact of New York’s historic Palladium Ballroom (1940s–60s), a vibrant site of exchange where Afro-Latin and African American communities helped shape what we now recognize as Salsa/Mambo dance. More than a nightclub, the Palladium was an incubator of innovation, identity and social movement. This work honors that history while engaging its ongoing influence on contemporary dance and culture.