The LayeRhythm Experiment & Guests

“[LayeRhythm is a] brew of partying and performing that unfolds as a series of interactive sessions in which suggestions from the crowd beget songs and steps. Imagine an improv comedy show where dancing, not laughs, is the currency. Then imagine a musicians’ jam session where the band is compelled to keep the dancers’ pace instead of the other way around. [...] what’s distinct about LayeRhythm is the way it bridges the two groups with crowd participation.” — The New York Times

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Online programs:
An access link will be emailed to you after purchase

In-person programs:

Adults and children age 12+ must show proof of vaccination upon arrival at 92Y

Masks must be worn by everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status.

Thank you for doing your part in helping to keep everyone in our community safe.

Tickets from $20
Buttenwieser Hall

LayeRhythm

Since 2015, LayeRhythm has been presenting jam sessions – where musicians, dancers and vocalists contribute to NYC’s vibrant street and club dance cultures …

LayeRhythm

Since 2015, LayeRhythm has been presenting jam sessions – where musicians, dancers and vocalists contribute to NYC’s vibrant street and club dance cultures. These sessions of artistic expression have been transforming individuals’ relationship to music/dance while providing entertainment, building community, educating audiences in cultural history, and supporting emotional and social well-being.

New York City is known as the creative and artistic mecca of the world. It is the birthplace of hip hop and other music and dance genres (house dance, litefeet, flexn...) rooted in Black and LatinX cultural heritage. It’s where individuals go to learn, create and emulate in order to persevere. Imagine the magic that could be made when the benefits of music, dance, and improvisation are all combined in a city filled with magnetic energy; when an audience can not only view but be an active participant; when an artist can express their creativity and relay their artistic background.

Through natural and intentional evolution, in 2019 The LayeRhythm Experiment (TLE) was formed as a collective of musicians, emcees and street/club dancers, performing at 92Y, Jacob’s Pillow, for Purdue University (online) and Bridge Street Theater (online).

Built on improvisation and guided by principles of creativity, collaboration and playfulness, TLE’s cutting-edge productions combine freestyle dance with live music on a theatrical platform, interwoven with audience interaction, captivating both young and old, theatre and club goers.

We find that connection, community and growth are needed more than ever.

LPI is uniquely positioned to shake lives by deepening improvisation-based performance exchanges between musicians and dancers. LPI is committed to augmenting performance art’s historical footprint in societal evolution and to supply a source of emotional, physical and mental health for its audience and artists.

Mai Lê Hô

Mai Lê is a French-Vietnamese street/club dance performer, choreographer, educator, coach, dj, curator …

Mai Lê Hô

Mai Lê is a French-Vietnamese street/club dance performer, choreographer, educator, coach, dj, curator, and the Founder and Artistic Director of LayeRhythm Productions INC (LPI), a NYC-based non-profit organization designing and providing performance & educational opportunities to freestyle voices in dance & music.

In 2015, Mai Lê founded LayeRhythm, a cutting¬ edge jam session that creatively layers live musicians & vocalists with freestyle dancers (flexN, litefeet, house dance, Detroit jit, locking...) “to increase connectedness by turning dance into play”, devoting years to thoughtfully devise and curate risk-taking & trend-setting events, and giving spotlight to dozens of dancers not otherwise recognized in the traditional dance performance field. Since 2019, Mai Lê has been taking the project from its club roots to the stage with The LayeRhythm Experiment dance/music, co-creating unique live performances in partnership with audiences at 92Y, Jacob’s Pillow, Purdue University (online) and offering educational programs for aspiring freestyle artists.

In 2021, Mai Lê was selected to be artist-in-residence at Bridge Street Theater, virtual artist-in-residence with Asian American Arts Alliance, and movement curator for Asian Cultural Council’s East West Fest, exploring how her cultural roots inform & interact with her artistic and social endeavors.

As a core dancer in the pioneering street dance theater company Rennie Harris PureMovement since 2013, Mai Lê was featured in notable works such as Nuttin But A Word (2016) and Caravan: A Revolution On The Road (2018) in collaboration with trumpeter Terence Blanchard. She had the opportunity to dance at the Kennedy Center along with Esperanza Spalding, LA Music Center with Black Violin, Dallas Majestic Theater, NY City Center, and more than 50 additional venues where she fortified her singular stage identity & presence over the years.

As a lead dancer in the fast-blooming Passion Fruit Dance Company (PFDC), Mai Lê has performed at the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, New Victory Theater, Dance Place DC, BAAD!, Montréal Arts Interculturels, Harlem Stage among other venues, and co-facilitated in-person and online social justice & dance international educational programs, playing an integral role in the company’s success since its inception in 2016.

As a dance educator, Mai Lê has taught house dance workshops in Brazil, Vietnam, Japan, DRC, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and throughout the US, and has held weekly classes at EXPG NYC for over 5 years, sharing the contagious love for House she inherited from her first teacher, the late Ousmane “Baba” Sy, and countless NYC club heads and pioneers such as Dance Fusion.

From 2017 to 2019, Mai Lê was the Program Director of It’s Showtime NYC! (IST), a City-funded, freshly-created program that celebrates NYC street culture and provides performance and professional development opportunities to street and subway dancers. During this time, Mai Lê accompanied dancers’ growth as they went from street performing bi-monthly at Battery Park to being selected as first street dance resident artists at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and being invited to perform at The Shed, Harlem Stage, Jacob’s Pillow, Crossing the Line Festival, Madison Square Park, Bronx Museum of the Arts, River to River festival, Times Square, Weeksville Heritage Center, and participating in cultural exchanges at La Place - centre culturel hip-hop, Centre National de la Danse (Paris) and in Rio de Janeiro for Ocupação Desmistifique festival. In 2020, the ensemble of ambitious dancers received an Outstanding NY Dance And Performance (Bessie) Award For Outstanding “Breakout” Choreographer.

Photo Credit: Lauriane Ogay

Tatiana Desardouin

Of Haitian origin, born and raised in Switzerland, Tatiana is a professional dancer, dance instructor, dance consultant, choreographer …

Tatiana Desardouin

Of Haitian origin, born and raised in Switzerland, Tatiana is a professional dancer, dance instructor, dance consultant, choreographer, organizer, curator, culture bearer with a Master degree as adult educator (University of Geneva). Tatiana won several competitions and is regularly invited to give workshops and judge competitions worldwide.

Very involved in the growth of the swiss hip-hop scene, she has been teaching and mentoring since 2005, had her own dance school “Le Centre Hip-Hop,” taught regular classes in several dance schools (such as “CFP Arts,” an important arts school in Geneva), and stays involved in the swiss community through JAIA & FlowFocus (a non-profit organization providing sessions, parties, workshops and a battle). In 2012, she was one of the four founders of the first Hip-Hop dance company in Geneva called “Continuum.”

She is the director and choreographer of “Passion Fruit Dance Company” a street dance theater and educational company, which she founded in 2016. The company’s mission is to explore the human experience, address social issues such as racism, and strive to inspire young artists to share their voices, through her performances, her teaching programs (designed to provide tools to heal, to release, to build confidence or to educate on the racial issue, providing anti-racist tools) called “Passion Fruit Seeds,” and a multisensory experience within a cultural party called “Les 5 Sens.” She performed with her company in places such as at The Apollo Theater, Summerstage, Jacob’s pillow, the New Victory Theater, BAAD!, LOHH, Joe’s Pub, 92Y, and abroad ( Canada ( MTL) and Switzerland). They also did a commercial for Credo Beauty.

Tatiana was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 2020 “25 to Watch.”

She had the chance to perform at the Madison Square garden and the Wells Fargo Center for the rock band Arcade Fire, in Electrogynous by Sabela Grimes performed at the University of Columbia, in Where Love lies follow a play written by Nichi Douglas performed at the Martin E. Segal Theater for the “Prelude” festival (NYC) and at the Public Theater “Under the Radar” festival (NYC). Tatiana had the opportunity to be Nichi Douglas’s dance consultant for the premiere of that play at The Shed.

Tatiana is one of the core dancer of the pioneering street dance theater company Rennie Harris Puremovement since 2016, performing throughout the United States. She is also part of the Nefer Global Movement collective since 2018, a core member of LayeRhythm Experiment Company since 2019, performing at 92Y, Jacob’s Pillow, Purdue University (online), Bridge Street Theater (online). Since 2021 she is part of the Black Dancing Bodies project with whom she recently did the “Works & Process bubble residency” performing at the New York Library.

Amongst other styles, Tatiana specializes in Hip-Hop and Housedance.

IG: @passionfruitdanceco / @tatianadesardouin

Photo credit: Lauriane Ogay