logo
'Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor' explores 200 years of NYC's dance history

'Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor' explores 200 years of NYC's dance history

Time Out23-04-2025

The foxtrot, lindy hop, salsa, hustle and vogue all have roots in New York City, whether they were born here, shaped here or popularized in the city's clubs. A new exhibit at Museum of the City of New York turns the museum into a dance floor as it digs into the fascinating history and important role of these dances and more.
' Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor ' celebrates 200 years of social dance in New York City. It highlights the city's dance floors as sites for connection, creativity and joyful rebellion. You'll get to see everything from 1800s-era ball gowns to Louis Armstrong's trumpet to Celia Cruz's shoes to Big Daddy Kane's outfits. Plus, digital screens throughout the exhibition offer dance lessons—and it's nearly impossible not to move your body when the music starts. Grab your dancing shoes, and go see it now through February 22, 2026 in East Harlem.
The exhibition is arranged chronologically, starting with ballroom-style dances, moving into ragtime, swinging into the swing era, dancing into mambo and migration, then focusing on the energy of hip-hop and ball culture. Then, 'Urban Stomp' explores how New Yorkers have remixed dance traditions from around the world, such as cumbia, bhangra, Yiddish dances, Indigenous American dances and dabke. Though the exhibit is organized chronologically as to when the dances started, each dance continues to live on, co-curator Derrick León Washington says.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Museum of the City of New York (@museumofcityny)
As a final twist, there's an interactive dance floor where you can choose a record and play music to dance to. Unlike New York City's cabaret law—enacted in 1926 and repealed in 2017—which limited where people could legally dance, this space welcomes everyone to move, watch, record and build community through dance.
'It's a great way to understand New York, a lens to understand New York culture, understand New York history, understand the vibe of New York,' explains Sarah Henry, chief curator and deputy director of the Museum of the City of New York. 'And then New York is a great way to understand the evolution of social dance, how, not only how people create their culture, but also how they forge their identities.'
It may be hard to imagine now, but New Yorkers in the 1800s were dancing at every major event—the arrival of dignitaries, charity galas, private balls and even civic events like the opening of the Erie Canal. 'Anything where New Yorkers were celebrating, just like you'd have a parade, you'd also have a ball,' Henry adds.
By the turn of the 20th century, new rhythms and new kinds of dance started taking hold, with the roots of ragtime and swing, causing a 'moral panic' among those who wanted to police women's behavior in dance halls, she says.
You'll also learn about the Harlem Renaissance, the emergence of Wepa and the power of the cypher. Crystal LaBeija serves as the figurehead for a section about ballroom culture and the genre's associated houses. In the section about hip-hop, you'll get a chance to learn dances like the Bart Simpson and the running man.
The exhibit highlights the dialogue between music and dance, with Benny Goodman's clarinet, Miles Davis' trumpet and artifacts related to Billie Holiday.
There's something for everyone in the show, which Washington called a space of 'fun, excitement, and joy' as well as learning.
'The dance floor is where the promise of New York is embodied.'
'The dance floor is where the promise of New York is embodied. You get to experience other cultures. You get to meet New Yorkers who you wouldn't have met before. You get to have this feeling of joy and collective celebration that is just palpable,' Henry says. 'This chance to come to this show gives every visitor an opportunity to be a part of that. And then we hope that they will take that knowledge and go out and seek some of these incredible dance opportunities.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

You can get free ice cream dispensed from a West Village billboard next week
You can get free ice cream dispensed from a West Village billboard next week

Time Out

time11 hours ago

  • Time Out

You can get free ice cream dispensed from a West Village billboard next week

Nobody loves a freebie like New Yorkers—maybe it's the ridiculous rising rents or the perceived $20 fee every time we step outside, but one thing is for sure: good deals are our lifeblood. And next week, bargain hunters can score free dessert in the West Village. Thanks to Carvel, the ubiquitous New York billboard is getting a sweet overhaul by dispensing freshly churned swirls of vanilla ice cream straight from the advertisement. On Wednesday, June 18, head to 137 Perry Street to see the first-of-its-kind treat-dispensing placard in person. Free sundaes will be served from noon to 7pm, or while supplies last. With summertime scorchers already setting in, this could be a perfect cheap date idea —that is, if you're both OK with waiting in line. If you're an official ' Fudgie Fanatic ' (yes, that's the loyalty program), you can cash in on gratis extras like rainbow sprinkles for your glacé, and exclusive swag such as T-shirts, gift cards, and more. Get there early, though: Only the first 50 super fans are guaranteed to walk away with the extra-special goods. Going to miss this one? Don't cry over melted ice cream: You can still celebrate with BOGO (buy one, get one) free soft-serve sundaes every single Wednesday at Carvel locations nationwide—a running tradition since 1936. Carvel was created back in 1934, when founder Tom Carvel famously carted an ice-cream truck through blazing New York City streets to dole out his 'Original Soft Serve' for the first time. Since then, the brand has become synonymous with summertime treats like hand-dipped ice cream cones and fun frozen cakes. 'For the past 91 years, enjoying Carvel's ice cream treats with friends and family has been a special and memorable part of summer,' Chief Brand Officer Jim Salerno said in a statement. 'This year is no different: We look forward to officially kicking off Ice Cream Season in a playful way because it's not summer without Carvel.'

A Pedro Pascal lookalike contest is coming to the LES, and you could get a free year of burritos if you win
A Pedro Pascal lookalike contest is coming to the LES, and you could get a free year of burritos if you win

Time Out

time2 days ago

  • Time Out

A Pedro Pascal lookalike contest is coming to the LES, and you could get a free year of burritos if you win

Remember the Timothée Chalamet look-alike competition that launched 1,000 ships? It all started late last year with a simple flyer posted around the city: If you look like the Dune actor, show up in Washington Square Park in your best get-up and win $50. What resulted was several hundreds of onlookers crowding the square, armed with cameras and make-shift posters of their phone numbers. But as the real actor made a surprise cameo, this flash-in-the-pan event quickly spurred copycats. Within weeks, more look-alike-contest started to pop off around the city. In November, a handful of blue-eyed and blue-aproned individuals showed up to the same square for a Jeremy Allen White contest, while the Zayn Malik look-alike competition in Bushwick grabbed the attention of more than 500 people. And while the winners receive a buzz of notoriety and a bump of Instagram followers, the top prize is often paltry, $50 here or a free tattoo there (unless you went to the Drake look-a-like competition in Toronto, where the rapper himself gave the winner $10,000). However, this up-and-coming look-alike competition is here to take the cake, er, tortilla: the winner gets a year of free burritos. Even better, the restaurant is calling all New Yorkers who bear a resemblance to the current zaddy of the internet. To celebrate the first anniversary of Son Del North, the Lower East Side restaurant is hosting a look-alike competition searching for twins of the one and only Pedro Pascal. Held on Sunday, June 15th from 12:30pm to 2pm, the resto is inviting the most dashing among us to dress up like the popular actor, whether it's the lone bounty hunter version from The Mandalorian, the gritty, apocalyptic Pascal from The Last of Us, or simply Pedro as the cleaned-up, red-carpet charmer. Judging will be based on crowd reaction, while the final decision will be up to the Son del North team. The top doppelganger will receive the ultimate prize: $50 cash and one year of free burritos, a limit of one per week. The second- and third-place winners will receive gift cards ($50 and $25, respectively), while the top ten finalists will win free bean and cheese burritos. The downtown eatery will be hosting events all weekend long leading up to the contest, including $1 burritos for the first 200 people on Friday, June 13th, and giveaways of free chips and salsa, agua fresca andor zaddy of the month, make a plan for Sunday.

The NY Liberty is hosting WNBA watch parties at Ginger's, The Bush and more during Pride Month
The NY Liberty is hosting WNBA watch parties at Ginger's, The Bush and more during Pride Month

Time Out

time5 days ago

  • Time Out

The NY Liberty is hosting WNBA watch parties at Ginger's, The Bush and more during Pride Month

You don't need a ticket to Barclays to feel the Liberty love this Pride Month. The reigning WNBA champs are taking over Brooklyn's queerest watering holes with a series of official watch parties for their June away games—because when you're part of the Liberty Bar Network, every game is home court. At Park Slope's iconic Ginger's Bar, Liberty fans will gather on Sunday, June 22, at 7 pm for the Seattle matchup, then again on June 25 (10 pm vs. Golden State), June 27 (10 pm vs. Phoenix) and June 29 (3 pm vs. Atlanta). And yes, Ginger's still keeps it charmingly old-school: cash only, killer patio and the kind of regulars who will gladly talk playoff math with you over pool. Meanwhile, Bushwick's delightfully chaotic The Bush will keep the energy high on Saturday, June 14, when the Liberty face Indiana at 3 pm. Known for rowdy dance nights, drag shows and a proudly unpolished vibe, The Bush is where Liberty fandom meets Bushwick queer energy in all its chaotic glory. View this post on Instagram A post shared by New York Liberty (@nyliberty) The watch parties are a natural extension of the WNBA's longstanding ties to the LGBTQIA+ community. The Liberty's upcoming July 25 Pride Night at Barclays is the official glitter-soaked centerpiece, but the league's queerness isn't confined to one game or one month. As Liberty coach Sandy Brondello told Sports Illustrated last year, 'We celebrate [Pride] every single day of the week … all season long.' That ethos shows up in the stands, where fans like Deidree Golbourne (a.k.a. the 'Mayor of Barclays') make Liberty games a safe haven for Black, queer and gender-diverse New Yorkers. It shows up at bars like Ginger's and The Bush, where queer fans—new and old—find familiar faces, cold drinks and loud cheers for Breanna Stewart threes. So skip the sports bar with the busted sound system and straight dudes yelling at baseball highlights. This June, pull up to a Liberty watch party where everyone actually knows the rules, nobody minds if you cry during player intros and the vibe is more queer family picnic than frat party.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store