Baye & Asa and Passion Fruit Dance Company / Amadi "Baye" Washington & Sam "Asa" Pratt, Tatiana Desardouin, Lauriane Ogay, and Mai Lê Hô - The 92nd Street Y, New York
Cart 0
Log in
Donate

Your Cart

Subtotal: $0.00

Does not include service & handling fees, if applicable.

92NY Center for Culture & Arts
Harkness Mainstage Series

Baye & Asa and Passion Fruit Dance Company

Amadi "Baye" Washington & Sam "Asa" Pratt, Tatiana Desardouin, Lauriane Ogay, and Mai Lê Hô
Baye & Asa and Passion Fruit Dance Company

Our Artist in Residence, Baye & Asa and Passion Fruit Dance Company will present their dynamic choreographic styles in tandem, showcasing celebrated past works in Kaufman Concert Hall.

Baye & Asa first came to 92Y’s attention as finalists at the inaugural Future Dance Festival in 2021 with their work John 4:20, selected by Dance Magazine’s Jennifer Stahl. They were subsequently named one of the magazine’s “25 to Watch” for 2022, which noted that “using African forms and hip hop in an expansive view of ‘contemporary’ dance theater, the pair’s choreography avoids falling into any predictable pattern.”

Baye & Asa Program Notes

Commercial images promise status, offer solutions to inadequacy, and breed entitlement. Internalized deficiency has created a culture of resentment. Suck it up: a duet confronting the violent fallout of male insecurity and entitlement.

This work was commissioned by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center for The BlackLight Summit at the University of Maryland. All movement was generated at the 92nd Street Y during our time as Artists in Residence.

“Hip Hop & African dance languages are the foundation of our technique. The rhythms of these techniques inform the way we energetically confront contemporary dance & theatre,” comment Baye & Asa. “We were born and raised in New York City, and we’ve known each other since first grade. Through the personal dynamics of our relationship, we address the larger political landscape of our upbringing, struggling to show a reality of violence while communicating a necessity for empathy.”

Passion Fruit Dance Company – Tatiana Desardouin, Lauriane Ogay and Mai Lê Hô – sees its mission as promoting the authenticity of street dance and clubbing styles, hip-hop and house cultures and their Black heritage, and exploring different social problems through their dance pieces and artistic practices. Desardouin, the company’s founder, artistic director and choreographer, was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 2020 “25 to Watch” and was awarded the 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance.

Passion Fruit Dance Company Program Notes

Dance Within Your Dance – an excerpt from Passion Fruit’s 2016 piece inviting audiences to connect with the techniques, rhythms and essence of hip-hop and house dance – asks the question: why is the groove not just a simple esthetic and disposable element but the essence of street/club dance styles and a roadmap to social justice through the physical expression of Black culture?

“In Dance Within Your Dance, I invite audiences to connect with the techniques, rhythms, roots, and essence of Hip-Hop and House dance/ culture,” comments Tatiana Desardouin. “This work demonstrates how in these dances we develop, struggle, connect, and create our individual and collective identities. The ‘groove’ is the center of this piece, yet there are two dimensions to DWYD; a dancer’s personal exploration of their own groove as well as the groove itself, within the cultural realm of Hip-Hop/ House. I define the ‘groove’ as a consistent flow of energy through the body, which allows dancers to communicate through music and movement. To me, the groove is the physical and auditory manifestation of Black people's living experience. I am using DWYD as a means to honor and maintain this culture’s essence while catalyzing conversations about race.”

Credits:
Name of the Company: PASSION FRUIT DANCE COMPANY
Title of the piece: Dance Within Your Dance
Choreographed, Produced & Directed by: Tatiana Desardouin
Performed by: Tatiana Desardouin, Mai Lê Ho & Lauriane Ogay
External Eye: Adesola Osakalumi and Miki Tuesday
Vocals (acapella): Sam I Am Montolla
Photography work: Lauriane Ogay
Music & video editing, photographer: Loreto Jamlig
Lighting Designer: Serena Wong based on Coel Rodriguez previous lighting design
Music credits:
The Clown by Maribou State Feat. Pedestrian (Axel Bowman Remix)
The reminiscence by Altered Natives
Imam by Mark De Clive Lowe & Daz-I-Kue (Re-Bruk Remix)
There Now acapella by Sam I Am Montolla
There Now by Frits Wentink (feat. Loes Jongerling)
Caixa Gang by Abjo.
A piece developed during Dance Your Future residency and premiered at BAAD!Theater in 2017

Kaufmann Concert Hall is where audiences witnessed iconic artists including Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Jose Limon and Pearl Primus push boundaries, on this historic stage, audiences experienced the evolution of an art form.

Join us as we return to this stage and provide a platform for modern-day pioneers to take risks, to remove boundaries and to transport us into the future of dance.

92Y needs your help. We are facing tremendous financial losses due to COVID-19. Your ticket purchase helps sustain our beloved institution and supports the creation of new, online programming that will bring comfort and inspiration to our community. Please consider donating today at 92Y.org/HelpNow. Thank you.

Did you know that donations cover nearly half of our costs?
As a nonprofit community and cultural center, The 92nd Street Y, New York relies on support from people like you. Your donation today helps us continue connecting you to the programs you love, no matter where in the world you are.
DONATE NOW

MORE ABOUT YOUR PROGRAM

In-Person programs:
Plan Your visit

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

Baye & Asa

Baye & Asa

Baye & Asa is a company creating movement art projects directed by Amadi ‘Baye’ Washington & Sam ‘Asa’ Pratt …

Baye & Asa

Baye & Asa

Baye & Asa is a company creating movement art projects directed by Amadi ‘Baye’ Washington & Sam ‘Asa’ Pratt. We grew up together in New York City, and that shared educational history is the mother of our work. Through the personal dynamics of our relationship we address the larger political landscape of our upbringing, struggling to show a reality of violence while communicating a necessity for empathy. We've presented at Mark Morris Dance Center, Dixon Place, Gibney Dance Center, Westbeth, Thread Artist Residency Space in Tambacounda Senegal, The Future Dance Festival, Dance Camera West, Cucalorus Film Festival, LA Dance Film Festival, Portland Dance Film Festival, IN/MOTION, and given lecture performances at The University of Maryland, Bard College (NY), The Dalton School (NYC), and The Hotchkiss School (CN). Individually we have performed with Akram Khan Company, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, Abraham in Motion, David Dorfman Dance, Gallim, Kate Weare Company, and The Francesca Harper Project.

Photo Credit: antoine tempé

Passion Fruit Dance Company

Passion Fruit Dance Company

Passion Fruit Dance Company is a Street, Club dance and educational company founded in 2016 …

Passion Fruit Dance Company

Passion Fruit Dance Company

Passion Fruit Dance Company is a Street, Club dance and educational company founded in 2016, composed of Tatiana Desardouin (Haitian & Swiss, founder, artistic director, choreographer), Lauriane Ogay (Swiss) and Mai Lê Hô (French-Vietnamese). Its mission is to promote the authenticity of street dance and clubbing styles, Hip Hop and house cultures and their black heritage, as well as its contribution to society, by exploring different social problems through their dance pieces and artistic practices. Passion Fruit had the opportunity to work as educators using “Passion Fruit Seeds - Focus on the Youth” program at the Yerbabruja Arts Center (Long Island City), in Switzerland for the City of Geneva with the “Passion Fruit Seeds: Hip-Hop culture, its foundations and its uprooting” program and at the Connecticut College with the “Passion fruit Seeds: Focus On Black Excellence” program. They performed the piece “Dance Within Your Dance” in places such as at The Apollo Theater, Summerstage, Harlem Stage, Jacob’s pillow, the New Victory Theater, BAAD!, LOHH, Joe’s Pub, 92Y, Musikfest and abroad (in Canada at the M.A.I (MTL) and in Switzerland at the “Outside” festival (Neuchatel). They performed the piece “Trapped” at the Bridge Street Theater, Lincoln Center, and the Guggenheim. Passion Fruit Dance Company was recently featured in The New Yorker magazine (April 2021). Tatiana Desardouin was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 2020 “25 to Watch.”

Tatiana Desardouin

Tatiana Desardouin

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

Tatiana Desardouin

Tatiana Desardouin

Of Haitian origin, born and raised in Switzerland, Tatiana is a professional dancer, dance instructor, dance consultant, choreographer, organizer, curator, with a Master degree as adult educator and a Bachelor in Psychology (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 developed her own teaching method called “Technique Within Your Groove.” She often teaches in dance schools such as EXPG NYC, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance and universities such as Dartmouth University, Rochester University, the American University or the Connecticut College and as an adjunct professor etc.

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!, Pregones theater, LOHH, Joe’s Pub, 92Y, the Guggenheim, the Lincoln Center, Mass Moca 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 also featured in the New Yorker magazine for the “Goings on about town” in 2021.

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.

Photo Credit: Lauriane Ogay

Mai Lê Hô

Mai Lê Hô

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

Mai Lê Hô

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, a NYC-based non-profit dedicated to highlighting freestyle voices in performance art.

In 2015, Mai Lê founded LayeRhythm, a cutting edge monthly jam session that creatively layers live musicians & vocalists with freestyle dancers. Since 2019, the project has been taking its club roots to the stage with The LayeRhythm Experiment ensemble, co-creating unique performances in partnership with live audiences at 92Y, Jacob’s Pillow, Purdue University (online) and offering educational programs for aspiring freestyle artists.

As a core dancer in the pioneering street dance theater company Rennie Harris PureMovement since 2013, and in Passion Fruit Dance Company since 2016, Mai Lê has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Guggenheim Museum, LA Music Center, Apollo Theater, Dance Place DC, NJPAC, City Center New York, Kimmel Center, and more than 60 additional venues across the USA and abroad. She also toured Europe with seminal Detroit music producer Theo Parrish and his live band in 2014.

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.

From 2017 to 2019, Mai Lê was the Program Director of It’s Showtime NYC! (IST), a City-funded program that celebrates NYC street culture and provides performance and professional development opportunities to street and subway dancers. 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.

Contact: maile@layerhythm.org / IG: @mailegrooves

Photo Credit: Lauriane Ogay

Lauriane Ogay

Lauriane Ogay

Lauriane Ogay aka Loryane is born and raised is Switzerland where she discovered the hip-hop culture …

Lauriane Ogay

Lauriane Ogay

Lauriane Ogay aka Loryane is born and raised is Switzerland where she discovered the hip-hop culture. Eager to learn more, she went from school to school, to finally find the real underground Hip-Hop establishment she was looking for; “First Move” School. From then, she got introduced to the performances and competitions (Battle) world.

Simultaneously she has been travelling to different countries such as France, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Canada, to participate in parties, workshops and battle where she was often among the qualified and/or finalists. Knowing where the culture was coming from, New York came up on her travel journey in 2008 and this was the trigger associated to her passion for the Hip-Hop and House culture. Classes and parties were on the planning, everything that could immerse her in that culture.

2010 was her second trip to New York and Canada for an international competition. In 2012, She left Switzerland on her own to travel some more, to then, officially move to New York. Since then, she is fully involved in this culture and is part of DFF (Dance Fusion Family), ATF Collective (all About The Feeling). She is as well a core member and lead dancer in Passion Fruit Dance Company who performed in Jacob’s Pillow, Apollo Theater, New Victory Theater, Harlem Stage, Joe’s Pub, Summer Stage Festival, Dance Place and Alvin Ailey (LOHH Festival). Training, teaching and performing are part of her lifestyle, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Bethlehem, Switzerland, Japan and more. She was lucky enough to work for some great artists and be part of commercials such as Credo Beauty and Golden Goose.

Lauriane’s other passion lies behind the lens. As a photographer she has worked with/for LayeRhythm, Negusworld, Dancing in the Streets, Still 1 a.ka Loreto Jamling, Pepatian, Building Shop NYC. She as well works as a freelancer and organizes her own photoshoots.

Photo Credit: Self Portrait

Please note that all 92Y regularly scheduled in-person programs are suspended.