Works & Process at the Guggenheim Presents the World Premiere of THE MISSING ELEMENT

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, will present the world premiere of The Missing Element on May 15 & 16, 2022 at 7:30 pm. Taking place in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, all programs invite audiences to embrace artistic process and uniquely blend performance highlights with insightful artists' discussions.

Fusing the virtuosic music-making of beatbox with awe-inspiring street dance, The Missing Element, commissioned by Works & Process ahead of the pandemic to broaden representation of historically marginalized performing art cultures and celebrate performing art forms created in and nurtured by New York City, this new work marries the cypher widely found in rap, beatbox, and break dance with the theater's circular architecture. Creative directors Chris Celiz, a world champion beatboxer, and b-boy Anthony Vito Rodriguez "Invertebrate," assemble a formidable cast that comprises Krumper Brian "Hallow Dreamz" Henry, flexers Joseph Carella "Klassic" and King Havoc, breakers Graham Reese "B-boy Kilo" and Rodriguez, filmmaker Kash Gaines, and members of The Beatbox House, including Amit Bhowmick, Celiz, Neil Meadows "NaPoM," Gene Shinozaki, and Kenny Urban. Each artist is a soloist, educator, musician, and dancer in their own right. Their ability to work together and bring a communal vibe unlike any other provides audiences a one-of-a-kind experience, leaving them with a new possibility of what human beings are capable of and inspires people to take action on what's truly possible for themselves.

The Missing Element is an immersive experience exploring the universal elements of earth, wind, fire, water, and space. During the performance, street dancers and beatboxers utilize their abilities to embark on an adventure of sound and dance. All music and sound featured is 100% human-generated.

Amid the headwinds of the pandemic, The Missing Element was developed in Works & Process bubble residencies at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in August 2020 and March 2021, made possible through the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Highlights from The Missing Element were performed throughout the pandemic at Little Island, the Guggenheim Museum rotunda, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and NY PopsUp, ahead of its long-awaited and fully-produced world premiere on May 15 and 16, 2022.

The Beatbox House is a collective of world champion beatboxers. Beatboxing is growing into a global phenomenon branching out from its hip-hop roots. Through education, performance, and collaboration, the collective is rebranding the art as a new form of music, pushing the boundaries of the possibilities of the human voice.

Throughout the pandemic, Works & Process continued to provide opportunities for artists and pioneered the bubble residency to support the creation of this work and many others. The spring 2022 season will feature the official world premieres of works created by New York artists - many representing historically marginalized performing art cultures - and incubated during the peak of the pandemic inside 2020-21 Works & Process bubble residencies. Alongside the commissions, Works & Process will present performance excerpts of and artists discussions about new works prior to their premieres at leading organizations including BAAD!, Federal Hall, Glimmerglass Festival, The Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet.

To further engage with communities, The Missing Element will tour July 11-17, 2022 to the East End of Long Island, and will be presented by Guild Hall of East Hampton and Works & Process in free pop-up performances throughout the community in the days leading up to their concert performances on July 16 at LTV. This October, as part of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's 25th anniversary celebration in Spain, The Missing Element will be performed in free pop-up performances in and around the iconic Frank Gehry-designed museum for one week leading up to its concert performance in the Museum's auditorium.

Works & Process Tickets

$35, $15 partial view. Pay-what-you-wish tickets are available for purchase online only at worksandprocess.org.

Health and Safety Information

• Every audience member must be fully vaccinated and will be required to show proof in person of vaccination authorized by the FDA or WHO against COVID-19 before entering the theater. Proof of vaccination may include a CDC Vaccination Card (or photo), NYC COVID Safe app, New York State Excelsior Pass, NYC Vaccination Record, or an official immunization record from outside New York City or the United States. Full vaccination is defined as being two weeks or more after receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks or more after receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine.

• Visitors over the age of 18 will also be asked to show a photo ID.

• At this time, children under the age of 5, for whom there is currently no available vaccination, will not be permitted to attend this performance regardless of the vaccination status of their guardian.

• Bring your three-ply face mask, N-95, or equivalent to keep yourself and one another safe. All individuals will be required to wear a face mask at all times.

• There is no coat check; please do not bring bags.

• Do not attend if in the ten days leading up to the performance, you have tested positive or experienced COVID-19 symptoms or come into close or proximate contact with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case. If you are unable to attend due to COVID-19 exposure, please contact boxoffice@guggenheim.org in advance of the performance.

• An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public environment where people are present. Those visiting the museum do so at their own risk of exposure.

Commissioned by Works & Process before the pandemic, The Missing Element was developed in Works & Process bubble residencies at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in August 2020 and March 2021, made possible through the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Works & Process has received support from the U.S. Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Paycheck Protection Program and NYC Employee Retention Grant Program.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim

Described by The New York Times as "forward thinking" and "an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process," since 1984 Works & Process has welcomed New Yorkers to see, hear, and meet the most acclaimed performers and creators of the performing arts. Led by Producer Caroline Cronson and Executive Director Duke Dang, Works & Process nurtures and champions new works, shapes representation, amplifies underrepresented voices and performing arts cultures, and offers audiences unprecedented access to generations of leading creators and performers. Artist-driven programs blending performance highlights with insightful discussions are, when permitted, followed by receptions in the rotunda, producing an opportunity for collective learning and community building while also helping to cultivate a more inclusive, fair, and representative world. Approximately fifty performances take place annually in the Guggenheim's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed, 273-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. Annually Works & Process produces a program at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain as well. In 2017 Works & Process established a residency program inviting artists to create newly commissioned performances made in and for the iconic Guggenheim rotunda. In 2020 Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions was created to financially support 84 new works and over 280 artists and nurture their creative process during the pandemic. To forge a path for artists to safely gather, create, and perform during the pandemic from summer 2020 through spring 2021, Works & Process pioneered and produced 250 bubble residencies supporting 247 artists, made possible through the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. On March 20, 2021, after over a year of shuttered indoor performances and with special guidance from New York State's Department of Health, Works & Process was the first cultural organization to reopen live, indoor ticketed performances in the rotunda of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

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