Hustle on the sand (2018)

SOCIAL / PUBLICS

On invitation of Beach Sessions on Rockaway Beach, Hustle on the sand moved from the park to the beach. A group of beach goers unexpectedly, spontaneously joined in for a section of the performance following along with the performers and joining the party. Each performance culminated with the audience joining the dancers in the classic version of the hustle aka electric slide.

Performer: Biba Bell, Cristo Braz, Jessie Gold, Jordan Holland, Samuel Horning, Joey Kipp

Press quotes:

“The last thing I saw was the hustle. Though there was some sophistication to what Ms. Bell and her crew did, a nod to postmodern dance highlighting the pivoting orientation of popular dances, it’s hard to be smooth when your feet keep sinking into the sand and the 30-minute exercise took on some of the character of an endurance test. Neither sophistication nor smoothness was the point, of course. Collective joy was.” – Brian Seibert, New York Times, August 28, 2018

“Most beach goers had turned around by now to watch the performance by six ecstatic and different bodies in motion, their energetic presence prioritized over any attempt at unison. Watching the crowd dance along was even more joyous than watching the dancers themselves. It had to be exhausting to dance on the sand for 30 minutes. Three songs later, more than half the audience — beach sessions and beach goers — were all up and moving, working an electric slide variation. A couple of bros, shirtless and still holding a football, jumped in the mix. Some 50 people strong, Stevie Wonder blaring, closing out a beach weekend with a bang.” – Jay Sterkel, Nooklyn, September 7, 2018