#dancelikeyou

Side by side with Adidas Originals SoHo, H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory threw their H+ | Dance Like You® Summer Gala 2014 in celebration of their upcoming ventures and the kick-off of their world-renowned, international Summer Intensive.

Dance moguls and industry executives from varying fields were in attendance. From Hip-Hop pioneers like Roxanne Shante and Grandmaster Caz, to tap legends like Jason Samuels Smith, to street dance legends like Float Master John Rich, the venue buzzed with an insatiably diverse vibe. Guests enjoyed an open bar, eclectic hors d'ouerves by Chef Mohamed Ghazi, a private shopping experience at Adidas, and the energetic vibes of the one and only DJ Sabine.

L-r: Eduction Director Yvonne Chow, Principal Dancer Camilla Cusini, Artistic Director Safi Thomas, Architect Kate Kuta, Executive Director Porshia Derival, Associate Artistic Director Yasmine Fequiere, MC Roxanne Shante

The climax of the evening began with the Founder and Artistic Director Safi A. Thomas disclosing plans for the immediate future, in which H+ will be expanding from their foundation in pedagogy and repertory into the areas of policy and infrastructure.

The 5 companies now under the H+ entity are TOTEM® (Theatre Of ThE Mind), Vitriolum® (The BioMedical Research Facility), LemnisKate Consolidated® (Architectural Design Firm), Dance Mart® (A Food Market for Dancers), and AK47® (High-End Design & Media Services for Businesses & Individuals).

This impressive listing of H+'s redevelopment into the fields of medical research, architecture, healthy living for dancers, and design and media, over the next decade, incited a roar from the crowd. And if that wasn't enough, Education Director Yvonne Chow continued the announcements with the final “pièce de résistance": the first architectural designs for the H+ | Safi A. Thomas Arts Pavillion®, an 80-story building that will serve as a community in a community, boasting a state of the art performance venue, subsidized living for dancers, economical art studio space, an outdoor skatepark, a graffiti art space, and several other elements to be announced in the near future!

Executive Director Porshia Derival and Associate Artistic Director Yasmine Fequiere closed the prodigious evening with a toast to a new era for Hip-Hop, dance, arts, and theater and expressed their warm gratitude for all the exquisite party goers of the evening that joined in on such a momentous celebration in the history of New York City!

Artistic Director | Safi Thomas & H+ Architect Kate Kuta

Special thanks to Adolfo Banchieri of Adidas Originals SoHo and all the staff of the evening, DJ Sabine, and Chef Mohamed Ghazi.

DJ Sabine

Hors d'ouerves by Chef Mohamed Ghazi