Dance Is Life is a social dance party created as a free service to provide the life-giving, life-sustaining vital force that dance and music gives to those who participate. It started as a collaborative vision between co-founders Abdiel and Natasha Diggs during the pandemic as an organic community-led gathering to foster community connection and creative expression, and gained momentum by word of mouth, social media, and passersby discovering it in Central Park. Inspired by the legacy of the Latin Hustle danced at the Bethesda Fountain for over 50 years, Dance Is Life incites interpersonal connection, expression, and play amongst multigenerational, diverse communities of street and club dancers while also revitalizing cultural-historical heritage sites and expanding to new locations around the city, nation, and globe.

During the cold winter months, Works & Process opens the Guggenheim rotunda to Dance Is Life for a free Latin Hustle dance class taught by professional Latin Hustle Dance Champions Veronica Castilla and Ahtoy Juliana, followed by a social dance party with legendary veteran Hustle DJ Nelson “Paradise” Roman. All are invited to this interactive and educational event that empowers participants to come together and express themselves through social dance.

Dance Is Life is supported by the Mellon Foundation.

RSVP for Dance Is Life will open on Friday, November 3, at 11am.