At ‘a soft opening’ a cozy private loft, steps from the morgan L
Food & drink available for purchase, feel free to BYO
Suggested $10 donation, venmo: @a_soft_opening_
An evening of experimental sound and deep listening featuring solo performances by Yaz Lancaster and James Hirschfeld, followed by a dj set by concon.
Drawing from improvisation, ambient music, experimental composition, techno, collage, and live processing, Sonic Soak explores sound as a space for intimacy, vulnerability, presence, and transformation. Though working from distinct musical languages and performance practices, the artists share an interest in texture, emotional openness, and embodiment.
Yaz Lancaster opens the night with a solo performance informed by electroacoustic composition, improvisation, degraded sound collage, and relational aesthetics. James Hirschfeld follows with new works for trombone, electronics, and special guests exploring tenderness, resonance, memory, and the return to musical expression after years immersed in techno and electronic music production.
This event is intended as a space for listening, softness, curiosity, and shared experience.
After the live sets, you’re invited to linger and socialize as concon soundtracks the twilight hour with a dj set.
all levels! in a cozy DIY loft with plenty of soft seating on the sidelines & food available for purchase.
6:30pm doors
6:45-7:30pm: guided warmup 5+ sliding scale (highly recommended for beginners) with Nina Jakobson. an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of touch, physics, and gravity & get comfortable with folks in the jam.
7:30-9:30pm: jam $10+ sliding scale
DJs & musicians: dm @a_soft_opening_ on ig to signup for ambient open decks
Nina Jakobson is a dancer, director, and devisor with a background in contact improvisation, buddhist meditation, clubbing, theater, and performance art. They are a student and playful researcher of contact as a political experiment, a spiritual experiment, and a technical experiment.
CI is a free-form dance (started in 1972 by Steve Paxton) exploring partner movement based on how bodies interact with physics: touch, gravity, balance, momentum & playful exploration. expect to see lifts & rolls, “body puzzles,” unexpected timing & perspective-altering positions. we partner into dynamic, in-the-moment duets, tuning into our sensations, the subtle cues of a touch & where the movement wants to go. it’s about staying curious & discovering our natural instincts for improvising.
disclaimer: we follow the 1st rule of CI: “take care of yourself, take care of the space, take care of eachother.” by participating, we assume the research and responsibility of co-creating a sense of safety & well-being. please listen to your body & move consciously.
consent: because CI involves touch, we want to be clear that sexual energy is not to be pursued here. attraction & repulsion can be points of internal exploration & exploring a “no” is just as valuable as exploring your “yes.”
rsvp for address, by the Morgan L
dance practice presents DANCEFLOOR 101 a workshop by Jodi @manic_pixie_dream_octopus at @a_soft_opening_ a cozy private loft by the Morgan L
Want to move but don’t know where to start? Yearning to unleash the beast on the floor but want to put a collar on it first? Need to feel the music with your chest as well as your ears? Let’s workshop it.
This workshop is aimed for new or unconfident dancers. It’s going to be fun and positive, about connecting to your body and to space and time - we will also talk about the history of beat, how to interact with it (or even play) and what it means to connect to motherbeat on a spiritual level. Share with anyone you love to party with who turns into a statue the minute you hit the floor (or anyone that yearns but struggles with confidence).
The workshop will cover 3 things,
1. How to catch a beat
2. What to do with the beat once you’ve caught it
3. Finding your personal style
Jodi is a dancer, designer and puppeteer who specializes in expressive storytelling and tomfoolery. She has been a dancer in NYC nightlife for long enough for all the cells in the human body to be replaced.
Dancer animations by Jodi
Portrait frame by local artist Franki Farb @spicy.brusselsprout
all levels! in a cozy DIY loft with plenty of soft seating on the sidelines & food available for purchase.
6:30pm doors
6:45-7:30pm: guided warmup 5+ sliding scale (highly recommended for beginners) with Nina Jakobson. an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of touch, physics, and gravity & get comfortable with folks in the jam.
7:30-9:30pm: jam $10+ sliding scale
DJs & musicians: dm @a_soft_opening_ on ig to signup for ambient open decks
Nina Jakobson is a dancer, director, and devisor with a background in contact improvisation, buddhist meditation, clubbing, theater, and performance art. They are a student and playful researcher of contact as a political experiment, a spiritual experiment, and a technical experiment.
CI is a free-form dance (started in 1972 by Steve Paxton) exploring partner movement based on how bodies interact with physics: touch, gravity, balance, momentum & playful exploration. expect to see lifts & rolls, “body puzzles,” unexpected timing & perspective-altering positions. we partner into dynamic, in-the-moment duets, tuning into our sensations, the subtle cues of a touch & where the movement wants to go. it’s about staying curious & discovering our natural instincts for improvising.
disclaimer: we follow the 1st rule of CI: “take care of yourself, take care of the space, take care of eachother.” by participating, we assume the research and responsibility of co-creating a sense of safety & well-being. please listen to your body & move consciously.
consent: because CI involves touch, we want to be clear that sexual energy is not to be pursued here. attraction & repulsion can be points of internal exploration & exploring a “no” is just as valuable as exploring your “yes.”
rsvp for address, by the Morgan L
Join us for a Contact Improvisation fundamentals class! We will explore the spirals, pathways, and deep listening skills essential to practicing CI. Whether this is your first time exploring the form or a regular at jams, this class will offer tools to support your dancing and group awareness. All bodies are welcome, and everything can be modified. Reach out if cost is a barrier!
A little background on CI: Contact improvisation is a movement and social dance form initiated in 1972 as an exploration of the kinesthetic possibilities of bodies moving in contact and their combined relationship to gravity, inspired by a myriad of practices, including martial arts, modern dance, and meditation. Contact improvisers train in sharing weight, expanding somatic awareness and responsiveness, and navigating disorientation.
Piper Morrison is a dancer, improviser, and chef with a background in Contact Improvisation, Aikido, and contemporary dance. She is curious lately about what lies on the outside edges of risky weight sharing, modulation of tension and release, and finding where softness and rigor can coexist.
at ‘a soft opening’ cozy DIY loft space by the morgan L (RSVP for address!).
dinner available for purchase.
disclaimer: contact improv involves the possibility of physical injury. we follow the 1st rule of CI: “take care of yourself first.” by participating, you are responsible for your own safety & well-being. please listen to your body & move consciously.
‘pillow spell’ started as a winter ritual honoring our needs for both comfort & connection - join us for our first spring edition as we melt out of winter and towards the sunny season
downtempo DJ sets guide the flow of the night, in a curated atmosphere. with options for movement, gentle conversation, of course PILLOWS - for lounging, meditation, engaged listening, deep journeying & cuddly connections. a grounding pre-ki, a space to land between destinations, an afters, or your whole night.
♫ by Ghoulie Pop, bouncekisses, Yasmeenah, eggz & concon ♫
your music-makers for tomorrow >>>
Sampling archival Yiddish music through various modes and genres, Chaia will be joined by harpist Eli Shane for a live collaborative performance. The first time I saw these two together I was blown away and immediately knew I wanted to include them in whatever event I did next. I first encountered this collaboration in an intimate space and felt that an intimate setting was an ideal way of presenting this again, youre all really in for a treat.
L&D co-run Plants Love Bass which hosts a bi-monthly show on East Village Radio. They are also two of the minds behind rave cafe, a project that is for the community and by the community as it manifests in various forms: parties, radio, panel discussions, workshops, zines, & more. My admiration for L&D and all they work they do has been well-documented on this website, you won’t have to look very far to find it : )
DJ Voices (that’s me 🥴) is the instigator of Late Nites Book Club.
Book club is no cover / $10 tickets for LNBC discussion attendees wanting to stay after 9pm for music / $20 for 9pm onward entry. Ticket link via RA / in bio.
Join us at @a_soft_opening_ for the next Sunday Seshie. An afternoon with ambient + downtempo + diasporic sounds, cozy corners, and playful drawing. Come unwind, connect, and ease into the new season with us.
This gathering falls on Vaisakhi: a festival of harvest, renewal, and spiritual transformation in Punjab. It carries Halemi Raj’s vision: a world rooted in humility, equality, and collective care. Marking the first Rabi, a word meaning “spring” in Arabic, Vaisakhi reminds us of life in its fullness, just before the seasons shift again. It’s both a harvest festival and a spiritual transformation in Punjab that symbolizes justice, equality, and renewal.
A reminder that true community is something we actively build: through presence, openness, and how we show up for one another.
Donation-based. This Sunday from 2-6 PM. RSVP with the link in my bio. See you there 💖
PS: all drawings on this flyer are from last Sunday Seshies!
