Music&Dance
Introduction
Music and dance have long been part of the cultural tradition unique to New York City. From Broadway to Carnegie Hall to the Metropolitan Opera and the Amato Theater, music and dance has helped to define the city’s culture. The city that introduced hip hop and breakdancing to the world has always been known as the place where everything happens and where groundbreaking ideas can develop into something that takes the world by storm. On this page, we’ve taken a trip on the NYC subways to focus on the underground realm of music and dance that has made its mark on the city’s identity. The city often sponsors or sanctions artists to interact with New Yorkers on a daily basis. At times, this interaction is limited to a 30 second clip of music heard by a traveler on their way through Grand Central Station as they hurry to and from work. Other times, an audience will flock to a performer or group of performers and spend quite a bit of time, also oftentimes donating a bit of money to show their support. Sometimes performances take place legally, such as those sponsored by a NYC program called Music Under New York (MUNY), but others, such as one of the clips below, are illegal, and are often broken up by police. Performers flock to the city from all over the world, bringing a great variety to the city’ s underground network. These people become a part of the global community found in the city’s subways, though a real new yorker will always recongize one of their own.
This was a performance that was not sanctioned by the NYC MTA but received a great deal of attention of passersby.
A MUNY sponsored performance in Union Square for the public.
This was taken on the Brooklyn bound A train.
Yasuyuki Takagi came to New York City from Japan 15 years ago aspiring to become a professional musician. His father’s classical Jazz music inspired Yasuyuki to begin playing the saxaphone at a young age. While studying muscianship, Yasuyuki worked through the day as a social worker. However, after the September 11th tragedy, he lost his job and became a full time performer. He formed his own band in 2002 which he named “Yaz” band. They became an official member of the Music Under New York title after auditioning against other subway performers in the spring of every year at the Grand Central Terminal. They continue to play after 10 years. Yaz Band was featured in Subway Idol hosted by Fox5 news and have played in Lincoln Center. The group consists of Eric Smith on the Keyboards, Sly Geralds playing the Bass, Shinya Miyamoto on Drums, Guitar played by Takeshi Hiwatari with understudies in each position. The group released a CD in 2003. The sound of their music is a combination of jazz and smooth R&B.
An improptu dance off in 42nd St. Times Square Station.