Booked

This project was an opportunity to address the erasure of Black women's stories and serve as a physical, moving archive of our narratives through movement and sisterhood. Ladies of Hip-Hop took over the prestigious New York Public Library (NYPL) at Lincoln Center, fresh out of a Works & Process Bubble residency, shot during the height of the pandemic. This dance film is a journey through storytelling, using street dance to verify our existence and push back against erasure, miscoding, and misogynoir. Moving through the NYPL stacks, placing dance in the books, on the books, and in unexpected spaces, we transformed the library into a stage. It merged the worlds of literature, knowledge, and dance, crafting a powerful statement about the intersection of art, culture, and community. Through this film, Ladies of Hip-Hop celebrated resilience, fostered sisterhood, and reclaimed space to honor and amplify our voices.

  • Michele Byrd-McPhee
    Director
  • Loreto Jamling
    Videographer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 21, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Works & Process at Lincoln Center Premiere
    New York
    United States
    April 21, 2021
    World Wide Premiere
Director Biography - Michele Byrd-McPhee

A 2023 Bessie Award winner for Outstanding Service to the Field, Michele Byrd-Mcphee is a street dancer, an arts activist and tireless advocate for girls and women who has been working for decades to re-contextualize spaces and conversations about Hip-Hop culture along gender, sex, cultural, socio-historical and racial lines. Presently, Byrd-McPhee is continuing her 20-year commitment as Executive Director for Ladies of Hip-Hop and artistic director of LDC (LOHH Dance Collective).

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Director Statement

A Black Woman, I stand at the crossroads where my identity converges at the nexus of Blackness and womanhood. This juncture is an intricate tapestry woven with the threads of systemic racism, sexism, and the deeply rooted tendrils of misogynoir. All these forces coalesce, an intricate dance, within the embrace of Hip-Hop's community and culture. Hip-Hop is a dual-edged anthem, a source of empowerment that simultaneously serves as a mirror to society's fractures. A stage for individual expression and a platform to confront systemic injustices, yet one where the strains of stereotype and struggle can reverberate for Black women.