In March of 2014, NYPD police commission Bill Bratton announced a crackdown on New York’s renowned subway car performers. Dancers were being charged with acts of misdemeanor and disorderly conduct. Litefeet by Scott Carthy is a documentary that looks at the last dance by the W.A.F.F.L.E. crew a New York City subway car.
The film follows acrobatic perfomers as they tell their story of how dancing in the street and in subway cars is an artistic expression and way to escape the poverty and often violent environments that they come from for a couple hours. “They’re trying to end something that’s beautiful, that’s positive – they’re trying to end an art”, laments dancer Goofy, founder of the respected W.A.F.F.L.E litefeet crew.
The NYPD see this type of performing dangerous to the acrobats themselves, as well as the riding public – a view that resonates with those who believe that New York has metamorphosed from a world that was edgy-but-exciting to a safer place that feels distinctly sanitized. But the banning of dancers from trains will hardly mark the end of litefeet, nor the music that drives it on, nor the kids who want to take it to the next iteration.
Video courtesy of Scott Carthy
Richelle Sibolboro 