Yackez's GIVE IT TO YOU STAGE, featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Story of Yackez
Yackez is the art pop/multimedia collaboration of Larissa and Jon Velez-Jackson, aka Twitta and Papi Jon. Formed in 2010, this married musical duo exists as both a celebration and critique of popular culture, politics, and most notably, itself. In 2019, they took the inevitable leap into podcasting with their show "Life Advice," available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Podbean.com.
Jon Velez-Jackson is a songwriter, writer and full-time journalist. He is also an avid pro-wrestling aficionado and the band wrestling coach. Larissa Velez-Jackson is a NYC-based choreographer, multi-platform artist and the director of LVJ Performance Co. She is also a senior fitness specialist and movement/wellness educator, incorporating elder dancers in Yackez's work. In 2016, she was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" award for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer and was awarded the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Grant to Artists award.
Yackez often performs with their beloved mascot YackMan, their wrestling post-modernist dance ensemble, The Yackez Dancers, along with their company of mature dancers, Generations.
Jon Velez-Jackson is a songwriter, writer and full-time journalist. He is also an avid pro-wrestling aficionado and the band wrestling coach. Larissa Velez-Jackson is a NYC-based choreographer, multi-platform artist and the director of LVJ Performance Co. She is also a senior fitness specialist and movement/wellness educator, incorporating elder dancers in Yackez's work. In 2016, she was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" award for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer and was awarded the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Grant to Artists award.
Yackez often performs with their beloved mascot YackMan, their wrestling post-modernist dance ensemble, The Yackez Dancers, along with their company of mature dancers, Generations.
YACKEZ'S MASCOT, YACKY, GRACES THE NEW YORK TIMES WITH A FEATURE PHOTO
A bright green mascot played by Angie Pittman dances in front of the brick buildings, namely the old Chocolate Factory Theater location in Queens.
More press
“Whether it’s rapping, dancing, or throwing down in the ring, (Yackez's) work is high-energy, silly, odd, and even chaotic at times, going from spectacle to cartoon to pop culture critique and back again.
- Cassidy Dawn Graves, New York magazine’s Bedford and Bowery blog
“This hot mess was one of the highlights of Catch 50. Don’t miss. Don’t watch sober.” - Claudia LaRocco, The Performance Club
“A groundbreaking culmination of years of underground queer performance…” - James Michael Nichols, The Huffington Post
“Yackez can’t hide their underlying sweetness, no matter how hard they try to mask it.” - Dierdre Towers, The Dance Enthusiast
“The seasoned Yackez duo, so beloved and so natural in their campy stage antics they seem to defy what it means to perform absurdity at all times.” - Tara Sheena, Culturebot
- Cassidy Dawn Graves, New York magazine’s Bedford and Bowery blog
“This hot mess was one of the highlights of Catch 50. Don’t miss. Don’t watch sober.” - Claudia LaRocco, The Performance Club
“A groundbreaking culmination of years of underground queer performance…” - James Michael Nichols, The Huffington Post
“Yackez can’t hide their underlying sweetness, no matter how hard they try to mask it.” - Dierdre Towers, The Dance Enthusiast
“The seasoned Yackez duo, so beloved and so natural in their campy stage antics they seem to defy what it means to perform absurdity at all times.” - Tara Sheena, Culturebot
"YACKEZ This irreverent song and dance duo, also known as Larissa and Jon Velez-Jackson or Twitta and Papi Jon, can work a crowd with such deliberately dissonant tracks as “Accolades,” “Yackez Dot Com” and “Get an Education.” In “Give It to You Stage,” they corral their hits (and flops; this pair embraces failure) into a two-act theatrical event at New York Live Arts. The show features a “queer pro-wrestling dance ensemble,” according to the theater’s site, and a cohort of adventurous seniors from Ms. Velez Jackson’s fitness classes. March 29-April 1." - Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
"Wacky postmodernists Larissa and Jon Velez-Jackson document their ongoing downtown-artist struggles in a scrappy dance musical that includes a wrestling ensemble, a green mascot and older members of a New York dance-fitness class." - Time Out NY
Yackez "will work the crowd again in their latest dance spectacle..." -Broadway World
"Wacky postmodernists Larissa and Jon Velez-Jackson document their ongoing downtown-artist struggles in a scrappy dance musical that includes a wrestling ensemble, a green mascot and older members of a New York dance-fitness class." - Time Out NY
Yackez "will work the crowd again in their latest dance spectacle..." -Broadway World
YACKEZ CV highlights
An Outdoor Quasi Mini-Festival, The Chocolate Factory, NYC, June 27 2021
“Strange Frequencies,” Arts on Site (virtual), March 6 2021
“Yackez Love for the New World Paradigm,” The Exponential Festival (virtual), Jan 2021
“Mysteriously Okay,” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, December 2020
The Quarantine Concerts, Brackish Music & Art (virtual), Dec 2020
Off Broadway in the Boros: Pop-Ups presented by the New York City’s Mayor’s Office, Lowery Plaza, NYC, Oct 2020
"Yackez Featuring Guest Collaborator, The Moon,” LeiMay Foundation (virtual), Oct 2020
“Inconvenience Day,” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, July 2020
“Yackez LiveScream: An Assortment of Flavors,” self-produced virtual festival, June 2020
Ease and Flow ZoomCruise, Performance Mix Festival (virtual), May 2020
“Yackez By Poopular Re-Quest ” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, May 2020
“To Songs Together at Last," Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, May 2020
“Yackez Dance Party Jam,” LeiMay Foundation (virtual), May 2020
Giant Fest, 3 Dollar Bill, NYC, August 2019 Moving Arts Lab / IIAC Faculty Show, Earthdance, Plainfield, Massachusetts, Aug 2019
“Dun Dun Duuuhn,"CA2M (Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo), Madrid, Spain, June 21, 2018
THE DOWNTOWN DINNER, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Conrad New York, NYC, May 4, 2017
"GIVE IT TO YOU STAGE", New York Live Arts, NYC, March 29-April 1, 2017
Mount Tremper Arts, Phoenicia, NY, October 2016
TASTE OF LIC, Chocolate Factory, NYC, June 2016
IKE AT NIGHT, Bushwick Starr, NYC, June 2016
CATCH TAKES KNOCKDOWN, Knockdown Center, NYC, May 2016
KING TUT's WAH WAH Hut, Whitney Museum, NYC, July 2015
HOT! Festival, Dixon Place, NYC, July 2015
HOUSES w/o MASTERS, Danspace Project, NYC March 2015
Pop Up Friday for Claire Fleury Atelier, Vitrina Gallery, NYC Feb 2015
Artist Residency Show, El Museo Del Barrio, NYC Jan 2015
MIX Queer Experimental Film Festival, THE HIVE , NYC Nov 2014
Half Straddle Benefit, The Kitchen NYC, Oct 2014
FANCY, Ho Se, Bushwick, NYC, Sept 2014
Boogie on the Blvd, Bronx Museum of the Arts, NYC, Aug 2014
SALTA+AUNTS, Secret Loft, Brooklyn, NY April 2014
Armory Week Brunch, AUNTS, Abrons Arts Center, March 2014
Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church, NYC Feb 2014
AUX Performance Space, Phila, PA Dec 2013
Solo Show, Dixon Place, NYC, June 2013
MR Spring Festival, Arts in Renassiance, NYC June 2013
Pu**y F*ggot!, Public Assembly, NYC Feb 2013
AUNTS, American Realness, Abrons Arts Center, NYC Jan 2013
Prelude Festival.12, Gershwin Hotel, NYC Oct 2012
Salomon Gallery, NYC June 2012
Center for Performance Research, NYC May 2012
CATCH 50, Chocolate Factory Theater, NYC May 2012
Pu**y F*ggot!, Public Assembly, NYC Jan 2012
YackFest, FACADE/FASAD Gallery, NYC October 2011
AUNTS, Secret Loft, Bushwick, NYC Mar 2011
“Strange Frequencies,” Arts on Site (virtual), March 6 2021
“Yackez Love for the New World Paradigm,” The Exponential Festival (virtual), Jan 2021
“Mysteriously Okay,” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, December 2020
The Quarantine Concerts, Brackish Music & Art (virtual), Dec 2020
Off Broadway in the Boros: Pop-Ups presented by the New York City’s Mayor’s Office, Lowery Plaza, NYC, Oct 2020
"Yackez Featuring Guest Collaborator, The Moon,” LeiMay Foundation (virtual), Oct 2020
“Inconvenience Day,” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, July 2020
“Yackez LiveScream: An Assortment of Flavors,” self-produced virtual festival, June 2020
Ease and Flow ZoomCruise, Performance Mix Festival (virtual), May 2020
“Yackez By Poopular Re-Quest ” Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, May 2020
“To Songs Together at Last," Out of an Abundance of Caution (virtual micro-festival), The Brick Theater, May 2020
“Yackez Dance Party Jam,” LeiMay Foundation (virtual), May 2020
Giant Fest, 3 Dollar Bill, NYC, August 2019 Moving Arts Lab / IIAC Faculty Show, Earthdance, Plainfield, Massachusetts, Aug 2019
“Dun Dun Duuuhn,"CA2M (Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo), Madrid, Spain, June 21, 2018
THE DOWNTOWN DINNER, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Conrad New York, NYC, May 4, 2017
"GIVE IT TO YOU STAGE", New York Live Arts, NYC, March 29-April 1, 2017
Mount Tremper Arts, Phoenicia, NY, October 2016
TASTE OF LIC, Chocolate Factory, NYC, June 2016
IKE AT NIGHT, Bushwick Starr, NYC, June 2016
CATCH TAKES KNOCKDOWN, Knockdown Center, NYC, May 2016
KING TUT's WAH WAH Hut, Whitney Museum, NYC, July 2015
HOT! Festival, Dixon Place, NYC, July 2015
HOUSES w/o MASTERS, Danspace Project, NYC March 2015
Pop Up Friday for Claire Fleury Atelier, Vitrina Gallery, NYC Feb 2015
Artist Residency Show, El Museo Del Barrio, NYC Jan 2015
MIX Queer Experimental Film Festival, THE HIVE , NYC Nov 2014
Half Straddle Benefit, The Kitchen NYC, Oct 2014
FANCY, Ho Se, Bushwick, NYC, Sept 2014
Boogie on the Blvd, Bronx Museum of the Arts, NYC, Aug 2014
SALTA+AUNTS, Secret Loft, Brooklyn, NY April 2014
Armory Week Brunch, AUNTS, Abrons Arts Center, March 2014
Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church, NYC Feb 2014
AUX Performance Space, Phila, PA Dec 2013
Solo Show, Dixon Place, NYC, June 2013
MR Spring Festival, Arts in Renassiance, NYC June 2013
Pu**y F*ggot!, Public Assembly, NYC Feb 2013
AUNTS, American Realness, Abrons Arts Center, NYC Jan 2013
Prelude Festival.12, Gershwin Hotel, NYC Oct 2012
Salomon Gallery, NYC June 2012
Center for Performance Research, NYC May 2012
CATCH 50, Chocolate Factory Theater, NYC May 2012
Pu**y F*ggot!, Public Assembly, NYC Jan 2012
YackFest, FACADE/FASAD Gallery, NYC October 2011
AUNTS, Secret Loft, Bushwick, NYC Mar 2011