It’s Showtime: New York City’s Famed Subway Dancers, Captured in Their Element

We rode the iron horse with the W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, photographing their moves as they boogied under the streets of NYC.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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You can tell a lot about a New Yorker by how one reacts to hearing the words “SHOWTIME, FOLKS! IT’S SHOWTIME!” shouted out on a subway ride. Some people cringe. Some get preemptively pissed. And some just settle in, ready to enjoy watching New York City’s subway litefeet dancers do their thing, try to collect a few bucks, get a small smattering of applause once they’re done, and then move on to the next car.

If the mayor and police chief have their way, though, there might not be too many more moves in the future of these crews. To the authorities, they’re a public nuisance, and they’re now being specifically targeted as part of a plan to clean up New York City’s underground. To us, they embody Gotham’s rich history as the birthplace of hip-hop, and its present as a place where the hustle never stops and b-boy culture was always meant to thrive.

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