Quick answer: (You)nity Nights is a free, all-ages Hip Hop community arts night that Danzversity throws once a month in North Austin. No ticket, no cover, no experience required — movement, music, visual art, live performances, and an open floor. It’s funded by the City of Austin so it stays free for everyone, locals and visitors alike.
If you’ve ever wanted to step into Hip Hop culture but couldn’t find the door — this is the door.
WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS
Most “Hip Hop events” are shows. You buy a ticket, you sit, you watch other people do the thing, you go home. (You)nity Nights is the opposite. It’s not a show you watch — it’s a night you’re in.
Once a month we open the studio at 7531 Burnet Rd to anyone who wants in. For about three hours, the room becomes what Hip Hop was built to be: a block party, a cipher, a living room for the whole city. There’s a DJ holding the music, an MC on the mic, a guided movement workshop, art going up on the walls, two featured performers, and a floor that stays open from the first beat to the last.
The name is the whole philosophy. When YOU show up, the unity follows. That’s it. That’s the night.
WHY IT MATTERS
Three reasons this exists, and none of them are “marketing.”
IT’S ACTUALLY FREE
(You)nity Nights is funded by a $40,000 ELEVATE grant from the City of Austin’s Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment program. No cover, no donation, no catch. Every dollar goes back into the night — paying the artists, MCs, DJs, photographers, and ASL interpreters, and stocking the supplies that turn a studio into a living room for the city. Whether you live down the block or you’re visiting Austin for the weekend, you’re welcome — come as you are.
CULTURE OVER COMPETITION
No ranking. No judges. No hierarchy. Hip Hop already has a framework for growth — the cipher. You step in, you express, you step back. Everyone gets the floor, everyone respects it. That’s the same spirit that runs through the Elemental Dance Method™ in our classes; (You)nity Nights is where the whole city gets to live it together.
AUSTIN NEEDED IT
For a long time, “Hip Hop” in Austin meant a competition team or a fitness playlist. (You)nity Nights is a space to actually live the culture — not borrow its aesthetics. A place where a first-timer and a twenty-year veteran share the same floor, and both leave seen.
WHAT A NIGHT LOOKS LIKE
Each (You)nity Night runs about three hours and moves through several layers of the culture. Bring a water bottle, comfortable clothes, and an open mind. Everything else is on us.
- The Vibe — A live MC opens the night and a DJ holds the music. The floor stays open from the first beat.
- The Movement — A guided, beginner-friendly workshop led by Jaymie or a featured artist gets every body warmed up. Then the floor opens for free movement and friendly cyphers.
- The Art — Visual art activations run alongside the dancing. Markers, canvas, and paint are out for anyone who’d rather make than move — or wants to do both.
- The Performances — Two featured Austin artists each bring a short set — a routine, a freestyle, a story through movement.
- The Circle — The room ends most nights as a circle. Strangers leave as familiar faces. That’s the whole point.
Every (You)nity Night is ASL-interpreted and the studio is wheelchair-accessible. The door stays open in every direction.
WHO’S INVOLVED
The series is curated and led by Danzversity co-founder Jaymie Howard, with rotating guest artists, MCs, DJs, visual artists, photographers, and ASL interpreters drawn from the Austin Hip Hop and street dance community — all paid through the grant, so the spotlight keeps moving across the year.
Behind the funding is the City of Austin, through its AACME ELEVATE grant program. And the real headliner is the community itself — the youth, teens, parents, and elders who fill the room. 2026 marks Danzversity’s 10th year in Austin, and (You)nity Nights is how we’re celebrating a decade of building this culture: by giving it back to the city, free.
“Dance to express, not impress.”
— Jaymie Howard, Danzversity
THE 2026 SERIES — NINE NIGHTS
The 2026 series runs nine events — roughly one a month, April through December. Each night carries a working theme that shapes the workshop, the art prompt, and the featured artists.
