Rock It, Don’t Stop It Double Dutch Showcase

Process Journal

Entry 1 — Where It All Began

This project started with one simple intention: to help the Fantastic Four reclaim the visibility and cultural presence they built in the 1970s and 80s. Working with Delores Finlayson and Robin Watterson—two of the original members—has made it clear that this isn’t just an event. It’s a restoration.

The Fantastic Four transformed Double Dutch from a neighborhood pastime into a cultural force. They traveled internationally, shaped youth culture, influenced fashion and choreography, and even appeared in McDonald’s commercials. Their story deserves an infrastructure that honors that impact.

Entry 2 — Defining the Vision

As co creative director, my focus is on building a sustainable foundation—one that centers Black women’s cultural labor, artistry, and leadership. The showcase, scheduled for April 18, 2026, at Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center, is the first major step.

The event will be:

Intergenerational — youth teams, elder legends, and community storytellers
Narrative-driven — blending personal history with live performance
Culturally rooted — grounded in the Lower East Side, where the Fantastic Four first emerged

We’re not creating a competition. We’re creating an archive, a celebration, and a platform.

Entry 3 — Entering the Sponsorship Phase (Where We Are Right Now)

As of November 2025, we are officially in the Sponsorship & Infrastructure Phase.

This includes:

Finalizing the sponsorship deck
Meeting weekly with potential partners
Confirming our partnership framework with Henry Street Settlement
Building our volunteer + production team list
Developing a working budget
Sketching the first elements of the brand identity and visual language

This phase is slow and intentional. It requires vision, clarity, and patience. Every conversation is an opportunity to educate people on why this legacy matters and why now is the moment to bring it forward.

Entry 4 — A change in direction

A few weeks ago, I thought we were on a clear path toward an April 18th showcase at Abrons Arts Center. The date was set, the run-of-show was sketched, and every meeting moved us closer to that vision.

The space is no longer available — and the event is shifting. And like life, we pivot.

As I’ve sat with it, talked with Delores and Robin, and listened to what this project is actually trying to become, the pivot feels less like a loss and more like a realignment.

It means the project is reminding us of its truth:

Double Dutch has always belonged to the streets.

It has always been public, accessible, communal, and alive.

There is something powerful about imagining this showcase outside — on concrete, under the sun, with music, families, neighbors, and unexpected passersby stopping to watch.

Maybe the pivot isn’t an obstacle. Maybe it’s a return. As I rethink the structure, I’ve also started asking myself a harder question: Does this need to be a competition at all? Or does competition replicate the systems that overshadowed storytelling, sisterhood, and creativity?

If the event happens outdoors in the summer, perhaps the format can expand —

less structure, more celebration;

less scoring, more showcasing;

less hierarchy, more community.

This moment is asking me to get clear again about why I’m doing this project, not just as an event producer or strategist, but as someone committed to honoring two Black women who shaped a cultural moment and deserve for their story to be told with care.

We don’t have the new date yet.

We don’t have the new location.

We don’t have the final format.

The pivot is part of the story now. As of November 2025, we are officially in the Sponsorship & Infrastructure Phase.