Installation view of Shelltoe Systems

ABOUT SHELLTOE SYSTEMS: LITEFEET CULTURE 2010-2025

Shelltoe Systems: LiteFeet Culture 2010–2025 is the first photography exhibition dedicated to New York City’s Litefeet community. It was presented in the front windows of Artistic Noise in West Harlem in Spring 2025. Shelltoe Systems contextualizes Litefeet within the broader lineage of NYC Hip-Hop dance; rooted in Harlem youth culture and fueled by the social energy of Uptown’s parks, gyms, and parties. Shelltoe Systems featured five photo series that each explore a different facet of Litefeet Culture. Click the series titles to view:

#LLKS (InDialogue – Digital Call & Response Stories)
Ladies of Lite
How It Started vs. How It’s Going
Street Dance Moments
Booked & Busy – Litefeet Promo Fliers

The title Shelltoe Systems highlights a contradiction within the culture. To outsiders, the sneakers worn by Litefeet dancers; often worn-down Adidas Superstars might just look like dirty kicks. But within the community, they’re known as shelltoes or 40 Cals, iconic tools of the trade. These shoes aren’t just footwear; they’re legendary props. Dancers use them to invent new footwork, juggle them mid-routine, and sculpt new forms in motion, literally building systems of movement and style.

WHAT IS LITEFEET?

Lite Feet is a high-energy street dance style that emerged in Harlem and the Bronx in the early 2000s, evolving from the rich legacy of Hip-Hop and urban dance culture in New York City. Rooted in the creative expression of Black and Latinx youth, Lite Feet embodies the vibrancy, resilience, and innovation of Harlem’s dance community. The term “Lite Feet” refers both to the light, quick-footed movement style and to the lifestyle surrounding it, a culture of originality, style, and self-expression.

(The LiteFeet definition above is excerpted from the audience program booklet for Chrybaby Cozie’s May 15, 2025 Litefeet History Program sponsored by Works & Process x Jerome Robbins Dance Division @ NYPL for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center.)

Listen to exhibit soundscape (by Litefeet Liberals)

SHELLTOE SYSTEMS INFO

1. Designer: Tee the Creative | Artwork: Lucky Banks’ Just Shake single artwork cover | Design: Umbrella Man Drawing of K Shakes
2. Designer: Natalie Miccile | Flier Design: Jayy Wavy workshop with Slaughterhouse Boston
3. Designers: Maka and Kaka | Flier Design: Lady Slic workshop with Litefeet Intensive Prague (Czech Republic)
The first time that I heard the word Litefeet was during a panel discussion in Fall 2009. I asked a question about the history of Hip Hop Dance and the panelists responded by telling me about its future instead. They described a new iteration of Hip Hop Dance from uptown; that was footwork heavy, involved a chant, “No MUSIC,” and was performed to a dynamic series of clave patterns clapped out by the audience.
Dance civilians (the general population) usually experience the hype or the flashy elements of Litefeet first. When people think of Litefeet they most often associate it with hitters on the train (“It’s Showtime dancers”) or the song “Chicken Noodle Soup.” I had the access & luck to bear witness to Litefeet during its era as a recreational youth activity while it was being practiced and developed in Harlem. In April 2010, my “dance nephew” K Slicc (Kinen) invited me to accompany him and his team (Rocket) to COL at the YMCA on 135th. COL means Center of Lite, it was a weekly Litefeet battle produced & hosted by Swinton “Mr. YouTube” Hanley between 2009-2014. COL is where I ended up photographing a vibrant community of culture creators wearing shelltoes (Adidas Superstars) and building the movement systems (dance vocabulary; footwork transitions, combos & tricks) that continue to animate Litefeet.
That April afternoon at COL, I got to see some Litefeet pioneers, forefathers, veterans and the hood stars establishing their reputations citywide. In retrospect I realize that I was listening to the soundtrack first hand; the chants, the jeers, the whispered hype, and of course peanut gallery remarks. I was blessed to witness the creative stakes personified; the side eyes, sequencing, smiles, sweat, stress, sacrifice, embodied genius, and the musicality that makes Litefeet possible. All the way back in 2010 ! When I walked into COL, I knew I was witnessing a Litefeet battle but didn’t really know what that meant at all. Fortunately, my dance instincts have never failed me so I caught images of Mr. YouTube, King of Spank, Chrybaby, 40 LB, Matt Live, Esolo, Ralph, K Slicc, Trini, Jedi, Dark as teens/young adults. I even caught a row of legendary shoe trick shoes.
Fast forward a decade to when we were all contemplating the existential questions during the pandemic and Kinen asked me if I had still had the photographs from COL. I found them and sent them to him. He called me a few weeks later to explain the history portrayed through my images. Talking with Kinen and looking through the images, I began to wonder: how had Litefeet evolved as a dance form? Were the young people I photographed a decade ago still dancing? If so, how has the music they dance to evolved? Where were they getting down? How had the dance form evolved with time and the pioneers growing up? Also where were/are the ladies?
1. VIDEO ARCHIVE - E Solo’s Library of Lite - is an archive of veteran and contemporary Litefeet videographers and battle events from 2008 to the present. START HERE.
2. DOCUMENTARY- Lock in: A Litefeet Story - is a CBS Sports documentary on the Litefeet dance movement that sprung out of Harlem in the late 1990s. Produced by Only Child Productions OCP-Productions.com
3. VIDEO CLIP- When Waffle Crew won America’s Got Talent- Waffle is NYC based dance & lifestyle collective made up of prominent Litefeet dancers
4. GOVERNING BODY- Litefeet Awards Committee - Founded & led by SNS, the awards committee hosts seasonal battle events; produces the Litefeet community’s annual award weekend and Hall of Fame achievement rankings
5. IG LIVE SHOW- Litefeet Liberals - is a daily IG live chat show that stimulates dialogue, debate and fruitful conversation within the Litefeet community hosted by Unkle Gzz
6. TRIBUTE IG PAGE-Long Live K Shakes- instagram page dedicated to uplifting the legacy of K Sean “K Shakes” Nurse, curated by his father Bakeman
All events take place at Artistic Noise 2185 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd @129th Street
May 30, 6-8 PM - Closing Cipher
March 29, 2-4 PM - Opening Reception