Step, slide and ride.
In the heart of Midtown, New Yorkers have transformed a subway station into their own personal stage, where they blast beats and film themselves busting moves for a captive audience of straphangers.
On nine separate occasions over the past three months, The Post observed different performers capturing videos of themselves breakdancing on platforms at the 49th Street N/R/W subway station — often decked out in costumes ranging from scary-looking zombies to The Joker.
“These guys are here all the time,” one MTA worker told The Post while three teenage boys shimmied in a choreographed triangle on the southbound platform one night this week.
Shafar Delgado, a 24-year-old dancer from Long Island, frequently films groovy clips for his nearly 8 million Instagram and TikTok followers. His first video in October 2022 amassed an eye-popping 44 million views.
“That station was where I had my first viral subway video, so I just kept going back there … I think it’s maybe how it looks, with those types of bricks,” Shafar told The Post, referring to the red-and-orange masonry walls.
Shafar’s younger brother and fellow dancer, Nassim, as well as D’Andre Miller and Huon Archer, all credit the station’s appearance and demographic for bringing more attention to their clips.
“Nice backgrounds and engagement from an audience add to our posts. If something’s happening in the background and we’re dancing in front of it, it’s more exciting for people to watch – and everybody is familiar with New York City subways,” explained Queens native Miller, 27.
“That one station just gives off a very good New York vibe,” echoed Nassim, 22. “It’s like a perfect New York stomping ground.”
Archer, 23, of Astoria, said that the group gets “so much interaction” from straphangers.
“They hype us up and stuff like that …and a lot of supporters come and meet us there, cause they know they can find us there,” he added.
“We try to be the light for people, because a lot of bad stuff happens in the subway – we just have fun and try to spread positivity, and show people that it’s not all bad,” Shafar said.
Additional reporting by MaryKay Linge.
