It seems that of the four elements of hip hop, the art of MCing mostly seems to steal the limelight. However, for the B-Boy, Graf writer and DJ there is one event that redresses this imbalance perfectly.
Not only does it showcase the best of these but it infuses the dance with many external elements of theatre.
Just as hip hop music began by taking the best from other genres of music - (as demonstrated by the classic record - Grand Master FlashAdventures on the Wheels of Steel) Jonzi D's Breakin Convention takes the best of all dance from around the globe and delivers one of the most spectacular hip hop shows you will ever see.
Since its inception in 2004 the international festival of hip hop dance theatre has showcased over 2600 performers in front of tens of thousands of people. The 2010 line up includesdancers from Japan, the USA, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France and one of the strongest UK line-ups the festival has ever seen.
The international crews performing in 2010 include a major event in the eyes of the hip hop world, as Suga Pop from the Electric Boogaloos leads an international tribute to Greg Campbellock Jr., one of the pioneers of locking, who died suddenly in January 2010. This tribute features Suga Pop, Lockadelic & Flomaster (USA), and some of Greg’s master students from the UK.
Japanese duo Hilty & Bosch make their debut UK performance, also bringing explosive locking moves to the stage. The former schoolmates have been dancing together since they were 15 years old, and their astonishing physical and stylistic similarity has made them stand out as some of the best young lockers in the world.
The full spectrum of popping styles is performed by Denmark’s Big City Brains, which includes choreography by visionary old school popper Mr. Steen; Phax,whose animation skillshave previously seen him labelled the slowest man on earth and the Robot Boys, winners of Denmark’s Got Talent in 2008.
Breaking moves come from France’s Pro-Phenomenon and Phase T, who show off their fierce bboy energy which saw them reach the semi-finals of the prestigious global bboy competition Battle of the Year in 2009.
With contemporary choreography by Malou Airaudo, dancer with Pina Bausch’s TanztheaterWuppertal, German company Renegade present Schwarze Katze, a piece with three bboys, two classical dancers and one bmx rider. The company returns to the UK following previous success with Cage and Rumble, which toured nationally.
This year, Breakin’ Convention presents one of its strongest UK line-ups ever.
Based at Newcastle’s Dance City, Bad Taste Cru brings classic breaking to the stage. The six strong group of family members and best friends grew up together in Omagh, Northern Ireland, and moved away from the small town to establish their careers. The crew’s recent achievements include being finalists of Sadler’s Wells Global Online Dance Contest, and representing the UK at Battle of the Year. For their fourth appearance at Breakin’ Convention, Bad Taste Cru performs Council of the Ordinary, a piece focusing on a homeless person’s daily experiences of the street that was performed at the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Fest in December 2009.
UK crews are well known for their powerful street dance skills, and amongst those performing passionate choreography are Unity & Unity Youth, with a dark piece based on domestic violence, and Cambridge-based Dance Offensive, who look at the impossible aspirations of wealth and stardom that our culture encourages young people to cultivate. Adiaspora’s two female choreographers explore frustrations facing women today using whacking, punking and vogueing styles alongside contemporary and African dance techniques. Six teenage boys from Woolwich Polytechnic perform a piece about their identity as young men using their speciality style of krumping.
The Status performers show their high energy, punchy style in the Alice in Wonderland–themed piece that took them to the semi-finals of Sky 1’s Got to Dance earlier this year. A performance by Interlude completes the UK line up, with the youngest performers at this year’s Breakin’ Convention, the youngest of whom is just 7 years old.
Alongside the lineup of artists the Breakin’ Convention weekend includes the fifth Film Night; the latest Future Elements video screening event, created entirely by young people representing the future of hip hop dance; live aerosol jams; workshop programmes taught by international artists; DJ demos and aerosol art and freestyle circles taking place in the Sadler’s Wells foyer.
Breakin Convention takes place: 1-3 May 2010 in London
