1-3 May
Breakin’ Convention 2010
Breakin’ Convention now offers reserved seating so early booking is strongly advised
"Breakin’ Convention presents dancers from Japan, the USA, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France and one of the strongest UK line-ups the festival has ever seen, with a special guest appearance by the 10-year-old winner of Sky1’s Got to Dance competition, Akai Osei.
Alongside world class performances the weekend is packed with live aerosol jams; workshop programmes taught by international artists; DJ demos, freestyle circlesand a world record attempt for the longest continuous popping wave.
Also fresh from Got to Dance fame are the Status performers, with the Alice in Wonderland – themed piece that took them to the semi-finals of the competition, and Cardiff-based youngsters Jukebox who perform a special collaborative piece with international champions Plague especially for Breakin’ Convention.
UK crews are well known for their theatricality, and amongst these groups are Just 4 Funk performing Know the Hedge, a humorous take on life in Devon, and Finchley-based poppers and lockers Goodfoot, who pride themselves on the personality and humour that comes through in their performances. Six teenage boys from Radikal perform a piece about their identity as young men using their speciality style of krumping, and Adiaspora’s two female choreographers explore frustrations facing women today.
Tackling serious issues through hip hop dance theatre are Unity & Unity Youth, with a dark piece based on domestic violence, and Mickael ‘Marso’ Riviere who performs a solo inspired by life after death. Cambridge-based Dance Offensive looks at the impossible wealth and stardom that young people are encouraged to aspire to, and Bad Taste Cru from Newcastle’s Dance City performs a piece focusing on a homeless person’s daily experiences of the street. 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.
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.
Japanese duo Hilty & Bosch make their debut UK performance, also bringing explosive locking moves to the stage. The full spectrum of popping styles is performed by Denmark’s Big City Brains, who include the Robot Boys, winners of Denmark’s Got Talent in 2008. French sister duo Cathy & DeyDey also perform popping moves, and Breaking comes from France’s Pro-Phenomenon and Phase T, who show off some fierce bboy energy.
Contemporary hip hop choreography is performed by Germany’s Renegade, with a piece that includes three bboys, two classical dancers, one bmx riderand choreography by Malou Airaudo, dancer with Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal. Compagnie pSycho from France also brings contemporary choreography to the line-up, as Babson from the world famous bboy crew Wanted Posse presents his first creation, Bleue.
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