The champion of hip-hop dance theatre says there will be something for everyone at Breakin’ Convention in Denver

Breakin’ Convention, coming to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts from Nov. 4-5, is the world’s biggest festival of hip-hop dance theatre, showcasing the very best from around the world and around the corner.

It is curated and hosted by British hip-hop pioneer Jonzi D, who talked with the DCPA NewsCenter about what festival-goers can expect, and who Breakin’ Convention is for.

“Theatre is missing out on a brand-new vision and voice and audience,” Jonzi D said. “This is a chance where you can bring your children and your grandchildren to something which will hopefully bring the whole family together and also demystify maybe some of the stereotypes that people have about hip-hop,” he said. (Look for the full written text of the Jonzi D video interview at the bottom of this report.)

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

The major ticketed events will be two public performances in the Buell Theatre featuring four international hip-hop dance acts, one national act and local crews that were chosen from auditions held in Denver over the summer The lineup includes Machinez Remainz, Nasty Kidz, Block 1750, Rennie Harris Grass Roots, School of Breaking, Malika, The Freak Show and DJ A-L, with pre-show demonstrations and performances from DJ Lazy Eyez, Asia One and Queenz of Hip-Hop and DJ Thred.

Jonzi D started Breakin’ Convention in 2004 and first took his creation across the pond to Charlotte two years ago. It comes to Denver in now both to fill a void and open a door here.

Breakin’ Convention: The international lineup

• Yeah Yellow (France) – An explosive b-boy crew from France, YY brings agility, creativity and invention to the BC stage. Bodies create orifices to dive through, and reform physical shapes with muscular alchemy. Recently performed at BOTY16.
• Protocol (U.K.) – Lanre Malouda directs as well as performs in this duet that explores racial dynamics. Popping and tutting techniques, as well as text and physical theatre is used to present ideas that reflect the tensions in our community today.
• Salah (France) – A living legend in the world of hip-hop dance, Salah returns to the Breakin’ Convention stage after an eight year hiatus. This consummate performer is a master popper, locker, b-boy, clown and all around entertainer. Known for his amazing battle abilities, Salah will present his theatre piece The Sickness.
• Soweto Skeleton Movers (South Africa) – From the most notorious township on the African continent comes the Soweto Skeleton Movers. The audience highlight of Breakin’ Convention 2016 returns with a brand new show. Experts in a particular form of pantsula dance developed by Skeleton Mover pioneer Jabulani, the crew use comedic contortionism, frenetic footwork, and magical hat tricks.
• Popin’ Pete (U.S.) – Also known as Timothy Earl Solomon, Popin’ Pete is an American dancer, choreographer, innovator, one of the originators of the “popping” dance style and member of the Electric Boogaloos. His career has spanned 30 years developing funk culture as a whole.

Related events before and during the festival:

Denver’s Bboy Factory will conduct master classes on Wednesday. Nov. 1, at 6401 Broadway. To sign up, call 720-771-2667 or email Ian Flaws at ian@bboyfactory.com

• 7-8:30 p.m.: Salah – Popping, Animation, Boogaloo and Effects
• 8:30 – 10 p.m.: Yeah Yellow – Breakin, Top Rock, Footwork and creating your own style

Breakin’ Convention (inside the Buell Theatre) will present a special student matinee at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 3. Contact groupsales@dcpa.org for more information.

Breakin’ Convention: Ticket Information

• Nov. 4-5
• The Buell Theatre and surrounding areas
• Tickets: 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• Groups: Call 303-446-4829
• Special student performance at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 3

Previous NewsCenter coverage of Breakin’ Convention:
Breakin’ Convention to kick off Denver Arts Week in November
Breakin’ Convention promises to bring authenticity, local artists to DCPA

Photo gallery: Breakin’ Convention community roundtable

Photo gallery: Last summer, about 35 members of the local artistic community attended a local community roundtable at the Denver Center to get the conversation about ‘Breakin’ Convention’ started. To see more, click the forward arrow on the image above. Photos by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.

The Jonzi D video interview: The complete text

My name is Jonzi D, and I am the Artistic Director of Breakin’ Convention , the international festival of hip-hop dance theatre.

Breakin’ Convention is hip-hop dance in the theatre. I always felt that there was a gap in the culture in that there is this amazing dance form that is very contemporary that’s spreading like wildfire around the world. And why is it that theatre is a little bit behind in actually saying, ‘Well, hey, there is an opportunity here.’

I spoke to Alistair Spalding, who is the Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. And I said to him: ‘We need to do a festival which brings together all of this work from around the world.’ So in 2004, we did our first festival. We introduced artists from Korea, France, The Netherlands, Russia, and brought them all to London, and it was amazing. It sold out.

We managed to carry on and keep doing it, and 14 years later, we are here now in Denver. I connected with the Bboy Factory, which is a local school here, and as always, I realized there was a lovely hip-hop community here. It was enough to know that Breakin’ Convention would work here.

We’re gonna take over the theatre space at the Buell Theatre. We’re gonna have graffiti exhibitions outside and inside the building as well. We’re gonna have DJs spinning. Outside the theatre space, we’re gonna be seeing some dancers basically ciphering. (A dance cypher is the area of the dance floor that is open to those who wish to dance in it.) So before you even buy your ticket, there will be activity. There will be workshops around the various international artists that will be part of it. Once you get into the auditorium, you’re going to see an array of short pieces and very different approaches to the hip-hop genre.

Theatre is missing out on a brand-new vision and voice and audience. This is a chance where you can bring your children and your grandchildren to something which will hopefully bring the whole family together and also demystify maybe some of the stereotypes that people do have about hip-hop. This is a chance to be in your local theatre and then you can really understand hip-hop. You can see  graffiti close-up. You can see the artistic disciplines that hip-hop calls at you. And also: You can have fun. It’s probably the most joyous event that you will go to in your theatre calendar. Everybody’s got something to be engaged with in Breakin’ Convention. If you like graphic arts, you will be engaged with that. If you like music, you can be engaged with that. If you have a family, there is a lot that your children can be part of.

Yeah, there are a lot of reasons to come.