The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

biteperformance Lisa Ogun’ attended Breakin’ Convention’s 20th-anniversary hip-hop dance event and saw UK’s hip-hop guru, Jonzi D, given international recognition, followed by The Ruggeds: State Shift’s performance at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. T he excitement brewing in the air by those in the know of Breakin’ Convention’s weekenders that annually coincide with the UK’s first May Bank Holiday can be feverish. Add to the fact it’s their 20th anniversary, and the announcement of their line-up to commemorate it, and what you’ve got is an infection. An infection of the affection of all things hip-hop! I was privileged to be there for two of the 4-day event: getting there a couple of hours before the main event, I could wander around the building and take in the various stations on each floor that kept the audienc- es entertained, informed, skilled and wowed. From spoken-word rap and dance to graffiti, DJing, a book launch, dance battles, mini-teach sessions and live dance performances, the vibe that took over Sadler’s Wells that weekend was electric! Resident DJs Tha En4cers spun beats that had us head bopping even whilst walking around; Olivia Rose Shoul- er and Bismark Anobah were teaching street dance move in The Training Ground upstairs in the building; human beat-boxers Hobbit on Saturday and Beatfox on Sunday kept us entertained just before the live shows. On Sunday, there was a book launch in the cafe area: the ‘Oxford Handbook of Hip-Hop Dance Studies’ went live where b-girl Mary Fogarty was joined in conversa- tion with Jonzi D, b-boy and storyteller Manny Adele- kun and hip-hop guests Legendary Twins. I even got to witness the open circle dance-battling on the 1st circle mezzanine, where youth dancers from Gabrielle Vella’s Saint Thomas Move dance company in Eltham, like Jay Phillips, Nnandi Aybaso, Isaac James and Ines Diacore, popped, locked, bopped, dougied and whacked to a roaring crowd that certainly got us pumped. And this was just a taste of what was available to experience, even before the anticipated main show happened later that evening. I tell you, Breakin’ Convention is a day trip out. BREAKIN’ CONVENTION 20TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE FEATURE