The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

biteperformance Photography by Paul Hampartsoumian and Belinda Lawley dance to Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’ poem about being a wom- an in this age of male dominance particularly wowed me, punc- tuating each proclamation line with a feminine pose or stance. Those women were on fire! ILL-Abilities, an international disability-dance crew, featured Samuka, a leg-amputee top breaker and Redo, a dancer born with phocomelia syndrome (shortened arm malformation), performing an excerpt of ‘Dis-connect’. As a disabled, ex-danc- er artist, I know about pushing through the challenges of your body’s limitations though very much inspired by what they pre- sented. It took a very long while for me to notice the disabilities visually, and that wasn’t down to my eyesight - I had my glass- es on! It was because the breaking wowed me moves that they both gave us. Truly acrobatically outstanding performances! The infamous international dance sensations Les Twins (Larry and Laurent Bourgeois), alongside Rubix from Criminalz and Missy from NRC, had all four dancers give us great moves as anticipated and were an act to reckon with. I loved the onstage battling relationship they had. They were popping, locking, sliding, breaking, krumping and flowing. Sunday’s main show had Lauren Scott performing ‘Renais- sance’, Kloe Dean and Danny Francis performing ‘Simbi’, and Far from the Norm performing ‘Bullets 4 Freedom’, all from the UK. Les Twins, Missy and Criminalz’ Rubix, Boy Blue and Gully South Block did not perform on Sunday. What was extra special on the Saturday show was the Legendary Twins, who were born and raised in the Bronx, New York, presenting Jonzi D with a framed letter and informing him of plans to have him up on the walls of the upcoming Universal Hip-Hop Museum being built in New York as we speak. Jonzi D, overcome with emotion, had tears as the long letter commending his contribution to the history of hip-hop in the UK on an international level was read out. It was not surprising, given that the Legendary Twins were tasked with presenting this to him. Keith and Kevin Smith are named the Legendary Twins because they were the first generation b-boys accredited as the ‘first dance crew to go down to the floor in footwork and vertical moves in the 70s.’ I asked what this meant to the twins during the interval. “How special is it to you for Jonzi D to be named as part of your museum in New York?” Keith replied, “Well, you have to give credit where credit is due. We came to honour him for what he has done. He has carried the hip-hop tradition in the UK for more than 20 years, which has to be recognised. It just happened that now is the time, and it is deserving, so we are honoured to honour him and be here.” Breakin’ Convention didn’t stop there! On Friday 26, and Saturday 27 May, the Ruggeds came to Sadler’s Wells for the UK premiere of State Shift. The performance was an intimate evening of two pieces from The Netherlands-based dance col- lective, both choreographed by Roy Overdijk, including the solo ‘Turns’ and duet ‘Waterbrothers’. The evening was accom- panied by music by Jessy ‘Boi Beige’ Kemper. All three performances were terrific! The Waterbrothers’ fluid floor movements on a white circular floor mat in the middle of the stage were, at times, reptilian, like a swift flicker of a liz- ard tail, yet mesmerising to watch. Turns’ intimate dance with the light bars that periodically came away and swung from the stage ceiling was unique, clever and exciting. Boi Beige’s music creation sounds were hard not to get up, pop, and lock to - pure talent! I had to contend with head-nodding in the dark; that was hard. The audience was then treated to the showings of their two short films, one each of the Waterbrothers and Turn. Click on the website below to learn more about the organi- sation, including plans to open a hip-hop theatre at the new Sadler’s Wells venue in Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. I, for one, cannot wait until next year’s Breakin’ Convention. www.breakinconvention.com ILL-Abilities Les Twins, Missy, and Rubik from Criminalz Crew Jonzi D and BSL interpreter Jacqui Beckford