Breakin' Convention, the international festival of hip hop dance theatre at Sadler's Wells, will be spreading its wings and touring to America this summer. The festival, since its birth in 2004, is a continually evolving organisation which has grown to encompass a range of events. The summer of 2013 will see Breakin' Covention visit one of New York's most iconic and historic venues: the Apollo Harlem Theater.
The theatre will play host to the first ever international show of Breakin' Convention, travelling directly to the birth place of hip hop: New York. In taking the festival of hip hop dance theatre overseas, Breakin' Convention will be communicated to even more audiences than before. As with the UK festivals, the organisers of Breakin' Convention will be bringing another packed programme of dance performances, film screenings, live aerosol jams, panel discussions, DJ demos and open circles to the US city across two nights on 15 and 16 June 2013.
Consequently, Breakin' Convention is inviting the most innovative hip-hop dance crews to take part, and have been accepting online applications since 24 January 2013. With the closing date set as 15 February, selected companies will then be invited to audition in early March. The top four groups will then perform as a part of the festival at the Apollo Theater. Listed as one of the core values of the festival, the profiling of some of the world's elite hip-hop performers will now be extended to New York City to further explore the possibilities of hip-hop dance theatre, educate on the foundations of hip-hop dance and engage with young people.
Breakin’ Convention (Festival and Tour), Pioneers, Open Art Surgery, Future Elements and Back to the Lab are all key projects in the festival calendar, so keep your eye out for more in 2013, gearing towards 10 years of Breakin' Convention!