Breakin’ Convention 2010 UK Tour

The third UK tour of the critically acclaimed International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre
Friday 22 October – Saturday 20 November 2010

Sadler’s Wells’ renowned international festival of hip hop dance theatre Breakin' Convention, returns for a third extensive UK tour following another sold-out London festival earlier in May 2010. Curated and hosted by British hip hop pioneer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Jonzi D the UK tour presents the finest crews from street corners around the globe between 22 October and 20 November 2010.
The line-up for Breakin’ Convention 2010 UK Tour includes Sébastien and Raphael (Perpignan and Berlin), whose imaginative take on hip hop dance, using projection and contemporary moves creates distinctive and haunting visual trickery in Seuls, Ensemble. Phase T (Paris) epitomise the energy, dynamism and raw skills frequently associated with the genre, and recently came 2nd in Korea’s global contest R16. They bring their quintessential B Boy battle style exuberance to the stage with a brand new show for the Breakin’ Convention 2010 tour. Breakin’ Convention also presents some of the freshest UK talent at each venue via a local crew in each city, to be announced in September following a Regional Selection Event at each venue.
“Sébastien and Raphael for Seuls Ensemble (Together Alone) for the most outstanding use of theatrical performance and video projection.” Too Much Flavour, May 2009
“French group Phase T were casually astonishing.” Zoe Anderson, The Independent, May 2010
Breakin’ Convention includes much more than just the performances on stage. The festival’s UK Tour also brings an international workshop programme, animating the tour venue foyer spaces with hip hop culture including graffiti writing, performances and DJs playing to packed freestyle circles where audiences are renowned for joining in.
Since its inception at Sadler’s Wells in 2004 Breakin’ Convention has become a major event in the hip hop dance calendar. Since 2004 the festival has been seen by almost 60,000 people in London and across the UK. The 2009 UK tour saw massive ticket demand at venues across the country with sell-out capacity crowds in major UK cities.

For full listings about the Breakin’ Convention 2010 UK Tour check the website: www.breakinconvention.com

‘8SIXTEEN32’ NATIONAL TOUR SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 28

THE DECYPHER COLLECTIVE and their show 8SIXTEEN32, commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre marks a first, both for the grime scene, that quintessentially British progeny of hip-hop, drum & bass and garage, and for theatre…
8SIXTEEN32 refers to typical bar lines used in grime: these rhythms permeate the show, which dramatises a ‘life of grime’ in a series of set pieces [Street, Yard, Club…] capturing the excitement, aspirations, creativity and disillusionment of the scene as its participants each seek to prove their skills and make their name. The show also examines the way that grime is co-opted by corporate interests which never quite ‘get’ it…In the show, the ‘N81632’ is a new state-of-the-art phone the crew all crave – Advertised appropriately using a grime soundtrack.
Birmingham MCs Evoke, LCB, Professor D and RTKal formed DECYPHER COLLECTIVE after 40 MCs originally auditioned for this ambitious project. Their distinctive skills, honed through many a late-night clash, won through and 8SIXTEEN32 began to develop, under the artistic direction of poet/musician/DJ Charlie Dark and Birmingham Repertory Theatre who have commissioned the 2010 national tour.
The young performers combine impressive musicality with a stage presence, comic timing and a general sense of theatre that wouldn’t disgrace more seasoned performers, so that the show is a lot more than just an extended sequence of rhymes, but nonetheless maintains the grittiness and essentially improvised feel of the scene…
Winning over audiences recently at LATITUDE, the show is based on the writing of hip-hop poet and spoken word luminary Polarbear. Music is provided throughout by critically acclaimed broken-beats jazzman Mark De Clive-Lowe.
Director Leo Kay has made his name with a series of well-received self penned shows (Most recently It's Like He's Knocking) and as a performer of everything from Greek tragedy to Dance Theatre and Capoeira. Leo creates and produces innovative theatre for his companies Madrugada and Unfinished Business, as writer/director/choreographer/performer but has a CV that also takes in commercial projects, notably as narrator of The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra with LPO and The Golden Monkey in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials at the National Theatre.

OCTOBER TOUR DATES
30th Sept. -1st. Oct The Albany, Deptford www.thealbany.org.uk
4th-5th The Egg, Bath www.theatreroyal.org.uk/the-egg
7th-8th Contact Theatre, Manchester www.contact-theatre.org
12th Redbridge Drama Centre www.redbridgedramacentre.co.uk
14th-15th North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford www.thenorthwall.com
19th Peepul Centre, Leicester www.peepulcentre.com
20th Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton www.arena.wlv.ac.uk
21st & 23rd. The Drum, Birmingham www.the-drum.org.uk
25th Hull Truck Theatre www.hulltruck.co.uk
27th Harrow Arts Centre www.harrowarts.com
28th Broadway Theatre, Barking www.thebroadwaybarking.com

DEAD PREZ LIVE

SUSPECT PACKAGES LIVE - JON PHONICS LIVE

UK DMC 2010