Hip-Hop

LEVELS: From Beginner through Professional for ages 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, and Adult.*

The phenomenon known as the “hip hop culture” was identified in the early 1980’s. The expression and words, hip-hop were originally used by MC’s as part of a scat style of rhyming.

Rennie Harris is considered a pioneer for moving hip-hop from the streets, to the concert and commercial stages, by connecting hip hop to its traditional origins. Rennie Harris is considered a pioneer for moving hip-hop from the streets, to the concert and commercial stages, by connecting hip hop to its traditional origins.His dance company, Rennie Harris Puremovement, conceived a vision for sharing an appreciation for diversity, and Harris is dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop culture through workshops, classes, lecture-demonstrations, dance residencies, mentoring programs and public performances. 

Today, hip hop is connected to its roots, and other traditional dance forms creating a new hybrid referred to as “new style.” “New style” is being explored by today’s choreographers and teachers of dance. Many dance studios offer hip hop classis in which they utilize various elements of hip hop styles and mix and blend them with more structured dance styles such as jazz and contemporary dance. Hip hop purest have felt that the studio approach to hip hop at times sacrifices the technique and artistic expression of hip hop. However, the media has made hip hop accessible, displaying the form as a broad genre, giving choreographers and teachers much freedom for personal expression and invention.  Specialty performance troupes such as Cirque De Soliel, a French avant-garde acrobatic circus, present many forms of acrobatics to an ever-growing audience creating a new surge of interest by the general public. The popularity of the performing arts competition movement has helped to showcase and to steadily increase the difficulty and variety of skills being performed. The future of acrobatics is bright as programs continue to grow in dance centers around the country.