The Art of Urban Dance

Storm has opted for recounting the history of hip-hop in a highly original way, bringing together eight dancers from Paris, Berlin and Perpignan for a collective project: “The Art of Urban Dance” goes back in time to explore the different styles of dance

Rather than a simple, artistic rendering, Storm has opted for recounting the history of hip-hop in a highly original way, bringing together eight dancers from Paris, Berlin and Perpignan for a collective project: “The Art of Urban Dance” goes back in time to explore the form’s different stylistic influences. In a deliberatively didactic mise en scène Storm, from a screen in the background, comments on his lesson and interrogates his dancers. The dancers, in a choreography coupled with a projection directed by Herman Haag, illustrate the origins, inspirations and distinctions between the four best-known urban dance styles: locking, popping, bboying and housedance. All complex modes the dancers have worked on over the last twenty years. A combination of the playful and the educational, this show has been acclaimed around the world. As the members of the collective put it, «The moves, energy, attitude and grace of these styles speak for themselves. Our hope is to communicate something of the magic spark, the fascination we felt when we saw these dances for the first time.»
Source : Press book, Biennale de la Danse 2006