Breakin’ the mould

Hip hop festival Breakin’ Convention launched in 2004. The two-day event sold out and was a resounding success. Now in its fourth year, and having expanded to three days – this year May 5-7 – the event has become a firm fixture in the Sadler’s Wells calendar. Jonzi D is curator and host of Breakin’ Convention, and Jonzi D Productions has become an associate company of Sadler’s Wells. Jonzi has been making hip hop theatre since the early 1990s and here talks to Georgina Harper about his passion for the artform. Photographs by Chris Davis

Starting out as a hip hop MC, JonziD took the unusual decision to train in contemporary dance. After studying at London Contemporary Dance School he set out to combine the narratives of hip hop culture with dance theatre. By using hip hop dance styles like breaking, locking and popping to express and explore stories, he created his own unique style, fusing dance theatre and hip hop. Jonzi has gone on to break significant new ground as curator and host of Breakin’ Convention, Britain’s first international hip hop dance theatre festival, showcasing the creative potential of hip hop dance theatre and the next generation of hip hop dance pioneers.
I went to meet Jonzi at Sadler’s Wells, where Jonzi D Productions is based and where he obviously feels at home. We began chatting in the studio where a rehearsal for his re-working of the show TAG: Me vs The City will take place. Surrounded by giant graffiti sculptures which the dancers can climb on to create “physical calligraphy”, Jonzi talked about why he felt drawn to this particular mode of expression. Despite being liable to burst into hysterical laughter or wild gesticulations at any moment, he tends to speak slowly, deliberately, and with reverence when describing the aspects of hip hop culture that inspired him. “Hip hop theatre brings together the artistic disciplines of hip hop: rap, dance, music, and visual art. It has very specific approaches to all these things and in hip hop theatre we just look at theatrical techniques through which we can explore these disciplines.”
Although inspired by the potential of dance theatre, during his training in contemporary dance Jonzi, a self-confessed “hip-hop-head”, felt increasingly disengaged by narratives and ideas that contemporary dance was exploring: “I asked myself, are these my narratives? Are these things I relate to? I had already developed an audience with my extra curricular rap activities and I liked that audience. I enjoyed performing to that audience and when I came off-stage I had a connection with that audience. I wanted to explore the cultural ideas surrounding hip hop and the type of narratives that come from the culture and people. These ideas are not exclusive to hip hop, but I knew that these subjects were things that a ‘hip-hop-head’ would understand. I knew I needed to bring these two polarised elements of my life – dance theatre and rap – together.
“In 1983, dance was the first part of hip hop culture that grabbed me. Seeing someone spinning on their head and doing all these acrobatic moves – as a 13-year-old boy that was just the most exciting thing. Dance was the strongest part of it – hip hop pioneers like DJ Biznizz and Cutmaster Swift started off as b-boys and dance was crucial to the coming together of this holistic culture of hip hop. Over the last 10-15 years hip hop has fragmented. Rap music has gone off on its own tangent with the ‘bling’ and the whole ‘gangsta’ thing. Graffiti has always been an underground part of hip hop due to the nature of the activity – it is illegal and therefore difficult to make money out of. That’s another reason I think hip hop theatre is an exciting development – we can bring all the disparate elements back together.”
For many people the words “hip hop” conjure up images of gangsta rappers and gold jewellery. However, hip hop culture began as a more community-focused attempt to use music, dance and art as an alternative to violent gangs. There was a period in the development of hip hop when the dance element became increasingly marginalised in favour of music. Certainly, with the media focus on the violent and misogynistic lyrics of some rap music, and the glamorisation of gang culture, hip hop dance is often associated more with the “booty shaking” of bikini clad girls in the background of rap videos on channels like MTV than with serious artistic expression.
Hip hop dance artists have continued to develop the style despite being overshadowed by their louder and more controversial counterparts in the world of rap. Jonzi suggests that not having to fit into commercial agendas all the time has helped hip hop dance keep its artistic edge and develop in interesting new directions: “Look at the development of b-boying for example,” he says. “At Battle Of The Year, the UK B-Boy Championships, and freestyle sessions in America and Japan you will see breaking on another level. It’s constantly being pushed and developed. Perhaps as a result of its marginalisation it’s been allowed to do that.”
During Breakin’ Convention hip hop dance is thrown into the spotlight in one of the UK’s most prestigious dance venues. This year’s Breakin’ Convention promises to thrill audiences with ground-breaking work including more solo pieces and some challenging re-configurations of the hip hop aesthetic: “Company Revolution will perform a solo which is definitely going to leave you a bit hot under the collar plus we have a female breaking solo in high heels,” Jonzi enthuses.
Breakin’ Convention is a great showcase for the UK hip hop dance scene and Jonzi feels that by inviting international artists to perform alongside local acts, a distinctive UK style has emerged: “I have noticed a particular style that is UK. Snappy gestures which don’t have the same idiosyncrasies and ‘flava’ taught in the foundations of American hip hop. I think what we’ve got here is a rhythmic difference that comes as a result of music styles like Jungle, Drum ‘n’ Bass and UK Garage. There is definitely a slightly different rhythmic take in the UK.”
The festival is also an opportunity for UK groups to eye up the international competition, and with groups from France and Korea coming up with innovative new takes on the hip hop genre, Jonzi believes the UK needs to up its game. “Originally Breakin’ Convention was about the fact that there was hip hop going on inside Sadler’s Wells – that immediately broke a convention,” says Jonzi, “but four years down the line I felt as though we hadn’t moved on especially with the UK groups. For example, last year I was surprised how many people had gone back to presenting ‘routine’ based ideas. I think Breakin’ Convention has to push it forward and live up to its title by using narrative, exploring thematic motifs and even simply by using some more creative music.”
Jonzi also offers some earnest advice to young dancers: “Discipline is vital, otherwise it is not going to happen. I wish I’d worked harder back when I was training. I feel as though I let myself down a little bit technically, so while you are still young work really hard. In other places where I have travelled there is a much higher discipline level – in Korea they will train for five hours a day and not get paid for it – that is just what they do. France is a close second. Generally the development of the form in the UK is slower than in the rest of the world.”
When I asked Jonzi about his plans for the future he exclaimed: “Hollywood! No, Bollywood! No really – put that down!” In addition to his Bollywood debut, his primary focus is on the next generation of hip hop dancers. He immediately became more solemn: “I enjoy being in a position of responsibility for younger kids who feel that hip hop dance makes sense for them. There are big issues with the training of dancers. In the early 1980s I studied hip hop dance with communities of hip hop dancers who would find a space, sometimes just the bit of concrete outside their house, and practise moves. Now training often takes place in ‘safe environments’, where you pay your money and learn from the teacher – but I think something is missing. The cultural foundation of where the dance comes from… it is from the streets, from marginal communities. Hip hop dance is already being institutionalised, but what it needs are leaders inside these institutions who understand its cultural foundation. Without this we’ll end up with a load of happy, MTV dancers who lack the rawness.”
Jonzi’s latest creation, TAG: Me vs. The City tackles the psychology of an artist and brings together hip hop dance, narrative and rap poetry to explore the world of hip hop’s visual manifestation – graffiti. The story centres upon a graffiti artist struggling with two identities; his view of himself as an artist and society’s view of him as a vandal. “The work I have been doing has a lot to do with my London Contemporary Dance School training, which has allowed me to see more possibilities in what you can do with dance and theatre.” The piece uses movement to create “physical calligraphy” and hip hop dance techniques from body popping to break dancing to bring graffiti art to life. The sensation of dripping paint is created through rippling bodies, and human beatbox techniques are used to conjure the sound of the spray can”.
With hip hop dance sweeping the UK and the next generation of dance and theatre audiences having grown up with hip hop culture, it is an exciting time for the development of innovative and intelligent hip hop dance and with Jonzi D at the helm, his sights set on nurturing the next generation of artists, there are more exciting creations in store.
See www.breakinconvention.com for more on the festival and tour (made possible by the Dance Consortium and Sadler’s Wells). See www.jonzi-d.co.uk for more on the TAG: Me vs. The City tour.

WEB EXCLUSIVE:
Jonzi’s top UK hip hop artists to watch

• Kenrick Sandy Choreographer of Boy Blue Entertainment who were recently nominated for an Olivier Award for their production of Pied Piper. “The company presents hip hop dance theatre and excels in interrogating a specific theme and how to frame an idea”.
• Birdgang “I like their anonymity. They always wear masks so you don’t know if they are men, women, black, white you just don’t know. In a way that is what Hip Hop dance is about. One of my highlights in Breakin’ Convention 2006 and you can catch them again this year.”

Jonzi’s top international hip hop artists to watch

• Korean Breakdancers “All of them! Particularly Project Soul who are technically the best breakers on the world right now in my opinion. Their work ethic and discipline is an inspiration to b-boys around the world. Their attention to detail and ability to strive for perfection is awe inspiring.”
• Franck II Louise (France) “They are ahead of their time. Everyone else has to catch up! They are touring with Breakin’ Convention this year and use break dance, street dance styles and house dance. Their piece Drop It is about brave new world, a revolutionary type piece using popping and locking techniques. They are using motion sensors over the bodies and making music with their bodies – each pop sets off a music sample that they then dance to. They blew me away.”