We challenged our dancers to think about the most limiting belief of Hip Hop Dance. This discussion revealed the challenging perceptions that Hip Hop dance was viewed as a purely entertainment-based dance form, unlike more westernized styles such as ballet and modern. The limited perception of Hip Hop dance is a symptom of a larger bias towards the communities that created the art form, specifically the African Americans community. Our solution to this problem was to create more Hip Hop dance specifically at a level that parallels what we, as a society, see as high art.
In EDC’s “reFRESH”, teen and adult choreographers will study some of the world’s most iconic dance works and create original dances inspired by these pieces…but through a Hip Hop lens. Through this show, we seek to expand the narrow views that many have of Hip Hop and to a larger degree the communities that created it.
