Breakin' Convention 2024 - Sadler's Wells venues

Peter Anderson • May 02, 2024

Created and emceed by UK hip hop maker, Sadlers' Wells Associate Artist, and Breakin’ Convention Artistic Director Jonzi D, Breakin’ Convention Festival returns to Sadler’s Wells in Islington to celebrate hip hop culture in all its forms over the Early May Bank Holiday. The Festival showcases international acts from the USA, South Korea and France, as well as performances from local and national talents on Sadler’s Wells stages.


The Festival’s programme displays a wide variety of hip hop styles including breaking, popping, krumping, threading, funk and bruk up. Performances, activities for children of all ages, live DJs sessions, dance and bespoke graffiti workshops, freestyle sessions and shows take over the entire building. From 6pm on Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 May, audiences will be able to see performances from some of the world’s leading hip hop acts.


Including Femme Fatale (USA), Sons of Wind (France) and Jinjo crew (South Korea); CREATE4 (Netherlands) and Ekleido (UK); Ivan Michael Blackstock’s company TRAPLORD (UK), Boy Blue (UK), When Time Was New (UK), Gully South Block (GSB) (UK), Company DHW (UK), Sasha Mahfouz Shadid (UK) and ShaolinOrShao (UK) – plus a solo by Jamal Sterrett (UK). During the interval, Cie Kilaï (France) performs in the Lilian Baylis Studio.


Founded in 2017 by Chaquille Forrester-Osborne, Gully South Block (GSB) (Above) is a South London-based krumping collective whose aim is to give an intimate insight into one’s lifestyle, and to highlight that there is strength in vulnerabilities. They took part in the Breakin’ Convention artistic development programme Back to the Lab and return for their second Festival in a row. 


Femme Fatale (below) is a collective of three female dancers based in Los Angeles, originally from France, Mexico and Korea. Marie Poppins, Lily Frias and Dassy Lee bring their piece UNBOUNDED, showcasing their skills in popping, animation and robot through stories of the street dance scene, gender inequality, self-discovery and the ongoing challenges of being an artist. Femme Fatale performed for famous artists and brands and have starred in So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew.


Special activities for families take place front of house. On the First Circle from 4.30pm and again during the interval, the Tiny Totts Workshops are dedicated to children who want to explore various hip hop dance foundations, hosted by two fully qualified facilitators. 
 
Live DJ sessions take place in the foyer, featuring DJ Pogo, Cutmaster Swift and Yugson Hawks. Audiences can also learn to tag in the Graff Zone on the First Circle, and in Sadler’s Wells outdoor space, the Yard – while children from all ages are invited to take part in drawing workshops. The main wall in the foyer will be painted by Nean, a Belgian graffiti writer from the Kingdom crew. An hour of improvised theatre, the Freestyle Funk Forum is in the Lilian Baylis Studio.

During the interval on both nights, French company Cie Kilaï performs Raw, an intimate show featuring four dancers and spoken word centring women in hip hop in the Lilian Baylis Studio. The company was created in 2014 by Sandrine Lescourant – known as Mufasa – who heads a hip hop troupe with variations on classical, contemporary and traditional African dances. 


2024 is a significant year for breaking as it becomes an official Olympic sport for the first time at the Paris Olympics this summer. Academy Breakin’ Convention will open at Sadler's Wells East, offering a full-time further education programme for 16 to 19-year-olds that includes training in all aspects of hip hop – the first of its kind. Academy Breakin’ Convention will have a stall at the Festival on both days, where audiences can find out more about the course, and will host auditions on Sunday 5 May. Find out more information here Home - Academy Breakin' Convention (academybreakinconvention.com). 


Breakin' Convention Festival runs on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th May, for tickets please call the Box Office on 020 7863 8000 or visit the website www.sadlerswells.com.


Images above     Gully South Block - (c) Belinda Lawley

           below     Femme Fatale - (c) Paul Hampartsoumian

Peterborough Presents - Celebrating 10 years of creativity

By Peter Anderson • 16 May, 2024
In 2024 Peterborough Presents is celebrating 10 years of working with communities across the city to create great ‘art’. Mention the arts and people naturally think of galleries and theatres. For the last 10 years, arts organisation Peterborough Presents has been working with people from across the city to show that it is this and so much more. It can mean circuses, folk tales, street murals, poetry on the walls at the Lido, Zombie Walks at Diwali, being serenaded by violins whilst in a hot tub at Thorpe Meadows, going on magical history tours and creating lantern parades. It can mean carnivals at Millfield Festival, weekly craft groups or even doing up your local street with colourful planters. For their birthday, the Peterborough Presents team want to celebrate all the ways in which you can be creative and encourage you to get creative too. Their 10th birthday is as ambitious as ever! It kicks-off at Peterborough Celebrates Festival on 18th & 19th May at Ferry Meadows. Peterborough Presents will be taking over the ‘creative dome’. In there you can watch amazing carnival performances by Mandinga Arts or get involved in drawing and making sessions. Of course, there will be some party games too! Artist Rose Croft is currently working with groups from across the city to create colourful garlands and artworks from recycled materials that will decorate the Creative Dome. With funding from Arts Council England, Peterborough Presents has been working with people of all ages and backgrounds. Programme Director Sarah Haythornthwaite says “ There’s a lot of creativity in Peterborough and also energy to try something different. 10 years is a proper milestone too. Over those years we have had the pleasure, and honour, of working with specific neighbourhoods in the city to create projects alongside local residents. We don’t tell people what ‘arts’ they need." "We start by getting to know people, find out what inspires them, what's missing and then we create something together. It makes every project and every neighbourhood unique. We have seen people make new friends, learn new skills, even seen communities come together for the first time. They have looked at their neighbourhood in a different way and found creative ways to shout about something important to them. We’ve worked with some amazing established artists but have also helped to support some fabulous new ones too. Above all, we’ve had fun!” The birthday celebrations will continue throughout the year with community-led creative programmes in Millfield, Westwood, Eye, and beyond. Highlights include the Millfield Makers event in August, Eye Lantern Parade in November and film projects with young people in Westwood. You can expect some short films, podcasts and digital artwork released online too. Sarah continues “ The Peterborough Presents programme has provided thousands of people the opportunity to be part of creative activities over the last 10 years. We enjoy working closely with communities to co-produce our programme so that residents can experience art on their doorstep – projects that are relevant and fun!! A party isn’t a party unless others join us on the dance floor. So, we’re inviting you all to come and join us at Peterborough Celebrates and have a go at being a bit creative. ” Peterborough Presents is hosted by Nene Park Trust and supported by Metal, Peterborough City Council, Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services, Eastern Angles and Creative Lives. The programme is funded by Arts Council England.You can find out more about by visiting www.peterboroughpresents.org . To find out more about Peterborough Celebrates visit www.peterboroughcelebratesfestival.co.uk

Fältsånger perform at The Pyramid

By Peter Anderson • 16 May, 2024
Placing as much importance on the visual aspect as the music, Fältsånger strives to make each concert an experience, with unique opening films that draw the audience into their world before emerging from the shadows to blend into the psychedelic projections that flood the stage as the music blossoms. Fältsånger are perhaps best described as psychedelic electronica. Or maybe ambient space rock. Or even experimental muzak. Whatever the label, their music is uniquely their own. Coming from Warrington, the band appeared in 2023 with a few releases across streaming platforms and a small number of highly visual concerts at select venues. Believing in a "live is best" approach, the band rarely writes traditional songs, usually relying on fate to deliver songs through extended jams. Often these jams require an element of editing to bring them down to digestible lengths, although sometimes, as was the case with The Moon Shimmers With Secrets, a full album can appear entirely through live, and unedited, improvisation. Described recently as "the most innovative band around", their fans find them reminiscent of Tangerine Dream, The Orb, Herbie Hancock, Gong, Spaceheads, Ryksöpp, and even Manuel Göttsching, the band cites few of these as influences. No doubt if you are fans of these groups, Fältsånger could be well worth considering as an addition to your Spotify playlists. Alternatively, you could join the audience at Warrington's Pyramid Arts Centre, this Saturday. Sit back close your eyes and be whisked from the angst of the modern world. Fältsånger are looking to start making appearances further afield, but for now, to experience them you will have to travel to Warrington. Here is your link for tickets and further info' https://linktr.ee/faltsanger
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