Hip Hop Theatre Workshop Festival

Breaking Cycles and The Martin Harris Centre at The University of Manchester present Process08

Hip Hop Theatre Workshop Festival 4^th – 16^th August 2008

Following the success of Process06, Benji Reid and his company Breaking Cycles present another ground-breaking festival of courses, master-classes, film and special events offering b-boys, b-girls, hip hop heads and young artists the unique opportunity to work alongside some of the worlds most creative hip hop theatre masters.

For Process08, Breaking Cycles joins forces with Manchester’s Martin Harris Centre this August, offering opportunities to work with and showcase key hip hop innovators including the UK’s Ty, France’s Walid, plus US maestros Will Power, Baba Israel and for the first time, inspirational duo Kwik Step & Rockafella. As well, Manchester’s Contact Theatre plays host to performances titled ‘An Audience With’, offering the public a rare chance to savour the best of Process08. Finally Process08 also presents their film festival with a rich and diverse programme of shorts, documentaries and features relating to Hip Hop culture and art forms.

Here’s the low-down on Process’s special guests for 2008:

Ty highlights skills involved in creating verse, exploring how words and music relate to performance. One of the UK’s most cherished MCs, Ty has made critically acclaimed albums, shared mics with luminaries such as Talib Kweli and De La Soul, been name-checked by Lily Allen and performed with Damon Albarn. A Mercury Music Prize nominee, Ty has won numerous awards, taking his vision of hip hop into prisons and schools acting as spokesman for his musical culture on Newsnight. Ty has a history of involvement in the spoken word/poetry scene, as well as running workshops in schools and beyond.

France’s Walid is a popping and boogaloo master and original member of the O Posse, a pioneering hip hop Paris dance crew and is now one of the most revered exponents of his craft world-wide. Walid confirmed this status by winning the first ‘Funkstyles’ event judged by the Electric Boogaloos at the B-Boy Summit 2000 in Los Angeles. As well he’s been a long-term dancer with Montalvo-Hervieu and co-created Quintessence with Nabil Saoudi, utilising a combination of b-boy and popping styles. An auspicious occasion to watch and learn from this prized performer, Walid is now one of the most in-demand popping teachers in the world.

From the US, Will Power returns to Process after a memorable contribution in 2006. An award-winning actor, rapper, playwright, and educator, Power has his own style of theatrical communication, fusing original music, rhymed language and dynamic choreography to produce compelling and internationally renowned work. Winning accolades via his lyrical and composing skills he has collaborated with musicians appearing on albums. Will Power’s talents are matched only by his remarkable teaching ability focusing on self-expression via performance.

Baruch ‘Baba’ Israel is an MC, producer, poet, recording artist and beat-boxer, he also has a life-long association with theatre co-founding the Playback NYC Theater Company and teaching all of his disciplines internationally. He works with Urban Word, Bam, Arts Horizons, and New World Theater and co-directs Hip Hop Connections, a touring education assembly program also continuing to record; his latest collaboration with Yako 440 titled Beat-box Dub Poetics. Baba holds an MFA in interdisciplinary arts, uniting his passion for Hip Hop and Education. As a performer, he’s shared stages with legends such as Afrika Bambaatta, The Roots, Outkast, Vernon Reid, and the late Lester Bowie of the Art Ensemble of Chicago

Process08 is delighted to welcome quintessential b-boy/girl husband/wife duo Kwikstep & Rockafella. Gabriel Kwikstep Dionisio and Ana Rokafella Garcia were both born and raised in New York, Ana in Spanish Harlem. They both have become legendary, Kwik for his versatility, signature head-spins and inventive choreography and Rok for her superbly crafted technique and teaching skills. Kwik’s credits are plentiful, having worked with music, TV and film, he also mentors performance students through Full Circle Prod.- a non profit Hip-Hop collective he co-founded with his wife who in turn has taught extensively. Rok has been featured for her unique ability as a B girl in Fabolous Holla back Youngin and KRS One’s Step into a World plus the film Brown Sugar

Finally Process08 is brought to you by Benji Reid who as the winner of countless body-popping championships, co-choreographed 'Soul II Soul’ and was a founding member of classic UK breakdancers: Broken Glass Street Crew. Now a successful writer, theatre director and choreographer as well as acting and dancing, he is recognised as a powerful performer and multi-faceted talent. Process08 continues Benji Reid’s vision of nurturing hip hop’s fundamental elements via his company Breaking Cycles, furthering these inspirational crafts to the talents and performing icons of the future.

www.brerakingcycles.co.uk

Posted by Anna Nathanson