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Movemakers Philly Hip Hop Home Dojo Hip Hop Dance for Kids Streaming Live Online A note from Mr. Vince to all students Groove GPS! Youth Hip Hop Dance Students Excel at Self-Awareness Hip Hop Dance is often perceived by the general public as a random skill set. Either you got it or you don’t. There was a moment when I would become very frustrated by folks that discover that I am a Hip Hop dancer and automatically assume that I have a whole lot of what they don’t. I would think to myself, how dare this person assume that my ability is purely natural. They have no idea how hard I’ve worked to achieve my knowledge an ability. But that is exactly it: they have no idea. And eventually I realized, that I have no business getting frustrated with someone who just doesn’t have knowledge. In the science that I’ve come across, there have been studies on genetic dispositions for musicality. So sure, there is a case to be made that some of us will be more naturally inclined to dance hip hop well because of our musical abilities, allowing us to understand musical patters more comprehensively and move more rhythmically. It is also held that Hip Hop Dance comes more naturally to blacks. This is a commonly misunderstood racial stereo-type or simply a naïve understanding of human development. The generalization that blacks are better at Hip hop can be understood from a nurture standpoint. Hip Hop is a social dance. If you are raised in an environment where dancing happens more frequently, and specifically dance to Hip Hop/R&B, you are more likely to have inclinations towards dance due to exposure and subconscious adaptation. The opposite is being raised in an environment where there is no dance at all and no Hip Hop related music. Who would you expect to be able to dance Hip Hop better: the person that grew up exposed or the person who had none? The fact that many of the most iconic dancers today represent other racial groups is evidence that Hip Hop is influenced by experiences in development, which can happen at any stage of life. I argue that Hip Hop Dance ability is influenced by nature and nurture. And I will go as far to say that it is likely more a condition of nurture. I can teach someone coordination and musicality, even if they have to work very hard at it. After all, my former Director, Rennie Harris of the famous dance company Rennie Harris Puremovement, often teases me by saying “Nice to see you on beat” whenever he catches a recent clip of my dancing. I struggled to be musical even at a professional level. Even though I had many years growing in the culture before dancing with Rennie, I still had a long way to go before getting comfortable with my timing. Everyday at Movemakers Philly, I witness a variety of entry level ability sets. There has never been a point when I felt that someone was hopeless. Good nurturing goes a very long way, and of course, investment from the student. The process of building a communicative relationship between the body and music is a complex task. Even more taxing is the fact that a Hip Hop Dancer’s movements have to fit within a cultural context. You can’t just randomly flail your arms on beat and consider yourself Hip Hop. There is a specific geometric orientation that forms as Hip Hop. A new student has to learn these coordinates. There is a general range of space that qualifies as Hip Hop parameters. Reducing to an even smaller micro-optic, once a dancer has determined the general coordinates for a posture that expresses Hip Hop, the dancer then has to figure out their personal orientation. The best Hip Hop Dancers present a certain way because of choice. Of course, there are some dancers that move by instinct once they’ve learned the foundation. But some of the most renown dancers have gone through stages of development. When you look at footage of them now and then find clips from 10 years ago, it is likely that you will see a very different dancer. There are even instances when these changes can happen within weeks. This transformation indicates that dancers are discovering how they want to express within the coordinates of Hip Hop. In order to get to a point where you deliberately and fully express yourself, you must possess deep self-awareness. A Hip Hop Dancer is in touch with mood, memory, physical ability, current thoughts and so much more at the moment of dancing. If a dancer is carrying stress, it is likely that the stress will be manipulated by the dancer in order to perform the attitude and mood that is desired in depicting a specific relationship to the music. The pursuit of Hip Hop Dance is a sure way to have a better understanding of who you are. At Movemakers Philly we will teach you how to use your Groove GPS to find yourself. Ejoe Wilson is one of Dance Heroes. He is mostly known for his contributions to House Dance, which falls of under the Hip Hop Umbrella. He has a specific orientation with House music that no one else can replicate. When he dances, you certainly see his deep sense of self. Alesya is a world-class house dancer representing the current generation. She is a Russian Native. Ejoe Wilson was an early pioneer, one of the first discoverers of the coordinates that Alesya exists in. Still you can tell that she has found her coordinates within the realm of house dance.
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Check out the tentative schedule for this summer's online Dance and Virtual Arts Camp!  Virtual Dance, Art and Technology Class by Movemakers Philly
Movemakers Philly’s Dance and Visual Arts Virtual Summer Camp is the most thoughtful and comprehensive youth program during COVID-19. Our mission is to provide a balanced curriculum of stimulating physical, artistic and technological learning that keep children enriched and growing during a phase experiential limitation. Monday through Friday, students are offered 3-4 hrs of instruction and also provided with supplemental tools to support their independent practice outside of class time. Kids will have the opportunity to complete artistic pieces of work during their camp weeks that will undoubtedly remain souvenirs of their growth for years to come. Keep the body and mind growing this summer with Movemakers Philly.
Movemakers Philly Hip Hop Home Dojo Hip Hop Dance for Kids Streaming Live Online A note from Mr. Vince to all students True Individual Expression! Youth Hip Hop Dance Students Gain Tools For being Proud of Who They Are Individual expression is a cornerstone in hip hop dance. The medium of hip hop is well defined. Within the dance form of hip hop there are numerous sub-forms, often distinguished by the region of their genesis. There are certain constants that exist across the many sub-forms of hip hop: musicality, physical dynamism, storytelling, poly rhythmic movement, mime, misdirection, character development, athleticism and more. Yet each sub-form is known for unique stylistic elements that distinguish it from relatives. These stylistic elements solidify a sub-forms’ mark in the grand landscape of hip hop. Dancers are microcosms of the form that they practice within. A good hip hop dancer learns the technical and expressive parameters of the system. But the point is not to become a drone. The goal of hip hop is to challenge the status quo, to rattle the cages. How far can one stretch the expressiveness of their dance while remaining within in bounds of the structure? Hip hop is best when carried and performed by individuals that are daring. True daring personality originates in people that are self-aware. There’s no risk when someone behaves without care nor attention to what limits they are breaking. Courage can’t exist in tandem with naiveté. Instead, a true risk is taken when someone has first measured what can be lost in consequence. The risk taker in hip hop knows the standards of the form, knows how they measure against the standard and thereby can recognize when it is time to challenge the norms. Diligent, Gritty, Meritus, Proud and Confident individuals are the ones that push the form. Movemakers Philly trains students to know their circumstances, environment and themselves. Our belief is that students that have deep knowledge of themselves within the playing grounds are built best for shaping their environments. The good hip hop dancers manages the moment and environment to best coincide with their vision. When we bring our envisioned selves into the world we are truly self-expressing. Hip hop has the DNA for building strong independent thinkers and expressers. It’s good to grow up as a replicant of such a powerful model. Memphis Jooking and Turfing are two sub-forms that have similarities, for example the foot glides and lifts to their toes. However, there are specific characteristics that are distinct based on the unique regional circumstances that gave rise to the dances. Animation is a form that prompts dancers to use character, mime, body control and more to create a sense that they’ve become digitized, mechanized or some form of robot/A.I. Each dancer works within the parameters of the form, but each expresses differently. Each takes it to a different place. Some challenge the limits of the form in compelling ways. |
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