By Maha ElNabawi
The worlds of hip hop music and dance merged into a melody of artistic expression last week when the internationally acclaimed Rennie Harris Puremovement Dance Company (RHPM) visited Egypt in a cross-cultural exchange program aimed at preserving and disseminating the hip hop culture globally.
The program is a collaborative effort between the US embassy in Cairo, the US State Department, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Through the month of April, the Rennie Harris Puremovement group will visit several locations in the Middle East in hopes of building cultural diplomacy within the region.
“We chose RHPM because they have the credibility of being a great hip hop company, while also being socially responsible,” Michael Hankey, the US embassy’s assistant cultural officer in Cairo, told Daily News Egypt. “They are known in the US for their work in educating people on hip hop dance, the history, and the culture.
“They use hip hop to help people. They bring a lot of potentially troubled youth into their programs and give them guidance through the form of hip hop dance.”
Through a series of performances, workshops and lectures, the project seeks to embrace the use of dance to engage Egyptians while also creating opportunities for a greater cross-cultural understanding.
The program kicked off this past Sunday when nine members of the RHPM team touched down in Egypt. Their first stop was the Fibers Club dance studio in Maadi where they met with local instructors and several members of local hip hop dance troupes.
Under the auspicious of the legendary Rennie Harris, the company founder and artistic director, various local hip hop groups including Original Skills, Swaggers, Reem, Beat Munchers, Gasser and Space Crew rehearsed and coordinated their performances which took place at the Sawy Culture Wheel this past week.
“Our main goal is to provide various audiences with a genuine view of the true essence and spirit of hip hop, rather than the commercially misconstrued stereotypes most often presented by the media,” Harris told DNE. “Hip hop is an important original expression of a new generation with a unique ability to express universal themes that extend beyond racial, religious and economic boundaries. We want to empower local hip hoppers who desire this type of alternative expression.”
This past Wednesday in Sawy’s River Hall, local hip hop crews were given the opportunity to perform on stage, each group showing their latest moves in front of an eager, youth-driven audience.
The evening kicked off with an engaging performance by Swagger. The 13-member dance troupe ignited the stage with their theatrically choreographed numbers, mixing various styles of hip hop, including break-dance, stepping, popping and more. Their youthful energy and stage presence was playful and contagious. Within moments the audience began clapping along, swaying back and forth, and shouting for more.
“This was a great week of hip hop, we got to meet and learn about other local dance crews, while also having the opportunity to learn and collaborate with experts from the Puremovement group,” Ziad Ali Mohamed, manager and team member of Swagger, told DNE.
“It was inspiring to learn that you can live your life doing this type of dance, and that there is an audience for it. Puremovement made us realize that there is a career path in hip hop dance.”
Another notable performance came in the form of the Beat Munchers dance duo, Naomi Sobol and Khadiga Arkan — both are instructors at Fibers Studio in Maadi where they teach hip hop dance. Sobol has been a major player in mobilizing and developing the hip hop dance culture amongst youth in Egypt.
Wrapping up the evening, Original Skills took to the stage with their 14-member troupe. Wearing matching white-colored shirts and skinny ties, the crew shook the audience with their beautifully spirited performance. Original Skills were certainly the highlight of the evening; their repertoire consisted of break dance, popping, locking, waving and krumping with a commercial funk edge.
Following their performance, all eight troupes joined the stage alongside the RHPM crew in a dance battle.
“The best part of this whole experience has been watching the faces of the local dance groups while performing,” Harris said. “They are proud to be doing something with hip hop. Each group stepped up their game significantly in the two days of workshops; they are thirsty for exposure and for people to see them perform.
“It’s not about who is the best, it’s about sharing the experience of expression. That is the true foundation of hip hop.”
The traveling hip hop ambassadors also visited the seaside town of Alexandria where they conducted interactive workshops at the Tamarin Dance Studio. They later performed alongside various Alexandria-based crews at The Garage in Alexandria’s Jesuit Cultural Center.
The hip hop mania ended this past Thursday with a vibrant theatrical performance by the Puremovement followed by Original Skills at the Cairo Opera House.
The dancers thrilled audience members with their inventive movements, mixing elements of contemporary dance, theater, popping, locking, break dancing, and funk motions. While all the dancers were riveting to watch, long-time team member, Melanie Cotton was the standout. Her fluid motions and low center of gravity caused each movement to burst with joyous expression.
“Egypt is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people,” Cotton told DNE. “The best part about coming here was being able to dispel certain stereotypes by engaging directly with the people here. Watching Egypt fight for change has inspired us all to find our voice again.”
Swagger.
