ILLEST INGREDIENTS 8/24 & 8/25

Adding a New Ingredient... The Illest!

The Illest Ingredient is a regular monthly jam that Urban Artistry has held, most recently in a partnership with U Street Music Hall.

The jam is an opportunity for dancers of all styles to interact and be inspired by one another. The Illest Ingredient has been the mixing of genres, styles, music, beats, and locations. People come from all over the East Coast, and from other countries to compete against dancers with different backgrounds. From Virginia to Sweden and New York to France, the dancers who have entered The Illest Ingredient Battles are diverse! We have had club heads up against choreo heads, popping vs. waacking, and the person who is battling for the first time up against people who have battled in their own communities.

But what is the "illest" ingredient?

What makes these battles so interesting? Is it the joy of battling someone who interprets the music completely different from yourself... a freaking of different beats.. a mix of different genres. Maybe it's like the recipe for grandma's 7-Up cake.. a dash of this.. a hint of this, a dollop of something sweet.. something different every time, so that the mix of ingredients is never the same, but it is always just as good.

While the main ingredient of The Illest Ingredient has been dance, Urban Artistry is about to shake it up!

This week, we are hosting not only Illest Ingredient the all-styles battle at U Street Music Hall on Friday, August 24th, but we are adding not one, but two totally new ingredients...wait for it..... SKATING and ART.

That's right! Urban Artistry is doing it up at a skate park again! Remember the closing day of International Soul Society Festival...FLOW?! There was skating, parkour, graffiti, and dance... and there was that je ne sais quoi! It was that perfect combination of forces and physicality. Now, on August 25th, not only are there a bboy battle ($200 prize) and an all styles battle ($200 prize), but there is also a Best Trick Skating contest.

This month, there are two Illest Ingredients! The first all styles jam is on Friday, August 24th at U Street Music Hall. We have to let the next one marinate overnight. On Saturday, August 25th, Urban Artistry hosts The Illest Ingredient at Wakefield Skatepark in Annendale, VA from 5-11pm.

At this all ages event, there will be live painting on skate ramps and walls by Vice Versa, John Rivers, and Lightup! Art Under Pressure and 3 Pyramids will be there! There will be music by DJ Baronhawk Portier and DJ Mate Masie.

All ages and levels are welcome. If we each bring an ingredient and mix it all together in open cyphers and friendly competition, we will make something special!... 

And as if that isn't enough.. we have a some surprise dessert: An Afterparty at Love Lounge. See you there... and if you can't be there, make sure your are mixing up something good at home and we'll see you next time.