Bienvenue Kamikaz Crew (Algerie)

This week, Urban Artistry has the honor of helping the State Department welcome Kamikaz Crew, a hip hop-inspired performance group that frequently uses their talent to uplift Algerian youth, including orphans, children who are ill, and children living with disabilities. The Kamikaz Crew was recently voted the most talented group after participating in a competition sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Algeria. They also recently won the Algerian National Dance Championship and the 2011 Algerian Talent Competition.

Kamikaz Crew is participating in a 3-week study program coordinated by Global Connections, titled "Youth Empowerment through Hip-Hop" for the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program.  They will be touring D.C., Mississippi, L.A., and New York, and we hope to expose them to the many sides of cultural dance that D.C. has to offer during their short time with us. 

On Sunday, they were invited to our company rehearsal.  Their passion and charisma amazed both our Artistic Directors and the youth in our company. Diyanna, an Artistic Director with Urban Artistry and first year student at Trinity University, said, "They were dope!" We'll have many more opportunities this week to bond and break bread with Kamikaz. 

Tuesday, December 4th @ 6pm

Explore one of the U Street Corridor's newest artsy and casual additions- Satellite Room.  Kamikaz and Urban Artistry will dine in the diner-inspired setting tucked back behind the 9:30 Club. It's a perfect spot for a pre- or post-show burger thanks to its late-night hours.  Then we'll head over to Bus Boys and Poets for Open Mic Night. 

Wednesday, December 5th @ 9pm

Along with @OKAYAFRICA, Tropicalia DC and DJ Underdog, we welcome you to be apart of the essence of progressive African rythmes and house music at "Okayafrica DC". House Dance, Azonto, Zouk and stretch out with dj's Underdog, Native Sun, DrewCool, Kimozaki and Nykoskiie.

Thursday, December 6th @ 6pm

Kamikaz will join Urban Artistry students and family for our weekly classes in Bethesda, MD. Arts education is a key component of our mission, so to learn from and with Kamikaz is an honor.

Friday, December 7th @ 11am 

Kamikaz will be guests on our weekly live radio show, The Urban Artistry Show, which airs live on WLVS: http://listenvision.com/listen_live.  This will be an opportunity to share Algerian hip-hop culture and dance traditions to American and international audiences.   While dance itself is a language, and a way of communicating, one can gain different understandings of the movements through discussion about where and when they came from. Urban Artistry has begun having more conversations about dance on our new live radio show. It is a chance to interact with DJs, musicians, visual artists, historians, dancers, and educators who continue to shape the culture that is dance. 

@11pm: Finally, to celebrate the end of Kamikaz's week in Washington, DC, and to wish them well on the continuation of their journey across the United States, we have invited Kamikaz to join us for a night of dancing at U Street Music Hall.


As excited as we are to show Kamikaz how we experience urban dance styles in Washington, D.C., members of Urban Artistry are even more interested in seeing, hearing, feeling, and being inspired by the similarities and differences of the experiences of Kamikaz.

Bienvenue aux Etats-Unis, Kamikaz!

Nicole Hill: the knee brace that changed her life!

A man once said it's not all about dance. In the dance company, Urban Artistry, there are individuals from all walks of life with extremely diverse backgrounds. I tend to find myself thinking quite often about how this all came to light. It's really profound how one individual that had a vision, despite the negative backlash of several nay-sayers, created and sought out individuals who shared the same vision but didn't know the ways of making it come a reality.

I used to work with my now, mentor, Ryan Webb. In the beginning, our shifts didn't coincide. He worked in the morning and I worked in the afternoon. We were cordial, and then we became friends. Eventually, he taught me popping and we spent the whole next summer practicing and hanging out everyday. In turn, he took me to a dance studio in D.C, where I took a few house dance classes from Junious “House” Brickhouse.

The weekend of July 4^th, 2006, Ryan invited me to go to a house club off New York Avenue in Washington, DC called Mirrors. House, Tasha, Emily, and Ryan were there.

Within 15 minutes of being there, I was dancing, and my knee turned one way and my body turned the other way. I was on a dark dance floor, with music blaring, and I was hunched on the floor. Eventually, people realized that I wasn't doing a floor move, and that I was really hurt. The music stopped; the lights came on, and some one called an ambulance. Unbelievably, one of the patrons who was just hanging out and having a drink was an Orthopedic Surgeon! The dancers and her stayed with me on the floor of the club until the paramedics came.

House, barely knowing me, only as a student who took his class once or twice, volunteered to ride in the ambulance with me, even though he hates riding in them. He held my hand the whole time and consoled me. Tasha and Emily, having never met me before, followed suit with Ryan, behind the ambulance. They all stayed with me at Georgetown Hospital throughout the night while they took x-rays and treated me for the injury.

As I mentioned, this was fourth of July weekend, so needless to say, there were characters throughout the hospital. These wonderful individuals could have continued partying “all night long” a la Lionel Ritchie, at one of the biggest party nights in one of the big house clubs in D.C. Instead, they chose to spend time with someone they barely knew who needed help. We were there at the hospital from about 11pm that night to 5am the next morning. I was taken aback by how empathetic, caring, and compassionate, these individuals were, especially House, who stayed with me during the whole ambulance ride an in my hospital room.

I thought to myself, “this is something that I would do for another,” but I had never witnessed such a great selfless act like this before, on my behalf. Earlier I mentioned that I believe in fate... from that night on, I knew that there was a connection between me and these people coming from both sides. The caring for me continued as I recovered from the injury. I knew that I could trust them because the loyalty had already been built from the ground up... not only from the dance floor, but also in real life. The people in this group had a foundation for relationships that I always wanted in my life.

I didn't want to stay away. I wanted to get to know this circle of people even more. I was fresh off this injury when open auditions arose to join Urban Artistry in 2007. Coming fresh off an injury I had many doubts and concerns about whether or not I was ready to do normal everyday things, like walking, let alone dancing. But, I took a chance and auditioned, despite my fears and doubts, as a leap of faith...in fate... There's that word again.

I made it into Urban Artistry, and I was ecstatic, but unsure because this was my first time being part of a dance company. It was foreign to me. I was challenged to perform on stage, doing solos and choreography. Battles ranged from international sensations to beginners. I was vulnerable in the cypher and all of these experiences were helping me build character. I also joined the operations team, helping with event planning, website organization, rides for the kids to compete in jams in other cities, hosting of international guests during soul society and party planning for birthdays and baby showers.

Urban Artistry is not your typical dance company. It is designed to keep you honest, extremely honest... even when you try not to be. This honesty is not just with where you are as a dancer/performer/artist, but with where you are as a person, in all aspects of you life.

Urban Artistry stresses the importance of family.

With these lesson and support, I became strong enough to be completely honest in all aspects of my life, including my sexuality. This was a big step for me and gave me a new sense of freedom.

It also brought joy into my life.

We find humor in life, positivity, and we are just down right goofy at times.

Most importantly being with this group makes you deal with your fears and take them on. No more escaping and hiding from a task that ultimately makes you more courageous. It makes you see that you are capable of so much more than what you have ever imagined.

That wise man who said it was not about the dance was Junious. I have learned now that dance is a tool to unhinge the best person that you could possibly be, and to fasten yourself to dreams that you thought were not attainable. They can be reached, and once reached, more goals grow... a perpetual, rhythmic cycle of rebirth. During my six years with Urban Artistry, I have grown into a stronger me, both on and off stage. I am better equipped, both with friends and with colleagues.

As I look at this group of once five loosely connected people, to a group of 50 close knit people, I am touched that people are discovering their own paths of growth with the common goal in mind.

I always struggle to find the words to describe what I feel about the mission of Urban Artistry, and what the people in it mean to me. I cannot find the words to express my gratitude and appreciation enough for what each person in UA has shown me about myself.

To my friends in UA and new members I have not met yet, I thank you.

-Nicole Hill-

Artistic Director Ryan "Future" Webb on "FINDING BALANCE"

Finding Balance

Artistic Director Ryan Webb

Growing up, my family and I were constantly traveling. Both of my parents were flight attendants and naturally I just went everywhere they did. On top of these travels, we also moved a lot. Starting in Houston, Texas, we moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina, and ended up settling in Ashburn, Virginia. As soon as my college years started, I began moving and traveling again. My freshmen year was spent at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. The rest of my college days were spent in Oceanside and Fullerton, California. All of these travels and moves are apart of my long journey to find a place that I could call home. Not just somewhere to sleep, but a place that felt right for me! It may have taken a while but I found this home in Urban Artistry.

As some of you may know, Rashaad and myself have been traveling for dance quite often in the past few years. From Korea, Japan, London, Sweden, Germany, and Denmark, we have gotten to experience multiple cultures overseas. The more dance experiences we are gaining, the more reassured I become that Urban Artistry is the most healthy learning environment for any dancer. The fact that House decided everyone must battle, compete, perform, teach, mentor, and direct has always been an ingenious idea for me. All of these aspects of dance are so important in giving you balance! Most of us in Urban Artistry don’t even realize how lucky we are to be learning ALL of these things.

For example, Rashaad and I traveled to London last year for our first major theatre show, “Human Robot”. It was performed at the Sadler’s Wells, which is one of the most well known theaters in the world. Although the stakes were high, for us it was just another day at work because we had been prepared for it through Urban Artistry.

When you begin paying close attention to each countries dance scene including our own here in the United States, you will see just how much each scene can learn from each other. Some countries lack cypher culture, others lack performance ability, the problem comes when people get stuck specializing in certain areas. The reason having balance is so important is because when you are traveling, knowing what the dancers are missing allows you to give them what they need. I could go on and on about each dance scene individually but the main purpose for this blog is to inspire you all to do everything!

Don’t just be a performer or a battler. Be a mentor and a cypher head as well. Never sell yourself short and remember that the things we learn in dance are also teaching us about everyday life. The better dance teacher you become, the better your communication skills will be. The more you perform, the more you learn about presenting yourself in front of others. Everything in life is a battle! Competition is everywhere so if you learn about battle techniques in dance, use them at your day job or while in debate with someone. It’s fun! Use what you know from dance in your every day lives, because the truth is if you are a balanced dancer, you have the ability to be a balanced person as well.

In closing, I just want to say; let’s all try to keep each other motivated to do everything as a dancer. Not only will it help you find balance, but it will prepare you for future dance travels as well. Traveling is amazing and a great learning experience, but let’s not forget how good we have it here at home guys….

Urban Artistry is a great group of people, and I appreciate you all for helping me find the place that felt right for me.

Simon Maxwell Eason and his new-found Family

Throughout my whole life I have done so many things. I have played almost every sport, Soccer, Football, Basketball, Baseball, Lacrosse, Track & Field, Tennis, I used to Film all the time, write poetry all the time, play video games very heavily, want to be a Chef, and many other things that I used to always do, or want to do. All of these things have ended the same way; I either quit, or just stopped doing them. But I feel like finally I have found two passions that I don’t think I’ll let go of until the day I pass, Dancing and Djing.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt so much drive in the two activities, though like everyone we have our moments of laziness and disinterest. I try all the time to think of the reason why I love these things so very much, and just haven’t really been able to come up with an answer. It could be because within these two art forms, I have found something more than just “something to do” I have found a whole entire culture I never knew existed while I was sitting on my butt in Frederick. I also have found a love for music, a loving friend and mentor, and best of all a group of friends and family I can honestly say I love, and I don’t say I love very many things. CAB Crew and Urban Artistry have helped me not just within dance but also within life, because so many people within these groups have so much wisdom at their disposal. I feel so grateful that these people share this information with me because like I said, it has helped me so much in life.

While being a part of UA and CAB I have met dancers nationally and internationally and I have only been coming around for a year. I have traveled to many different states, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, and we always go together just like a family does, and it provides me with such a sense of belonging and happiness. I had the good fortune of being a part of last year’s Soul Society and saw so many things that just made me smile and enjoy myself so much. I can see why so many wonderful members have gravitated towards this group and stayed around for as long as they have.

I ask one thing of everyone, to never let me quit! Because if I did, there wouldn’t be a day that goes by that I wouldn’t think about Dancing or Djing. I feel that with all these supportive and loving people around me I will never even think of quitting, because I don’t have much else that I have a passion for. I look forward to many more accomplishments and opportunities I have to come with my Crew and Company. Thanks to everyone for EVERYTHING! And I mean that with every ounce of my being. Michael McClain I’m very grateful that your introduced me to UA because you put these wheels in motion.

Megan Keefe, Director of Digital Media on Global Projects in bboy culture

As of today Invisible Children's "Kony 2012" viral video has been viewed more than 41 million times on Youtube. It has been talked about over social media, major tv networks, NPR and probably a few beers at your local watering hole. Whether you watch the Kony 2012 video or not it is important to learn about the history of Ugandan youth. Why? Because they are our brothers and sisters and their history is our history. Their pain is our pain.

In 2011 Junious and Hannah and I went to a screening of Bouncing Cats at the National Geographic Society. Junious and I recently returned from a trip to South Africa where Junious taught South African youth about the history, culture, and movement of House Dance. This film about Uganda brought tears to my eyes because I suddenly saw the positive impact of urban dance culture in South Africa and Uganda. It's something that's happening in Africa without thousands of dollars of investment or the visibility of the western world. It is stronger than money or political power. Dance will always bind us together. When greed, racism, violence and fear work to tear us apart, dance will bind us together. It's always been this way.

http://vimeo.com/12234800

Find out more about the film and how to make donations to Breakdance Project Uganda by visiting the Bouncing Cats website: http://www.bouncingcats.com/synopsis/

Watch John Legend talk about the film: http://vimeo.com/20751293

Other links:

https://www.facebook.com/bouncingcats

https://twitter.com/#!/bouncingcats

http://www.bpuevents.org/

-Megan Keefe-

IntersectionsDC.org & MetroDC Dance Awards

This year Urban Artistry joins PDM, Public Displays of Motion lead by Peter DiMuro in a collaborative project for the Intersections Festival March 8 & 9 at 7pm in the Sprenger Theater at Atlas on H St. NE Washington DC.

FUTURE PRELUDES is part of the Atlas' INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival. Peter DiMuro and fellow dance artists Asanga Domask, Christopher K. Morgan, Urban Artistry and NOW A NEW ADDED STAR among the constellation: ANNA MENENDEZ will perform their specific forms and genres of dance (including Hula, Sri Lankan, urban dances of all kinds, flamenco, dance/theatre) to the music of Rachmaninoff. The show is a tribute to "firsts"- preludes being the key - as the 19th century pianists would improvise and "sample" from their own and others music as a warmup to their own concerts. We'll do the same with movement- borrowing from each other, and making these 21st century preludes for a glorious future of dance.

This is the debut event of PDM: Public Displays of Motion.

Two shows; March 8 and 9, 7pm.

intersectionsdc.org for tickets

info:

peterdimuro@gmail.com

intersectionsdc.org

http://www.facebook.com/events/258540110885202/?ref=ts

Following the show on Friday night stay for the

11th Annual Metro DC Dance Awards!

http://www.facebook.com/events/198051980294299/

Urban Artistry, Coyaba Dance Theater, Megan Keefe, Bus Howard and Capitol Tap is a finalist for Best Overall Production -Large Venue for their work in "ORIGINS: One Heart Beat."

If you have not seen the project, check out the trailer by Megan Keefe at www.originsonehearthbeat.com

A Beautiful Flower of Love for Rashaad

It was a Sunday evening in February of 2008 when what would become one of my greatest inspirations was placed in my arms. Born at eight pounds and seven ounces, my newborn baby girl defined the true meaning of love at first sight. Talk about a rush of emotions! Just when I thought I had this basic understanding of living as a young man, a new type of responsibility instantly kicked in; I became a father, having to respond quickly to this angel’s every need.

I don’t think anyone could ever be thoroughly prepared for parenthood, but from then on, it was as if I knew what to do, even though I really had no clue. I vividly remember driving her home and I was a mess! I was so afraid to put my foot on the gas pedal and was constantly checking my mirrors for traffic. I lived only 15 minutes away from the hospital, but it felt like forever by the time the new arrival got home.

Ayanna Mahal Pearson is now four years old. Beauty, talent, imagination, and intelligence are just a few attributes that make up the amazing person she is. She is my little ray of sunshine who leads me just as much as I lead her. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift and I love her to the core. Thank you to the strongest woman I know – my wife, Cathleen – for bringing such an amazing little girl into our world.

Now, we are anxiously awaiting Part Two of our growing legacy to arrive. April is the month for our little Soul Society baby and we are looking forward to experiencing it all over again…

Education of Maren Cummings, Assistant Operations Director at Urban Artistry

I have always loved learning; from staying late to sharpen pencils in fourth grade to drawing mental maps to connect texts in grad school (I’m dorky, I know).

… yes, that’s me on the far right with my 4^th grade Urkel glasses

So, it was a particularly hard decision for me to leave grad school in 2008 to dance. It was an emotional decision to leave the ivory tower, but as much as I tried to infuse dance into my studies (I did learn a lot from those Performance Studies books) and my schedule, I couldn’t do both and keep my sanity. And I knew that I needed dance in my life.

… my first year of college… minus the Urkel glasses

The tipping point for my decision – what made my choice stick was truly thinking about how Urban Artistry teaches. I was used to dance classes, but Urban Artistry’s teaching goes above and beyond classroom teaching. It’s not about teaching choreography, although that does happen; it’s about learning the history of the movements and the music, learning to apply concepts in your own way, learning from everyone in the class, and creating a space that’s safe enough to freely explore movement, but directed enough to make that movement dynamic.

Some of the most important lessons I have learned from Urban Artistry have happened outside of the dance studio. Urban Artistry encouraged me to get into my first cypher after 10 years of studio dancing and lurking on the sidelines (Thanks House!) Urban Artistry showed me how to build deeper friendships and how to truly push through character flaws to become the person I want to be (I’m still working on this .. but thanks for the guidance, Em).

Urban Artistry teaches me every day to be a student who is ready to learn. Those all-nighters from college turn into almost-all nighters in cyphers… riding the fumes of that inspiration to work a few hours later.

The research and thesis papers I wrote have paved the way for me to contribute to art grant proposals. My desire to learn to teach has been enhanced by being a student to such giving and patient artistic and operations directors.

I realize that I have surrounded myself with a dream team of educators to learn from and give back with- from music teachers, to SPED teachers, to life coaches and cultural ambassadors. Most recently, I realized how many layers of learning I was able to touch when I asked Urban Artistry to teach dance in my after-school program. I am used to doing homework help, art projects, and science projects with our youth, but to see them dance brings out a whole new side of them. Where they may hesitate to raise their hand to give an answer, they will raise it in a second to start a body wave. While they have down pat the dougie and the jerk, they had to learn to push themselves to learn old school hip hop moves. While they trust and test each other in the classroom, they had to re-explore that trust to get down with each other in cypher.

I am thankful everyday for having so many positive teaching role models and for being able to always be a student. Embrace all of who you are!