Dancing Cy(i)phers: Hip Hop's Embodied Expression
Event Information
Description
As a symposium and workshop offering, Dancing Cyphers: Hip Hop's Embodied Expression will bring together dance communities interested in Hip Hop dance (an umbrella term). The event will delve into the history of African American street dance, culture, and the scholarship around its global impact and ancestral connections to specific African dance traditions. Panel discussions and master classes led by distinguished dance artists-- Shabba Doo of the Original Lockers (Locking), Ejoe Wilson of New York’s Elite Force Crew (Hip Hop and House), Oakland native, Traci Bartlow of Starchild Entertainment (vernacular jazz and Hip Hop), and Oakland native, Darrin Hodges of Oakland’s Gentlemen of Production (Boogaloo) -- will give participants a glimpse of the cultural and socio-political-economic landscape from which hip hop and other street dance forms (freestyle, club dance, breakin', locking, popping, krumping, turfing, boogaloo, etc.) emerged regionally in African American communities. The day will conclude with a workshop in African Dance Presence in Hip Hop open cy(i)pher. Note: Participants must attend the panel discussion in order to take the dance classes.
SCHEDULE: (subject to change)
9-9:30am Continental Breakfast/ Meet and Greet
9:30-11am Panel
11:15-12:15pm Workshop #1
12:15-12:45pm Lunch (must provide your own)
1-2pm Workshop #2
2:15-3:15pm Workshop #3
3:30-4:30pm Workshop #4
4:45-5:45pm Workshop #5 Cy(i)pher
5:45pm-6pm Closing
Dancing Cy(i)phers will provide snacks, fruit and water throughout the day, but we advise participants to bring a lunch.
Transportation: We advise folks to ride BART (Downtown Berkeley station) and walk to campus. Parking on or near campus on Saturdays can prove challenging and expensive.
Organizer Latanya d. Tigner
Organizer of Dancing Cy(i)phers: Hip Hop's Embodied Expression
Latanya d. Tigner has performed professionally with Dimensions Dance Theater since 1986, and has studied and toured nationally and internationally, performing multidisciplinary works rooted in African diasporic dance forms. Ms. Tigner holds a B.A. in Physical Education/Dance, a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration, directs Dimensions’ youth company, and teaches at UC Berkeley. She has worked with numerous choreographers and dance companies, including Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble, Art of Ballet, Robert Henry Johnson, El Wah Movement, Housin’ Authority, RaRa Tou Limen, Fua Dia Congo, Urban Bush Women (SLI), Kiandanda Dance Theater, Soul Nubian’s Global Street Dance, and many more. Ms. Tigner has created commissioned works for Dimensions Dance Theater, Black Choreographers Festival, Robert Moses’ Kin, and has presented work in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Cuba Caribe, and Mabina Dance Festival (Congo-Brazzaille). She has also set choreography for Cal Shakes' production of black odyssey, SF Shakespeare's production of A Winter’s Tale, Ubuntu Theater's production of Dance of the Holy Ghost, Delina Brooks' An Open Love Letter to Black Fathers, Contra Costa College's productions of In the Blood, For Colored Girls, and Godspell, and Li Smith's production of Purlie Victorious. Ms.Tigner’s current research and study include New Orleans Second Line parading traditions, traditional dances from the Kongo Kingdom, and African dance retention in various African American social dances. She recently accepted the opportunity to be the first Artist in Residence at Mills College's newly renovated Lisser Hall. Latanya honors her position as co-artistic director of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival the a second season along side Māhealani Uchiyama and Patrick Makuakane.
