Hip-Hop at 50

PREEMINENT HIP-HOP ARTISTS COME TOGETHER FOR A MONUMENTAL PERFORMANCE SERIES.

By Benjamin Lerner
From the pages of our August 23 Issue.

At the peak of the summer season, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival will celebrate one of the most influential art forms: Hip-Hop dance.

Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater. MARK HORNING

Iconic dancers and choreographers—including Rennie Harris, Kwikstep & Rokafella, Ladies of Hip-Hop, and d. Sabela Grimes— will bring their talents to the Ted Shawn Theatre from August 2–6. Additional offerings will take place on the Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage, as well as pre-show talks and an all-styles dance battle.

Several performers in the upcoming Hip Hop Across the Pillow have graced the Jacob’s Pillow stage in years past. Prime examples include Rennie Harris, whose dance piece, Something To Do With Love: Volume One, was performed at Jacob’s Pillow in 2009, and Ladies of Hip-Hop, who last came to the Berkshires during a Pillow Lab residency in February 2022.

Their return coincides with the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. The performances will span a wide range of dance techniques and traditions, each serving as a window into the transformational power of Hip-Hop dance, where artists express themselves freely through movement, improvisation, and choreographic choices.

“The 50th anniversary offers an opportunity to highlight the importance of Hip- Hop as a paradigm-shifting cultural movement,” says Jacob’s Pillow Associate Curator Ali Rosa-Salas. “As an international dance festival, it is very important for us to honor it with respect and intentionality.”

While developing the program, Rosa- Salas and fellow Associate Curator Melanie George went above and beyond to amplify the living artists who have shaped Hip-Hop dance. They did not limit the scope and breadth of the programming by creating a timeline of Hip-Hop’s evolution, although they made sure that the performances showcased elements of its foundational movements. Early staples like breakdancing and b-boying will be performed by several culture bearers, such as Kwikstep & Rokafella, who began their artistic journeys in Hip-Hop’s hometown of New York City.

“While the programming is not exclusive to New York City by any means, that original movement played a critical role, and we are proud to have it represented,” says George.

Through the years, a diverse range of approaches and disciplines came into existence, many of which will be represented at Hip Hop Across the Pillow. Rosa-Salas elaborates: “You’ll see the improvisational approach through the immersive, cypher-style performances that engage with the audience, as well as more formal, choreographed, theatrical dance elements.” Harris’s piece promises to be a highlight of the program. Known for his versatile stylistic range, Harris is also an exceptional house dancer. “His choreography reflects his dynamic movement,” says George.

Given the fact that Hip-Hop is derived from African diasporic tradition, the performances are rooted in the stories of the people and are not grounded in a specific era, says George. Although certain individuals have allegiances to their times, Rosa-Salas and George were more interested in giving artists a chance to express themselves on a more personal level. They didn’t envision creating categories of Hip- Hop dance and plugging performers into them. They sought to celebrate the essence of Hip-Hop by bringing cultural stakeholders into the conversation throughout the creative process. To that end, Jacob’s Pillow commissioned several of the performances that will take place.

“There is a pipeline from our residency programs to the festival,” says George.

Ladies of Hip-Hop, a celebrated dance group who will be performing d. Sabela Grimes’ piece at Jacob’s Pillow. LORETO / STILL 1

For instance, Kwikstep & Rokafella took part in a Pillow Lab residency in January. They were there for a week, creating the foundation of what audiences will see this summer. Their performance will reference styles that speak to earlier Hip-Hop dance traditions, paying homage to Kwikstep’s phenomenal turn in Jam on the Groove, the first concert dance theater performance to ever win a New York Dance & Performance Award.

Jacob’s Pillow also will showcase a dance collaboration featuring Ladies of Hip-Hop, a group that highlights the strength and diversity of women in Hip-Hop culture. They will perform an inspired piece by the renowned Los Angeles- based writer, composer, and educator, d. Sabela Grimes.

“I’ve been in conversation with the Ladies of Hip-Hop and d. Sabela Grimes for some time now,” shares George. “He and the Ladies of Hip-Hop both mentioned that they were working together. We ended up commissioning the work that they are going to be doing on the stage.” The work is supported by the Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission, giving Grimes the chance to explore the full potential of his multifaceted choreographic skillset.

Although Grimes has performed at Jacob’s Pillow in the past, he never worked on a commissioned piece there until now. “I was able to grow the seed of the idea through my conversations with Melanie,” says Grimes. “We’re excited to be a part of this festival, and seeing it all come together is pretty dope.”

Working closely with Michelle Byrd-McPhee, founder of Ladies of Hip-Hop, Grimes built the piece through a series of phone calls, Zoom sessions, and visits to their studio in Long Island City, New York. “The benefit of working with the Ladies of Hip-Hop is that they’re multilingual in terms of their approach to dance,” says Grimes. He believes that the piece will help to contextualize Hip-Hop within the greater Black dance continuum. “The gift of dance is that although it is ephemeral in nature—and no performance is exactly the same—the moving body can say so much. It can articulate things that we cannot articulate through words.”

Kwikstep and Rokafella are two prominent culture bearers of Hip-Hop dance who will appear at Jacob’s Pillow. B FRESH PHOTOGRAPHY

In line with that philosophy, the performance that Grimes and the Ladies of Hip-Hop is premiering is part of a larger modular performance series called Parable of Portals. The series was inspired by the celebrated Black author Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 speculative fiction novel, Parable of the Sower. “It’s a love letter to Octavia E. Butler,” notes Grimes. “There are distinct chapters of movement within the modular series, and the chapter that will be performed at Jacob’s Pillow is called ‘Parable of PassAge.’ It’s a dance that considers the sensory dimensionality of time and the fullness of Black womanhood.”

The performance is imbued with artistic poignancy because of the reverence that Grimes and Byrd-McPhee have for Hip-Hop culture. “We’ve been involved with Hip-Hop dance for many decades. Knowing where she is now as an artist, a human being, and a Black woman, I knew it was going to be perfect,” says Grimes. He and Byrd-McPhee have interpreted reflections from their respective lives through layers of speculative fiction. “We’ve brought a unique, dreamlike world into existence through the medium of dance,” says Grimes.

Throughout the performance, the relationship between the dancer and the earth is cultivated. “There is a uniqueness and distinction in how Black dance has continued to influence movement vocabularies and Hip-Hop dance flow,” says Grimes. “We’ve expanded the idea of orientation to earth, sky, and air.” The performance also will draw on traditions of house dance, as well as elements of dances rooted in Black, brown, and queer culture. And each movement will incorporate complementary facets of Hip-Hop dance culture.

Members of Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater are captured in mid-motion during one of their expressive performances. DANZEL THOMPSON STOUT

Grimes notes that Jacob’s Pillow has been supportive throughout the creation process, while giving him and Ladies of Hip-Hop the space and artistic freedom to create. “Jacob’s Pillow commissioned me to work with these amazing artists, and they respectfully remained hands-off while we brought it to life,” he says. “We’re very conscious that we’re going to be on a concert stage in the Berkshires, which is a far cry from the original home of Hip-Hop. We believe the piece will bridge the gap, speak to everyone who shows up, and start an incredible conversation.”

Grimes is grateful to be working with the talented Black female creatives who have helped bring the performance piece to fruition at every level. He gave a special nod of appreciation to Byrd-McPhee. “Her impact on Hip-Hop culture cannot be overstated. There is no Hip-Hop without Black women, and this is an amazing opportunity to highlight their contributions.”

The contributions of all performers will be manifested through the All Styles Dance Battle on Friday, August 4, which will serve as a vibrant culmination of the festival. A cypher will offer a chance for dancers to participate in a time-honored tradition that embodies the essence of Hip-Hop’s cultural roots. “The performers will go into a circle, and they will battle against each other. They will have no idea what’s going to come out of it or how long the battle is going to last—and that’s the best part of it. It’s free artistic expression in the purest sense.”

Rosa-Salas echoes that sentiment and adds that it is a privilege to be able to bring such gifted culture bearers together on the same stage at Jacob’s Pillow. “We’re honoring the roots of Hip-Hop dance through the performances. More than that, we’re celebrating the process of creativity and what it means to be vulnerable, authentic, and real. The entire landscape of late-20th-century dance in America was influenced by Hip-Hop, and it’s great to see it represented here in the Berkshires.