SUGGESTED MOVEMENT: HAND SIGNALS*
Non-verbal communication is a very important part of street dance and hip-hop culture and history. Hand gestures and making signals and words are used as a way to show emotion, thoughts, representation, and affiliation. For example, breakdancers have their own silent language that is often used to burn or egg their opponent in a battle. Hand signals can also be used in a cypher as well.
Let’s show some non-verbal love to the artists around us. Whenever you see or hear an artist do something that you’re impressed by or like, do a waving gesture with your hand like you’re cooling something off. This is communicating without words that they are on fire!
*Please be aware and recognize that these movements are connected to the culture, history, and liberation movement of Black/Soulaan and other marginalized communities. Participate respectfully and intentionally and if you share this movement with others, we stress you include the history and people behind the movement.
HISTORY:
The early 1990s is when the term “hip-hop theatre” emerged. Jonzi D, a London-based dancer and emcee, sought to describe a performance style that fused hip-hop dance and theatre. As time went on, the definition of hip-hop theatre expanded to include works that incorporated other elements of hip-hop, which includes graffiti, DJ’ing, emceeing, and knowledge. Will Power described hip-hop theatre as “theatre artists exploring their relationship to hip-hop, focusing on content, form, or content and form.” Although the genre of theatre was not named in America, it has been American artists such as Will Power, known as the co-creator and pioneer of hip-hop theatre, Psalmayene 24, known for his seminal work in hip-hop Theatre, and Kamilah Forbes, the creator and director of Hip-Hop Theater Festival, that have actively shaped and created the form through their work in the US.
Collaboration is a core ingredient for most hip-hop theater groups. It is vital that the tradition of hip-hop culture is maintained in these productions, and that producers, directors, and playwrights prioritize input and participation by the people the play is intended to speak to and entertain. Danny Hoch, a hip-hop theater writer, actor, and director said, “Hip-hop theatre… must be by, about and for the hip-hop generation, participants in hip-hop culture, or both.” Knowledge, one of the five elements of hip-hop, is always present. Plots in hip-hop theatre often tackle current social issues, especially as they relate to marginalized communities, with characters exploring the strengths and limits of activism and empowerment. The struggle and battles between the individual and society is a central theme as characters seek to create and live liberational lives.
This blog is part of a participatory performance art piece called “The Search for Community Continues“, which aims to unveil and explore the connective tissue between movement, art, and environment by co-creating a brave space to dance to the sound of community.
Knox Community Street Dance 