Roaming Dance: Hip Hop Commission
We are delighted to announce the Hip Hop dance artists that have been commissioned to deliver two projects for ‘Roaming Dance’, one of six large-scale commissions through Gallery37 North.
Roaming Dance, BIDF’s co-commission with Punch Records and Saathi House through Gallery37 North, will premiere two new productions as part of BIDF’s live outdoor programme in Autumn this year.
Hip Hop dance artists Joseph Toonga, Emma Houston and musician Bellatrix will be working with communities in North West Birmingham this summer, connecting with local people as an integral part of their creative process. Toonga will be joined by Wolverhampton-based Breaker, Omar ‘Kidd Ronin’ Spence as a mentee – part of our artist development initiative.
Meet all four artists this June at BIDF TV for an insight into their creative process and find out what we can expect from their productions this Autumn.
Full details of the commission and biographies of the artists
Lucie Mirkova, Head of Artistic Programmes at DanceXchange said:
We are thrilled to be co-commissioning these three inspirational Hip Hop artists to work in North West Birmingham for BIDF 2021 and the Gallery37 North initiative. This partnership with Punch Records supports our curatorial priorities for the festival, taking inspirational dance out into communities to make meaningful connections with local people. We’re excited to see where these collaborations lead us!
Joseph Toonga said:
I’m very excited to be able to work with artists from Birmingham and look forward to sharing experiences together and seeing how we can express that through dance. Hopefully through this commission I can give not only myself but the dance community in Birmingham a chance to showcase our talent and build a network together for future work.
Emma Houston commented:
We are beyond excited to have been offered this opportunity. We’re looking forward to working together, connecting and collaborating with new people in Birmingham, and getting to know the city better. It’s super affirming to be given the chance to bring this project to life, and it’s also a big opportunity for us as professional artists.
Talking about the artist development role Omar Spence said:
I feel ecstatic to have been given this opportunity, even more so considering who I’ve been paired up to work with. I look forward to learning more about producing, organising, performing and choreographing at such a high level and hope to bring all the knowledge I can back to my peers, crew and students.
‘Roaming Dance’ is one of a series of six commissions to be delivered in North West Birmingham, that will collectively launch the three-year GALLERY37 NORTH (G37n) arts residency programme for young people led by Punch Records and Saathi House.
Keep up to date on ‘Roaming Dance’ here and at Gallery37n
