|
Home Episodes EP 1 EP 2 EP 3 EP 4 EP 5 EP 6 Press Filmmakers For Teachers Contact Links Now available for sale on our
Catalog Website.
|
Episode four begins with New York.s Latino hip hop dance and culture. Then it travels to Miami.s unique Afro-Cuban sound, and ends in Los Angeles with modern dance pioneer Rudy Perez.
Rokafella and Kwikstep
Rokafella and Kwikstep are co-founders and co-artistic directors of Full Circle Productions, a Hip-Hop dance theater company that offers an equal balance of men and women in presentations of authentic Hip-Hop dance technique from NYC Hip-Hop street culture. Founded in 1996 (inc. 1998) by veteran hip-hop performers Rokafella (A. Garcia) and Kwikstep (G.Dionisio), Full Circle offers 360 degrees of NYC hip-hop culture informed by the urban artistic experience, reaching musically from percussion to turn-table to beat-box; from hip-hop, latin, garage and house to spoken word and the visual world of graffiti artists. Their hip-hop dancing references breaking, uprocking, poppin' and lockin', plus Latin, African and house styles. Kwikstep and Rokafella bring the fullness of an urban artistic world through their multi-ethnic 12-member dance company including 4 core musicians, their choreography and interdisciplinary collaborations. Their latest project Soular Power'd was presented at P.S. 122, New World Theater and the New Victory Theater. They bring a standard of hip-hop steeped in street history and authentic dance technique to connect soul energy and help keep the light lit for the next generation.
Willy Chirino:
Few artists in popular music have been able to go beyond the barriers of time,
trends and geography, keeping the timelessness of their own style. On this
small list the name of Willy Chirino is inscribed. His contribution to the
development of the culture of his own country and of Latin America in general,
together with his struggle in favor of the freedom of his people, make him one
of the most important exponents of popular music in our times.
Sensible, unaffected and very talented, Willy Chirino has managed to live with the same passion he transmits through his art. His personal history is similar to what many others dream about, but that few have the courage to live.
Born in Consolación del Sur, a small town in Western Cuba, Willy Chirino was sent to the United States through Operation Peter Pan, especially designed to give Cuban children a different vision of the world. There, he grew in his musical abilities, helping to spawn a new sound--The Miami Sound. His songs have traveled several times around the world, in his own and other artists' interpretations. That is the case of Soy that has been recorded by more than 70 artists, among them the Gipsy Kings. His albums, with more than twenty original works, went Platinum with Oxígeno (1991) and Acuarelas del Caribe (1990,) while Zarabanda (1985, South Beach (1993,) Asere (1995) and gold with Afro-disiac (2000).
Rudy Perez:
For more than five decades, this creative dancer/choreographer has made the stage his home, and at 71, he shows no signs of hanging up his shoes. Rudy Perez recently honored a $30,000 grant he received from the James Irvine Foundation by documenting his teaching and choreographic process, then topped off that assignment by choreographing and producing an entirely new show. The work heavily reflects the artist's most recent challenge: that of a prominent dancer who is battling with severe visual impairment.
Puerto Rican by descent, he honed his craft by studying with some of the greats, including Martha Graham, then Merce Cunningham. Eventually, Rudy became part of the team who developed the Judson Dance Theatre. Through the years, Rudy has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other foundations as well as an honorary doctorate from Otis School of Design in 1992. And today, at 71, he's still /moving.
