Bboys to put moves on Ottawa at hip-hop dance fest

Last Updated: Friday, May 4, 2007 | 5:01 PM ET

CBC Arts

Street moves will take to the stage in downtown Ottawa with a new hip-hop dance festival this June.

Hip Hop 360 is a special event being staged in the off-year for the Canada Dance Festival, which presents a program of contemporary dance every two years.

Noora Sagarwala wants to raise the profile of hip-hop dance.
(CBC)

The five-day dance event, beginning June 19, was launched at a news conference in Ottawa Thursday.

It is to be headlined by Montreal's Rubberbandance Group, which fuses the discipline of contemporary ballet with the energy of "bboying," a form of breakdancing.
 
Rubberbandance Group last appeared at the National Arts Centre to a sold-out audience during the 2006 Canada Dance Festival.

The festival is an opportunity to raise the profile of bboying and bgirling, Noora Sagarwala, associate artistic director of Hip Hop 360, said in an interview with CBC Radio.

In bboying and bgirling, dancers compete to make the most spectacular moves on a dance floor while an MC raps at the mike or a DJ spins discs.

"We sort of decided that bboys needed more than just another spot to battle. They needed recognition from the dance community," Sagarwala said.

"They also wanted to hone their skills… do a little bit of professional development and also to meet each other. Canada's a really big country and they're from all corners of the country, so they don't often get a chance to meet or to dance with each other," she said.

A hip-hop dancer performs in a video at the media launch of the Canada Dance Festival.
(CBC)

For Ottawa-based dancer Samantha Dumas, who performs in a breakdance troupe called Speedroc, the event is a unique chance to show just how strong the Ottawa dance scene has become.

"Everybody kind of knows each other. There's a lot of just legendary people to learn from in Ottawa, so I think it's a great place to learn how to bboy," she said.

Toronto's Bag of Trix, Edmonton's Freshly Squeezed, St. John's East Rock Crew, Montreal's Illmask and several Ottawa dance groups are on the bill.

Some events are being held at the National Arts Centre, while others will be staged outside or in Ottawa clubs.

Sagarwala was recruited by CDF producer Brian Webb to help win top talent for the festival.

"There's a tremendous underground scene in Ottawa," she said. "We have some of the best bboy crews in the country, including the Canadian Floor Masters, which is the oldest bboy crew."

The festival runs June 19-23.