REVIEW | Breakin’ Convention

Photo Credit: Paul-Hampartsoumian

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Samantha

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

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Breakin’ Convention is the world’s ground-breaking festival of hip hop dance theatre and this year, it celebrates its 20th anniversary. With artists from the UK, South Korea and The Netherlands, and a fantastic few days on tour, the audience were definitely in for a treat! 

As someone who does not know too much about dancing but can appreciate the skills and effort that goes into a routine and performance, I was excited to go along to this show with little insight. Breakin’ Convention was hosted by Jonzi D and split into two acts, Act 1, and Act 2 roughly approximately 45 minutes each.

Jonzi D brought so much enthusiasm to the stage by warming up the audience and increasing their energy levels. We were all ready to cheer and clap following Jonzi’s incredible introduction. He really did fill the stage and you can tell he loves what he does, celebrating dance is a huge part of his life.

First to the stage were local hip hop dance group, Beat Bots (UK). Their performance was so slick. The timing was impeccable, and their routine was strong, energetic, and executed well. I thoroughly enjoyed the music too. I felt like I took a lot away from this performance. It was relatable because it was titled ‘Rat Race’ and we’re all competing against one another in our day to day lives whether that’s in work or studying to better ourselves. We always have to work hard to achieve what we want.

Now one dancer in particular had the audience fall into stunned silence. Jamal Sterrett is from Nottingham and uses improvised movement to access and respond to sensations felt in specific environments. In this piece, Jamal used dance styles such as bruk up, flex and ballet to embody the ideology that all movement is a frequency and wavelength in SPECTRA. Even though I wasn’t familiar with some of the dance styles, the story was clear through his movement. It was spell bounding and so beautiful to watch, I never knew a body could move in ways that Jamal’s did. 

Following Jamal, JME Dance Company came to the stage as a group of female warriors. This was an empowering performance and showcased what battles the sisterhood in Mino must face collectively. Mino explores strength, intricacy, and a journey of challenges – this was executed well in the routine as the moves were quite striking and performed with some force.

We also had performances from Take 1 Dance, a Nottingham-based hip hop dance group and Yvonne Smink, a Dutch international pole champion. Both of these were eye-catching to watch, and I had so many questions after the performance, one being, how do they/she have so much strength and two, how are they/she still standing after giving it their all. The energy and choreography that went into these routines was something to be very envious of. Yvonne’s routine was very relevant because it was based under the sea which fits in with the recent release of The Little Mermaid. 

My favourite performance of the night was by dance group Mover from South Korea. The group are a break-dancing crew with a surprising beatboxing segment from one of the dancers. The story was based on a merry go round but with a creative flare – I didn’t understand this on stage but only realised that was the theme due to the programme. There was one dancer that had the audience roaring with cheer, he was spinning on his head without any hand support, and it felt like it was spinning for ages. It was incredible to watch! I enjoyed every single second of this performance, the dance off and use of chairs were fantastic. It was truly encapsulating.

The show finished with Ghetto Funk Collective from The Netherlands. They were dressed in 1970s clothing and their routine embraced the forces of funk. The group pay homage to legend, James Brown and they absolutely did him justice. There were costume changes, props, solo performances, audience participation, it was a great way to end the show. Bravo boys!

Sadly, I must add that I was disappointed with some members of the audience. Staff politely asked you not to film or photograph the performances as you walked into the theatre. Throughout the entirety of the show, people were using flash photography, constantly filming, and taking photos. As they were in view, I found it quite distracting – I just hope it didn’t cause any issues for the dancers. If it did, it didn’t show as they were extremely focused on their routines. 

I was inspired by each and every one of the performers on stage, I think I sat there for most of the show shaking my head in disbelief that someone’s body could move like it did as well as my mouth being open for quite some time. When this tours next year, you definitely need to go and see it. I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to do so because I had one of the best times at the theatre.