Last night my friend Joyce and I caught the latest show by the Japanese drumming / tap group COBU at the Theater for the New City in the East Village. They always put on an incredible show, and after 10 years of work, the depth and power of their performance just keeps increasing. Since the…
Tag: hip-hop
America’s Best Dance Crew Season 4 kicks off! (video)
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 4) – MTV Shows Now that season 5 of "So You Think You Can Dance" has finished (congrats, Jeannine!), it's time to move on to my favorite dance show on TV "America's Best Dance Crew." Season 4 kicked off last night on MTV, and the first full episode is already…
5 b-boy crews from 3 continents gather for “Hip Hop Generation Next” at Lincoln Center August 6!
I'm pretty excited about the "Hip Hop Generation Next" event at Lincoln Center on August 6. It's an amazingly dope line-up of crews representing b-boying from all over the world: From New York City and Chicago to South Korea and Sierra Leone, five crews from three continents reinvent hip hop dancing with breathtaking virtuosity, jawdropping…
Everything Remains Raw: Moncel Durden on the links between lindy hop and hip hop dance
I managed to catch the film preview and talk with filmmaker / dancer / historian Moncel Durden about his work-in-progress "Everything Remains Raw: Hip-Hop's Folkloric Lineage." Here Moncel talks the importance of dancers knowing the roots of the movements that they do. As lindy hoppers, it was great to see how Moncel was able to…
My interview with DMC about his new hip-hop virtual world (video)
Here's the video of my interview with the pioneering rapper DMC (of Run-DMC fame) talking about his new virtual hangout DMC World. It was great getting an opportunity to hear DMC's views about hip-hop culture, online games, and youth empowerment. The actual virtual environment looks pretty clunky and dated, I'm afraid. But DMC clearly has…
Interviewing DMC (of Run-DMC) about hip-hop, virtual worlds and youth
I had a remarkable opportunity to interview hip-hop artist Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC fame today! I caught up with Dee at the Engage Expo at Jacob Javitz Center this morning, who was here to promote his new virtual space DMC World. We had a very interesting discussion about hip-hop culture, virtual worlds, digital games,…
DMC launches first hip-hop virtual world: where’s my digital Adidas?
I just got word that Hip hop artist Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC fame is opening the first hip-hop oriented virtual world, called DMC World. Officially launching next week, the 3d environment will include a rooftop club overlooking a "crazy NYC skyline", a VIP screening room, a "VIP access-only backstage hangout", and a stage to…
“America’s Best Dance Crew” final episode this week: Girls vs. Boys! Style vs. Power!
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 3) – MTV Shows We are quickly winding up the third season of MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" and I have been consistently blown away each week. I finally got to see Episode Seven today after returning from my DC trip. Incredibly, it's boiled down from nine crews down to…
America’s Best Dance Crew: the only TV show that makes me want cable
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 3) – MTV Shows I don't watch network or cable TV. What with Netflix (DVDs and streaming), Hulu, iTunes, YouTube, etc., I don't feel like I am missing out much. That said, I really wish I had cable so I could watch "America's Best Dance Crew" in its full, non.jpgxelated…
“Continuing the Dream of Dr. King” with spoken word, drum, and hip-hop violin
I have gotten around to uploading some more video from the past couple of days in DC for the presidential inauguration festivities. One of the coolest events I attended was a multi-arts celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at the National Cathedral called "Continuing the Dream." About 1,000 people gathered for a series of spirited…