My review in Monday’s Chronicle:
“The San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest’s audience isn’t shy about its predilections: The mob screams for a fat beat, claps along when a crew breaks out old-school James Brown or vintage ’80s Janet Jackson and shouts “work it out!” when a dancer starts slamming. But like any crowd that knows how to have a good time, the festival’s fans rarely err in taste – and neither does founder, director and producer Micaya.
I wasn’t able to catch the 10th anniversary festival’s Program A on Friday at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, but that was surely my loss, because Saturday’s Program B was sick, buck, dope, stupid – insert whatever other hip-hop accolade you wish – the best of the eight editions of the festival I’ve been fortunate enough to witness through the years.
Just when we thought Micaya’s international scouting had shown us everything possible in hip-hop, along comes Indiana’s Breaksk8 Dance Crew. These five guys dance on roller skates, and this ain’t no roller derby. They do tight, hard-hitting moves that most crews would kill to pull off with their feet on the ground. Then they do more, throwing themselves into b-boy spins, scissoring their legs in handstands.
Also on the novel side was Philadelphia’s MopTop Music and Movement, led by Buddha Stretch, a repeat visitor to the festival. For “HipHop/Beebob” he took a Charleston-grooving song by Common and staged a 1920s speakeasy bash. You haven’t seen street tough redefined until you’ve seen B-girl Bounce whirl through a corkscrew in a flapper dress and heels.
But some crews didn’t need a gimmick, just a good booty-shaking.”
Click herefor the rest of the review.
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