Breakin' Convention 2010

Kyle Eastwood

Hip hop beats, gravity defying dance moves and the finest selection of aerosol art. Catch all this and much more at the awe-inspiring dance festival that's anything but conventional.

After selling out for six consecutive years, Breakin' Convention Sadler's Wells' critically acclaimed international festival of hip hop dance theatre, return for its seventh show, marking its territory as a major event in the hip hop dance calendar.

The line-up promises to include some of the world's finest poppers, lockers, house dancers, b-boys and b-girls, and is announced in January 2010. Previous performers at Breakin' Convention include ZooNation; Pied Piper creators Boy Blue; legendary hip hop pioneer Ken Swift; gravity defying champions Project Soul from Korea; the innovator Mr. Wiggles and Britain's Got Talent favourites Flawless.

Hosting the event will be Breakin' Convention artistic director and MC Jonzi D, an active ambassador for British Hip Hop culture who has been rapping and b-boying in clubs and on the street since the early eighties.

A graduate from the London Contemporary Dance School, Jonzi has been committed to the development of Hip Hop theatre and pioneer of the movement, performing and creating dance theatre pieces all over Europe, North America, Israel, New Zealand, Cuba and Southern Africa and representing hip hop to the fullest.

And, as hip hop culture is about more than beats and b-boying, the festival will offer not just performances, but a selection of incomparable workshops taught by pioneering artists, live graffiti and aerosol art commissions on the foyer walls, film screenings and award-winning DJ crew Tha En4cers playing old skool funk and breakbeats to packed circles.

So emerge yourself in a weekend of pure hip hop culture, prepare to get interactive and be ready for the unconventional! This jam fest is likely to leave your body poppin', your toes tapping and your head spinning. Don't miss it!

The Seventh Annual International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre takes place on Sat 1 - 2 May and Bank Holiday Mon 3 May at Sadler's Wells, London. 6pm. Adm: £20, (standing £15). Info: 0844 412 4300 / www.sadlerswells.com

By Lauren Ashi

LEAP: A Year Of Dance

LEAP Dance Festival officially launches its 18th anniversary celebrations this month, heralding the start of impressive yearlong programme of dance activity across the region.

LEAP 2010 will officially launch in spectacular style on the opening night of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, and it's one of the highlights of the LEAP 2010 calendar.

Since its 1995 world premiere at Sadler's Wells, Matthew Bourne's breathtaking and sexy version of Swan Lake has become the longest running ballet in London's West End and on Broadway. It has enjoyed two successful tours in the UK and thrilled audiences in Los Angeles, Europe and Japan. This new, witty and surprising production has been designed to speak to a modern audience, to excite them and to move them.

"We're delighted to be part of the Merseyside Dance Promoters Network and we are working hard to bring a wider and exciting range of traditional and contemporary dance to the region," said General Manager of Liverpool Empire Hannah Ashdown. "It's an honour to have secured Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake for its first ever Liverpool dates here at the Empire, and we look forward to many future collaborations."

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on Mon 22 Feb, with other performances until Sat 27 Feb, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre at 6.30pm.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Thurs 11 - Sat 13 Feb
THE DREADFUL HOURS
plays host to renowned local company Tmesis with an all new production In this wonderfully inventive production full of dark humour and striking visuals; Tmesis' trademark physicality is combined with new writing from acclaimed Northwest playwright Chris Fittock, directed by Peepolykus's master of the ridiculous Javier Marzan. Venue: The Liverpool Everyman Theatre. 7.30pm. Adm:Tickets £10 - £12.50.

Sun 21 Feb
LEAPING TIGER
Local dance company Movema host special dance event to celebrate Chinese New Year. 'Leaping Tiger' is an exciting new celebration of Chinese dance and culture for all the family, taking place at the newly re-opened Black-E in the heart of China Town. The programme comprises of 4 hours of FREE family fun including short performances and workshops in traditional Chinese dance and Wushu martial arts. (1-5pm). Info www.theblack-e.co.uk

Tue 23 Feb
CINDERELLA TOE JAM III
Royal Pink opens the peephole to the inner chamber of the female mind, where manifestations of a fetish for the ideal body image dwell. Bodies, sound, and video form an arena of corporal transformation. Me-Be Whatever's all girl soldier beauty corps investigates these collective fantasies: the fantasy of a society committed to the surface and loyal to the dream of perfection. Mei-Yin Ng is a Malaysian artist based in USA, MDI's aim in this celebratory year is to invite back favourites from previous festivals and are very pleased to invite Mei-Yin back to LEAP following her 2006 visit. Venue: Liverpool Arts College at 8pm. Adm: £6 - £7.

Wed 24 Feb
TOUCHDOWN DANCE
Using senses other than eyes, six dancers take flight aiming to bring the separate closer. Liberated from taboos of touch, they share a world where contact is not cautioned, but the starting point of freedom and trust. Where hearing, smell and the ripple of breath energize the space between bodies with a rich sensory perception that crosses the distorted distances between our world and us. Venue: The Rose Theatre. 7.30pm. Adm: £6.50 - £8.50.

Fri 6 March
MADE ON MERSEYSIDE
A new commission by Lea Anderson - MDI with Merseyside Dance Promoters Network are pleased to announce that Lea Anderson, Artistic Director of The Cholmondeleys and Featherstonehaughs has agreed to choreograph a new work on artists based in Merseyside as part of our celebration of 18 years of Leap Dance Festival. Lea and her assistant Frauke Requardt, will create a work that lasts 18 minutes to be performed as the opening event of our Community Showcase to be held at the Liverpool Playhouse. More info: www.leap2010.co.uk

FESTIVAL VENUE INFORMATION
Liverpool Empire - www.liverpoolempire.org.uk 0844 847 2525
Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse - www.everymanplayhouse.com 0151 709 4776
The Bluecoat - www.thebluecoat.org.uk 0151 702 5324
Unity Theatre - www.unitytheatreliverpool 0151 709 4988
Floral Pavilion - www.floralpavilion.com 0151 666 0000
Rose Theatre - www.edgehill.ac.uk 01695 584468
Black-E - www.theblack-e.co.uk 0151 709 5109
Southport Arts Centre - www.seftonarts.co.uk 01704 540011
The Brindley - www.thebrindley.org.uk 0151 907 8360

Please check back later for updates.