Artisphere to Host U.S.-French Hip-Hop Dance Battle

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by Katie Pyzyk — May 8, 2012 at 1:45 pm 2,056 37 Comments

Dance crews are revving up for a transatlantic battle set to take place at Artisphere. French dancers will be flying in to join the locals in a dance competition on May 25.

The “Battle of the Dance Crews” show ends a week of events in the D.C. area for a transatlantic hip-hop festival. The Urban Corps Festival will feature dancers from the United States, France and Senegal, who are trained in a variety of techniques such as contemporary dance, Brazilian capoeira, karate and gymnastics.

Performances will highlight the dancers’ interpretations of hip-hop culture through urban dance. The festival website says this type of artistic event “serves as proof that urban issues are not only local, but mutually influenced on both sides of the Atlantic and across the globe.”

The festival is presented in collaboration with Alliance Française, a French cultural organization.

Tickets for the event are $5. Music, drinks and mingling with the dancers will begin at 9:00 p.m., and the performance runs from 10:00-11:00 p.m. After that, the dance floor will be open until midnight to anyone who wants to bust a move.

Mary-Austin

Umm I don’t think the kind of urban issues that Arlington faces are really ones that influence hip-hip culture and urban dance.
We have more urban issues that influence IT consultants to sloppily dance to party rock in Clarendon.
- Westover
  
  Mary Hynes saw somebody walking down Clarendon Blvd with Beats headphones on, so now we have “urban issues”
novasteve

Wait a minute, I’m expected to give up incandescent bulbs and my car to save the environment, but it’s okay to fly here from 3000 miles away to dance?
- drax
  
  Incandescent bulbs cost you money. You lose nothing by replacing them with CFLs or LEDs. See how that works?
  - John Fontain
    
    I’m guessing that novasteve rightfully values his personal liberty more the extra dollar it costs him to replace an incandescent bulb every year or two.
    - novasteve
      
      Exactly. I would also save on car payments and insurance if I was told I can’t have a car anymore.
      - drax
        
        But you’re not being told you can’t buy ANY lightbulb, steve. Get a grip on yourself. You screw it in, and you don’t even notice it’s different, except when you pay a lower electric bill. To whine about that is ridiculous.
    - drax
      
      So novasteve opposes taxes, traffic laws, all regulation of commerce, food safety laws, etc.? I doubt it.
      
      You have plenty of personal liberty. You also have to follow certain rules. The idea that not being able to buy a certain kind of light bulb is an egregious violation of personal liberty is just plain loony.
  - xard
    
    No. Please explain again, only at greater length and with less clarity. Also, please turn up the condescension level from “obnoxious” to “downright intolerable.”
    - drax
      
      Done.
      - Elmer
        
        So ban all light bulbs. Think of the energy savings.
- jackson
  
  Just think of the money you’ll save when you stroke out over your anger about light bulbs.
- FightGlobalWarmingWithTheMarket
  
  the incandascent light bulb ban is a silly substitute for a carbon tax or other form of carbon pricing. Tax carbon, and you incent folks to use more efficient bulbs AND to drive less (and more efficiently when they do), AND to fly less.
  
  Is NoVasteve fighting for a carbon tax or for cap and trade?
Swag

So… it’s on?
Captain Pup McPuppo

WTF LOL
DSS10

Sacre Bleu!

This is silly
Frog Gras

This has “spectacularly lame” written all over it:

“Vous la merd!”

“Who you callin’ a mare? Old gray mare? Over there? Yo, grey poupon! You just got served, son!”

At least it’s not a mime-off.
- Curious George
  
  I would go see a MimeFight ™.
  - Viva Artisphere !!
    
    “I would go see a MimeFight ”
    
    I believe that is scheduled for early June at the ‘Sphere…..that is what we hip types call it.
  - DSS10
    
    The first rule about Mime fight is?
    - bobco85
      
      [places finger over lips and shakes head]
randy

apparently all jokes making light of the pathetic management of the artisphere are subject to the whim of arlnow censorship.
- Viva Atisphere !!
  
  Mums the word ……..
Stromae

Alors on Danse
G::TheNativeArlingtonian

In da house, French Toast, yo! Bring it!

Sheesh.
Bluemontsince1961

Huh? Seriously?!?!?!? U.S.-French Hip-Hop Dance Battle?!?!?!?!?

Hookay….whatever…..
Lee-n-Glebe

I’m speechless.
JohnB

Full Program of the festival:

Thursday, May 17, from 7:30 – 11:00 PM at the Mexican Cultural Institute //2829 16th Street, NW. Grande Soirée de Gala to raise funds for the Alliance’s cultural and academic programs. Tickets include three previews of hip-hop dance performances, open bar of French wines, French tapas buffet, live music and a DJ, complimentary valet parking. Tickets: https://www.formstack.com/forms/?1204159-kISV0a4vlc or call 202-234-7911×833

Friday, May 18 at 8pm at Howard University, Ira Aldridge Theater // 2400 6th St., NW
-“Entre Deux” by Compagnie Stylistik

Saturday, May 19 at 2pm in Kalorama Park // At the intersection of Columbia Rd., Kalorama Rd., and 19th St., NW
-“Le Petit Bal 2 Rue” by Compagnie De Fakto

Sunday, May 20 at 6pm at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage // 700 F St., NW
-“The Three Wise Monkeys” by Compagnie Par-Allèles
Monday, May 21 at 6pm at Busboys and Poets // 1025 5th St., NW
Conference: “Old School: The birth of hip-hop in the U.S. and France”
with Ubran Artistry’s Junious “House” Brickhouse and the University of Arizona’s Alain-Philippe Durand
Wednesday, May 23 at 8pm at Dance Place // 3225 8th St., NE
-“N” by Compagnie De Fakto

Thursday, May 24 at 8pm at the Atlas Performing Arts Center // 1333 H St., NE
-“Tour of Duty” by Compagnie KLP
Friday, May 25 9pm to midnight at Artisphere // 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA
Battle of the Dance Crews , featuring Urban Artistry, Joy of Motion’s DCypher Dance
NoVapologist

La Boogaloo Electrique
Trech

Hip Hop Horray Hoooooo, Hey Hoooooo
AlAmerican

I hope Ozone and Turbo can make it.
UYD Fan

Another massive public good failure averted. Arlington, say hello to your future: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/nyregion/in-montclair-elections-cause-town-to-re-examine-itself.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
- Elmer
  
  Hey, UDY Fan, Thank you. That’s a great article- and in the NY Times of all papers. If only the late blooming common sense and introspection in that suburban NJ town could be transplanted to the Arlington Way!
  - UYD Fan
    
    I do what I can.
- mick way
  
  From a quick scan of their web sites it looks like Urban Corps and Alliance Francaise have nothing to do with Artisphere so this looks to me like a rental. If I’m correct then the Artisphere is, dog forbid, making money off this.
Elmer

A suggestion for the financially struggling Artisphere:
How about a good old fashioned tractor pull?

It continues the “Urban Agriculture” theme so trendy with the backyard chicken proponents and they surely outnumber French urban/hip-hop dancers in Arlington County.
Car-Free Cage-Free

Pot-belly Pig and Ostrich races! Sign me up. Hippity Hoppity Dance Party, not so much.

Fight Global Warming with the Market. You need to prove Global Warming exists before you can be taken seriously. Relying on Al Gore and his partner in harrassing massuers, Vinny Barbarino, is so lame.

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