Preview: B.Supreme, South Bank Centre, London
World's best b-girls prepare for dance-off
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Your support makes all the difference.International b-girls (break girls) will gather in London to take part in live battles (dance contests in which a dancer's repertoire is heightened in each round) in an all-female celebration of women in hip-hop at the South Bank.
This is the first UK festival for women in hip-hop with performances from international hip-hop companies, live DJ sets, film screenings, discussions and demonstrations of dance moves.
B-girl Yami "Rowdy" Lofvenberg is an expert in popping and locking. She will be performing with her all-girl crew, Flowzaic, on the first night of b-supreme. "The highlight of our 10-minute show is right at the end," says Lofvenberg. "We have the girl Angel [M'Paria] spinning on her head in the centre of the stage for a very long time. Sunanda [Biswas] and Danielle [Petrie] are top rocking at the side, while I am popping in slow motion at the back of the stage."
Lofvenberg, who was born in Colombia and raised in Sweden, will also take part in the locking and popping live battles. "I always go in for winning, otherwise what is the point?" she says.
Other festival highlights include guest appearances from the US b-girl Asia One. She was one of the first b-girls and has worked with the Rock Steady Crew and Cicely and Olisa, the choreographers for the rap star Missy Elliott. DJ Sarah Love and DJ Nicci Cheeks will be special guest DJs for the battles. Films being screened include B-Girl the Movie and Redder than Red,which is about the emergence of the first UK female break-dancer, Hanifa Queen, aka Bubbles.
The festival has been organised by the dance agency, Independance. Lofvenberg, who has performed around the world at concerts, jams and battles such as the Choreographer's Battles at the Hippodrome, London, and with Wu-Tang Clan at the Astoria, says life as a b-girl is not always easy. "At some of the main break dance championships b-girls are still not allowed to compete."
22 to 24 September (08703 800 400; www.rfh.org.uk)
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