No Sell Out, Just Breaks

"I really like the Breakin' Convention audience: it is an audience for both dance and theatre. They are very open minded for new stuff, but they still have the spontaneous energy one expects from a hiphop audience. It is because of events like BC that folks get interested in dance and start to dance themselves." European duo Sébastien and Raphael, who wax lyrical on the audience and event, are a fine example of what happens when b-boys meet contemporary dance, fusing high tech stage craft, breakin' brilliance and original contemporary choreography. Breakin' Convention is a rare example of a hip-hop dance programme that bridges the gap between the form's street origins and the more theatrical manifestations that are most obviously represented in the crews that strike big through Britain's Got Talent. 

Sébastien and Raphael take their enthusiasm further. "BC is important for dance in general; it offers an international spectrum of dance to the British audience," they affirm. "BC offers a programme which is challenging, artistic and allows the artists to evaluate themselves. It offers the hiphop vocabulary in different propositions and contexts."

Breakin' Convention had its origins in a collaboration between Sadler's Wells Theatre in London and b-boy activist Jonzi D. Sadler's Wells has long been both a home for dance and on a mission to make performance accessible. Recent Sadler's initiatives have included programming at the Latitude Festival, while Jonzi D has been an influential voice in the shift of credible hip-hop into the mainstream of dance.

For the Edinburgh shows, Jonzi will be joined by the hardest working man in Scottish showbusiness, Tony Mills. Mills started off as a vet, became a bodypopper, and has just been touring a double bill of contemporary dance – which also appears at the IETM. A regular face at b-boy battles, Mills has a habit of finding outrageous outfits to match his bouncing enthusiasm.

With invitations going out to local crews, including the West Coast's Flying Jalapenos, the event bridges the gap between touring companies and the street teams. It's also a networking evening for b-boys, a gathering of clans, and a place to share experiences.

As a culture originating in the United States, hip-hop has made a natural global expansion. Nevertheless, it has been shaped by national characters – a point made by Sébastien and Raphael.

"France has a large support for culture, and also good opportunities to present theatre and dance in venues," they explain. "I also think that the general sensibility for culture is quite developed in France – certainly due to education." Against this background, the particular history of France has encouraged b-boys. "The important number of immigrant and French with immigration background is important in the hiphop culture: this part of the population often can easily identify with our culture."

They also note that there is a complex relationship between the state and the various communities. While there remain huge cultural issues and conflicts unresolved within French society, this does not harm creativity.

"The French authorities always supported culture and art in general, I think that this generates an artistic dynamic and pushes artists in their creations." So far, so positive: yet the duo continue, "France has a link to ex-colonies and still has overseas departments and territories; these parts of the population are often stigmatised and live in ghettoised situations, economically more difficult. This might create anger, envy, ambition, energy – and artistic creation! This blend of the cultures also creates a mix of artists – intellectual, conceptual, spontaneous – with different energies from various cultural backgrounds."

Perhaps this explains why hip-hop has taken a deep hold in France, and the rest of the world. As a dance form, it is vibrant, energetic and confrontational, encouraging the expression of even aggressive feelings and competitive ambition. Alongside rap, breakin' has a strong connection to community, and can easily become political. By the time that the theatre began to recognise its dynamism, it was already taking names and naming injustices.

The greatest threat to hip-hop culture has always been its colonisation by the mainstream: those acts on BGT might have the flips and moves, but anyone who saw their touring shows would accept that they lack soul. There was even one crew who had a shameful scene where they gave props to major banking corporations. Against this, BC is a genuine collaboration between the scene and the proscenium arch.