The New York-based troupe Break! Urban Funk Spectacular. (Source: China Daily) Photo Gallery>>>

    

    BEIJING, Dec. 8 -- The on-going Beijing International Dance Festival offers a variety of dance forms ranging from ballet and modern dance to tap dance and flamenco. It will even present break dance, the trendy genre loved by the younger generation.

    The New York-based troupe Break! Urban Funk Spectacular is set to thrill local young audiences with its fast-paced, high-energy hip-hop and break dance.

    In a 90-minute virtuosic display of mind-boggling spins, gravity-defying headstands, stupefying robotics, wild gyrations and athletic one-handed freezes, the show traces the history of hip-hop dancing over the last 30 years. It is a high-energy tribute to this creatively-charged American art form.

    Formed in 1999 by Steve Love, whose best-known production up till then was the New York Express Roller Dance Company, the troupe brings together young dancers with veterans of the form and the DJ Shake (Chet Samuels) who spins records, mixes and scratches his original beat.

    "Many of our dancers have worked with major stars such as Madonna and Janet Jackson, but what makes the show is, we breathe hip-hop and all the positive statements of the movement. We keep it alive, from heavy-duty locking, popping, breaking, and emceeing to bucket drumming and power tumbling," said the producer Love.

    "This is a family-oriented, positive show, and has something for everybody. It's back in the streets, without being violent. It's pure funk and shows the best in the world in hip-hop," he added.

    (Source: China Daily)