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Next-generation Hip Hop Dance from Brazil
Highlighting the overwhelming energy and tension of the human body

Taking hip hop, a movement that keeps affecting dance, music, art, fashion and other aspects of cultural and social life, and catapulting it to the level of performing arts, "H3" is an ambitious piece that introduces a fresh current to the realm of dance.
Witness nine trained street dancers as they knock down stylistic stereotypes with breathtaking speed and energy, to make way for novel forms of expression that unfold in an impressive demonstration of flexibility and potential.

"H3"
Hip hop's high-flying crusade from the street into the theatre


© Grupo de Rua

Since emerging in New York in the early 1970s, hip hop culture has been exerting a strong influence on dance, music, art, fashion, and other cultural and social aspects. Dance as one facet of the hip hop phenomenon has been conquering the world while leaving its marks on several other dance styles, and has evolved into an art form in its own right that enjoys popularity on various levels today, with professional dancers participating in contests, and countless young people practicing and performing on the street also here in Japan.
"H3", an attempt to bring innovation to hip hop as a contemporary performing art, has been presented to great acclaim at festivals and theatres. The ambitious idea to elevate hip hop to the level of performing arts resulted in a display of overwhelmingly energetic physical power.



© Bruno Beltrão



Highlights
Trained bodies in simple settings
The simple stage set includes not much more than lighting to add subtle nuances to the dancers' movements against the acoustic backdrop of environmental noises and silence replacing the original hip hop and R&B music. The additional sounds of the nine street-trained dancers' steps add to an atmosphere that is pregnant with a sense of tension that both street and theatre settings share. A delicately sophisticated choreography, made possible thanks to the performers' physical abilities and characteristic features, is one of the attractions of this spectacle highlighting the explosive energy set free in the generation of truly innovative physical expression.

Thought-out overall composition over individual skills
The rules of hip hop, originally a competitive "dance battle" format, include a display of personal skills while avoiding body contact with the opponents as a stylistic element. Rather than focusing on individual performing skills, this piece follows a general concept and composition that demands from the dancers to move constantly on the brink of collision in a rather aggressive approach to contact that ultimately never happens. Speed, dynamism and speculation are the pillars of a construction that aims to explore the uncharted territory between the street and the theatre.

A new art form born on suburban streets
Hip hop has grown into a global cultural movement. The style that once was a communication tool - not excluding elements of protest - for young people living in the downtown areas of big cities has matured into a means of self-expression for suburban youths. The Grupo de Rua, a company based in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, seek to demolish stereotypes in artistic expression in order to establish their own original methods, suggesting an analytical approach to the obliterating flow of mainstream trends.


© Bruno Beltrão


Bruno Beltrão (Choreographer, dancer)
A choreographer and his revolution of hip hop 30 years after zero hour
Born and raised in the outskirts of a Brazilian town, Bruno Beltrão first encountered street dance as a teenager. After enrolling at the university of Rio de Janeiro to study dance and philosophy, he began to produce works that gradually liberated him from the rules and conventions of hip hop, and eventually unveiled the piece "H3" at the Kunsten Festival des Arts in Belgium in 2008. Following its predecessor, "H2", it is on a continuously successful tour around major festivals around the world. 30 years young, Beltrão is definitely one choreographer to watch when it comes to breathing new life into the current hip hop and performing arts scenes.



Direction, Choreography: Bruno Beltrão
With: Grupo de Rua
Co-production: Grupo de Rua, Festival d'automne à Paris, La Ferme du Buisson - Scène nationale de Marne-la-Vallée, Le Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, International Arts Festival/Salamanca 2008 - Junta de Castilla y León, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Hebbel am Ufer

Art Direction & Design: Ryo Sugi (scenery of design)

Produced by: Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]
Organized by: Yamaguchi City Foundation for Cultural Promotion, Agency for Cultural Affairs
Supported by: Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi City Board of Education, Embassy of Brazil