Info:
Fiya House with Shoreditch Town Hall and Team London Bridge present
POPCITY UK vol. 5
Shoreditch Town Hall
Sat 25 Jan 2020
11am – midnight
From £10
#popcityuk #fiyahouse @shoreditchTH #shoreditch @atlondonbridge #londonbridge
Press images: https://bit.ly/2KGRTq6
Video: https://youtu.be/j52NcIXV0oM
Now in its 5th year, renowned international dance competition Popcity UK returns to London in January 2020 bringing together world-renowned dance artists and the UK Hip Hop and Popping community with UK-based dancers, international judges, guest performers and live DJs in one of the first Hip Hop events of the year in the capital. Winners will have the chance to represent the UK at the Popcity Finals in East Asia in December 2020. Activities leading up to the competition, which takes place on Saturday 25 January, include an inspirational training intensive led by London’s pioneers of Hip Hop and taster sessions for locals in the London Bridge area throughout winter. The main battle event will be streamed using Instagram Live. Popcity UK vol.5 is presented by Fiya House, funded by Arts Council England, and supported by Shoreditch Town Hall and Team London Bridge.
James Pidgeon, Shoreditch Town Hall Director, said ‘We’re completely thrilled to be hosting 2020’s Popcity UK here at Shoreditch Town Hall next January. We pride ourselves on being a cultural organisation committed to nurturing both new and established artists and providing a platform for the development of creative talent, and so to collaborate with Fiya House – who are constantly promoting the growth of dancers and the UK Hip Hop scene in general – feels like a natural fit. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to Shoreditch for what promises to be an electrifying day.’
Ellie Beedham, Director of Arts, Team London Bridge, said ‘It’s great that Popcity has been so successful and grown. We are happy to have supported the development of the project and to be working in partnership with Shoreditch Town Hall’.
Popcity UK is an event for emerging and established Hip Hop dancers of all ages from across the UK to come together to train, share knowledge and compete. It is open to anyone who is interested in watching or taking part in Street Dance forms. Under the creative vision of Dickson Mbi, Brooke Milliner and Shawn Aimey from the prestigious Popping Crew Fiya House, the programme creates a platform for the UK hip hop scene to grow, and to gain greater international visibility. Popcity UK is led by Hip Hop artists for Hip Hop artists, with the community at its core. Fiya House travel across the globe to compete in prestigious Hip Hop and Popping competitions representing the UK and often come home victorious. 2019 Popcity UK winner Mr Ness (Epangue Nelson) went on to win second place in the World Finals in Seoul, Korea in October. London was one of 11 cities that competed in the final. Fiya House co-director Dickson Mbi is not only highly respected within the Hip Hop sector, he has also gained public notoriety for his practice as a contemporary dancer working with the likes of Russell Maliphant and Akram Khan. He was nominated for numerous major awards including ‘Best Achievement in Dance’ at the UK Theatre Awards 2017 and for the ‘Southbank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award’.
Dickson Mbi, Fiya House co-director, said “Fiya House has been running classes and events for the Hip Hop community since 2012 and Popcity is our biggest event of the year. Perfect for families, dancers and people that are interested in Hip Hop culture, Popcity features some of the best dancers from across the UK and around the world. For the past four years, the winners of Popcity UK in London have gone on to win first or second place at the World Finals in Asia, competing against over 20 other countries. For 2020, we are excited to see the next generation of talent coming through and want to invite everyone to come down and experience what Fiya House and Popcity is all about.”
In person or via live-stream, audiences of the battle will have the opportunity to watch world-class dancers compete in Popping, Hip Hop, Litefeet and Under-16s categories and come up close to Hip Hop culture.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
POPPING
Popping is a form of street dance and is one of the original funk styles to come out of California in the early 1970s. Started by Boogaloo Sam, the dance is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a “pop” or a “hit”. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song, in combination with various movements, to appear as though the beat is controlling the dancer’s body. Boogaloo Sam went on to create The Electric Boogaloo Lockers, later known as The Electric Boogaloos, who gained popularity through their pivotal performance on Soul Train in1979.
Closely related illusory dance styles and techniques are often integrated into Popping, to create a more varied performance. These dance styles include The Robot, Waving and Tutting. Popping is distinct from Breaking and Locking, with which it is often confused. In-keeping with its origins, Popping is often performed in battles and club settings, where participants try to outperform each other in front of a crowd. This creates space for improvisation and freestyle movements that are seldom seen in shows and performances, and usually include interaction with other dancers and spectators.
ASSETS
Images from Popcity Vol.4 January 2019 are available from here: https://bit.ly/2KGRTq6
Video available from here: https://youtu.be/j52NcIXV0oM
Please credit: Popcity Vol.4, 5 January 2019. Photos by Mickey Lee. Courtesy Team London Bridge.
For press information, images and interviews please contact
UNAVOIDABLE PR Ariane Oiticica, 0791 719 0584 / aoiticica@gmail.com
LISTINGS
Fiya House with Shoreditch Town Hall and Team London Bridge present
POPCITY UK
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT
Box Office: 020 7739 6176
Sat 25 Jan
11am – midnight
From £10
@shoreditchTH #shoreditch @atlondonbridge #londonbridge #popcityuk #fiyahouse
Fiya House is excited to present Popcity UK vol.5. On Saturday 25 January 2020, this renowned international dance competition returns to London. Popcity UK is a space for emerging and established Hip Hop dancers of all ages from across the country to come together to train, share knowledge and to compete. It is open to anyone who is interested in watching or taking part in Street Dance. Popcity UK is an opportunity for over 450 UK dancers to unite for one of the first Hip Hop events of the year. Featuring international judges, guest performers and live DJs, the battles create an authentic Hip Hop experience with artists from around the globe and around the corner. Winners have the chance to represent the UK at the Popcity Finals in East Asia later in the year. Tickets available from here: https://shoreditchtownhall.com/whats-on/popcity
BATTLE CATEGORIES & INTERNAITONAL JUDGES
Popping (1 vs. 1) MT Pop (Vietnam), Mr Steen (Denmark)
Hip Hop (1 vs. 1) TBA
Litefeet (1 vs. 1) Richie Rich (USA)
Under 16s All Styles (1 vs.1) TBA
The live DJs are: DJ Fayme (Germany), DJ D-Bo (UK) and DJ T-SIA (France)
WINNERS PRIZES
Popping – flight to East Asia to represent UK in the Finals, Dec 2020
Hip Hop – £100
Litefeet - £100
U16 All Styles - £100
HOSTS
Dickson Mbi, Creative Director and co-host Dickson is the Co-Director of renowned Popping Crew ‘Fiya House’. He is responsible for the artistic vision of the Popcity programme, including bringing in key artists from his own contacts as workshop leaders and judges. He will be responsible for the international guests whilst they are in the UK and will also co-host the battle event in January 2020.
Brooke Milliner, Co-Director of Fiya House Brooke is jointly responsible for the artistic vision of the Popcity programme. He is a global ambassador winning numerous major international events and gaining recognition and respect for his skills from his peers and the original pioneers. He will be responsible for the international guests whilst they are in the UK.
Shawn Aimey, Event Lead and co-host Shawn is a key member of renowned Popping Crew ‘Fiya House’. He will co-ordinate the workshop and battle events on the day and will be jointly responsible for the international guests whilst they are in the UK. Shawn will also co-host the battle event in January 2020.
ABOUT FIYA HOUSE
Fiya House is a world-renowned collective of dance artists based in London and has been a positive and consistent presence in the UK Popping Community since 2012. The collective aims to provide a platform for dancers to showcase their talent, network with other like-minded artists, and promote growth for the UK hip hop scene. To inspire the next generation of dancers, Fiya House not only delivers not-for-profit weekly training sessions in London, but also invites international pioneers to teach workshops and judge events throughout the year. Fiya House provides intensive training to upskill dancers of all levels in a positive, social environment. This is a pass-it-on system of support and development for young creatives, offered through Fiya House’s affordable weekly sessions. The battle event in 2019 provides a platform for dancers to showcase their talent, network with likeminded artists and promote growth for the scene in the only event of its kind, with a chance to represent the UK at the Chinese finals. www.fiya-house.com
ABOUT SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL
Welcoming over 70,000 people through its doors every year, Shoreditch Town Hall is an established independent cultural, community and live events space housed in one of the grandest former civic buildings in the capital. Comprising over 48,000 square feet across 70 individual rooms, the Town Hall has undergone something of a transformation in recent years, from a beautiful but under the radar hire space, to a thriving flagship venue for Hackney, London and beyond. Shoreditch Town Hall is now more in use than at any other point in its recent history with a year-round programme of bold and adventurous new theatre, music, dance, comedy, talks and events, alongside a range of learning, community and engagement activities. The venue is also occupied by one of the most talked about restaurants of recent years, the Michelin starred Clove Club, in the west side of the building.
With eight main spaces from 40 to 800 capacity, the Town Hall works with 100 artists, community groups and arts organisations, programmes over 40 productions, hosts up to 200 events, and commissions up to 8 new pieces of live performance, every year. The Town Hall’s programme has recently included work with Andrew Schneider, Barely Methodical Troupe, curious directive, dreamthinkspeak, Jamie Lloyd, Kneehigh, Manchester International Festival, Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari, Royal Shakespeare Company, ThisEgg and The Wardrobe Ensemble, alongside events with the likes of Alexander McQueen, Amazon, Channel 4, Fred Perry, Jazz FM, Red Bull, UNICEF and the filming of The Death of Stalin, Florence Foster Jenkins and The Lady in the Van. Shoreditch Town Hall is a registered charity (1069617) and receives no regular or revenue funding.
Twitter: @ShoreditchTH
Facebook: /ShoreditchTH
Instagram: @shoreditchTH
www.shoreditchtownhall.com
ABOUT TEAM LONDON BRIDGE
The London Bridge Culture Programme works with great artists and the local community to frame the dynamic arts and heritage offer for the area. Team London Bridge manages the Business Improvement District and provides services for the community of 400 businesses and 50,000 local employees. www.atlondonbridge.com
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