Hiplet: The Baby of Modern and Classical Ballet
By Eunice Wang Medill Reports Hiplet, the fusion of hip-hop and ballet, started back in 1990 as Homer Hans Bryant’s rap ballet. As a dance teacher, Homer has always been fascinated by classical ballet and what dancers can do en pointe. Homer wanted to give back to his community by teaching kids of color the […]
Power to the People: How prison abolitionist Ric Wilson shares his work through music
By Thaddeus Tukes Good luck trying to catch artivist Ric Wilson. Traversing the city of Chicago with wide eyes and a feather earring, his flutters have already been making waves throughout the Chicago area. A native of Alsip, a suburb southwest of the city, his soul has “bounced” from the North Coast Music Festival in […]
5 steps to branding Indie artists
By Thaddeus Tukes Since I started playing music professionally as a teenager, I’ve run into countless people whose shining star fizzled out — and most of them believe it was too early. Many initially took the independent artist route, but said they lacked the resources to make it work. They couldn’t attract consistent visibility or […]
Flash: An intercultural conversation between Butoh and Hip-Hop
By Vishakha Darbha Interdisciplinary artist Michael Sakamoto is one half of Flash, a Butoh/Hip-Hop duet performed with street-dance choreographer Rennie Harris. The show, which played at Columbia College Dance Theatre earlier this month, examines the body as a state of crisis. But for Sakamoto and Harris, Flash is also a public conversation between Butoh and Hip-Hop, and between their […]
Chicago festival celebrates hip-hop arts’ positive impact
By Marisa Endicott Some might claim that “hip-hop is dead,” but the 7th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip Hop Arts this Saturday suggested otherwise. “If you go to the spaces, if you go to the open mics, it is alive and well,” said Damon Williams, a performer and activist emceeing for the event. […]
