OFFICIAL LINE UP

2011 Performers

Program A∗

Meech Onomo Company (Paris, France)
Neopolitan (Oakland)
SoulForce Dance Company (San Francisco)
Academy Of Villains (San Mateo)
Outer Circle Crew (Los Angeles)
Compagnie Arts de Scene(Valenciennes, France)
Strictly Business (Bay Area)
Groove Against the Machine (Bay Area)
Gee's Disciples (Santa Rosa)
Robot Boys (Denmark)

Program B∗

Mind Over Matter (San Francisco)
Plague (London)
FBC (San Francisco)
Loose Change (San Francisco)
Soul Sector (San Francisco)
Robot Boys (Denmark)
FootworKINGz (Chicago)
Chapkis Dance (Vallejo)
Decadancetheatre (NYC)
Antics (Los Angeles)

2011 Performers' Bios

Program A∗
- - Meech Onomo Company (Paris, France)
- - Neopolitan (Oakland)
  - The raw street flavor of Dahrio Wonder and the impeccable technique of Robert D. Lupo create the eclectic style of dance that Neopolitan brings to the stage. These dancers and choreographers are mulit-flavored, layered, and complex, just like the flavor that Neopolitan represents. Wonder and Lupo meld Hip-Hop, Jazz, Modern, Ballet and African dance in a way that is unique and refreshing.
  - As professional dancers and choreographers, Wonder and Lupo have worked with artist such as Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Melanie Fiona, Madonna, Celia Cruz, Jocelyn Enriquez, and Angela Winbush. Also an array of corporate company's including Zumba Fitness, Nike, Dr. Pepper, Caterpillar, and Cisco Systems, just to name a few.
  - Neopolitan epitomizes the result of a powerful metamorphosis: innovative choreography and dynamic dancing.
- - Academy of Villains (San Francisco)
  - Established in 2009, Academy of Villains, directed by CJ "Pharside" Jennings of Machine Gone Funk and Krystal Meraz of The Lost Kids, is a competition crew based out San Mateo. Their hard work and determination is cultivated and developed at their home turf at the House of Mayhem Dance Studio, which is owned and operated by the directors themselves. Their mission is to incorporate the real true meaning of hip-hop and originality in all of their choreographed sets that they perform and compete with. Some recent victories added to their list since established is World of Dance, Collaboration, and Prelude Norcal. This year alone they have placed at Urban Street Jam in Southern California and are the Bay Area Champions of World of Dance for 2011.
- - SoulForce Dance Company (San Francisco)
  - SoulForce Dance Company was created in 2001 by legendary choreographer, teacher and SF Hip Hop DanceFest producer Micaya. Not your average hip hop dance company, SoulForce is a company not afraid to take artistic risks and fuse other dance styles and theatre into their repertoire. Micaya’s choreography and SoulForce dancers have been featured in music videos, touring productions, nightclubs,cabarets, festivals, corporate events, colleges, theatres and commercials. Described as "witty, dramatic and emotionally nuanced" by Dance Magazine, this dynamic group brings together dancers of diverse backgrounds to create inspiring works on stage. For more information about SoulForce, Micaya's classes, and more, please visit her website at www.micaya.com.
- - Outer Circle Crew (Los Angeles)
  - Founded by Peipei "Peppa" Yuan, Outer Circle Crew is dedicated to entertaining and inspiring the world through their innovative fusion of Hip Hop Culture and Street dances with various styles and movements. The foundation of Outer Circle Crew is built on friendship united by people who share the common interest to live passionately through creating performance entertainment.
  - Members of Outer Circle Crew have gained recognition and respect in the Underground in all styles including Breaking, Popping, Locking, Whacking, Jazz, and Lindy Hop/Swing Dancing.
  - From the serenity and discipline of Martial Arts, to the eclectic nature of Breaking, Outer Circle Crew is known to deliver highly explosive, breathtaking, comedic, and romantic shows that will bring excitement, smiles, and laughter to any audience.
  - Members of Outer Circle Crew have worked for recording artists like Justin Bieber, Pink, Britney Spears, Marilyn Manson, and have appeared in T.V. Shows like "Glee", "Dancing with the Stars", "So You Think You Can Dance", as well as in many Music Videos, and Feature Films like "You Got Served" and "Step Up 3D".
  - Outer Circle are known to tear up dance floors all over Southern California night clubs, events, and shows.
- - Compagnie Arts de Scene (Valencinnes, France)
  - Formed in 2011, members of the dance company ARTS DE SCENE come from the collective HOTCLAN & MAGICNSMOOTH who have forged a reputation on the Hip Hop scene nationally and internationally (second best show on Battle Of The Year France 2011, finalist POPPIN Juste Debout Japan 2009 & 2010/11 France...), where five members with different backgrounds and personalities come together around common values.
  - Rachid HEDLI, Ludovic TRONCHE, Jeremy Orville, Sagy BENESSALAH and Alhassan IATARN question the body of the means of expression. How to communicate? How to listen? How do the other? So many questions raised by the company with an amazing clarity.
  - The history of the company is closely linked to the history of its creators. It is through his many meetings they refine their artistic styles and boasts the world hiphop / contemporary of dance, always in confrontation with unexpected musical worlds, integrating image and speaking. The company participated in the research laboratories of art. These laboratories are dedicated to research and innovation.
- - Groove Against the Machine (Bay Area)
  - Groove Against the Machine started in late 2007 with a group of friends who shared the common passion for dance. after one short year of being together, groove had accomplished more than what was expected, by performing at popular dance showases, night clubs and also creating the norcal hip hop dance workshops. after being together for 4 years strong, a dream of opening a dance studio became reality in late 2011 with the grand opening of in the groove studios. groove strives to show that through passion and dedication, anything is possible and hope to spread this knowledge thru their continued growth as a dance crew.
- - Strictly Business (Bay Area)
- - Gee's Disciples (Santa Rosa)
  - Gee's Disciples, founded in 2011, is a group of dancers and friends brought together with the common
    bond of working and studying with the late Bay Area Hip Hop legend Gary Ray Kendall a.k.a "Gee One".
    The purpose of the group is to carry on and share the passion for dance in the same way that Gary did for his entire dance career.
    Though the group was established in just the last year, it's members have
    been dancing and working together for the past ten years and are thrilled to have their premier
    performance be at the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Fest. "All for L.O.V.E. this one's for Gee!"
Program B∗
- - Mind Over Matter (San Francisco)
- - Plague (London)
  - Plague was formed in 2000 and now features a line up of seven dancers including current choreographer and lead dancer Brooke Milliner, star of the movie StreetDance 3D.
  - Having won numerous dance events in the UK including the UK StreetDance Championships,
    Plague were the first UK crew to head over to the USA to compete in the Hip Hop International World Championships where their stunning display blew away the rest of the field and they were crowned as World Champions.
  - One of the most respected streetdance companies on the planet, Plague's identity can be defined as a combination of amazing, unique choreography blended with a wealth of skill and ability in numerous dance styles from each individual member of the group.
  - They have been a huge inspiration, not just to other dance groups, but also to the rapidly growing popularity of the streetdance movement here in the UK.
  - Some of Plague's credits include some major performances such as the Beijing Olympics 2008, Cirque du Soleil, Breakin Convention, Royal Variety Show to name just a few.
  - They have also recently appeared on the high profile BBC show 'Move Like Michael Jackson' in which they were runners up in the final showdown after the public vote.
  - They offer high impact and tightly choreographed group performances for shows & events worldwide.
- - FBC (San Francisco)
- - Loose Change (San Francisco)
  - LOOSE CHANGE Dance Company formed in 1999 to explore and fuse different styles of movement ranging from hip hop and modern to lindy hop, tap, martial arts and African. Under the direction of choreographer Eric Fenn, the company has become a San Francisco Bay Area favorite that inspires, provokes and entertains audiences with its fresh and exciting approach.
    
    LOOSE CHANGE is featured annually at the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Festival and at other dance shows and festivals in the Bay Area and beyond. Their first evening length performance, QUEST, premiered to sold out audiences at San Francisco's Cowell Theater in June 2005. Their second full length performance, HUMAN NATURE, premiered at San Francisco's finest contemporary arts venue, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in February 2007. HUMAN NATURE was then taken in September of 2007 to the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts in Salt Lake City for its first showing outside of California.
    
    Eric Fenn, the company's primary choreographer, has been contributing to the Bay Area dance scene for over fifteen years. He was the founding artistic director of the hip hop group, San Francisco Culture Shock and he continues to teach dance locally and in studios throughout the U.S. and Europe. His worked has been called "captivating from beginning to end".
- - Soul Sector (San Francisco)
  - Soul Sector is an all street style, hip hop dance family from San Francisco formed in1998 by Mikey Disko. The group was born out of the Bay Area's golden era of hip hop circa 1991-1992 and before establishing the name, Soul Sector, the group's original members were the last remaining hip hop dancers in the scene from that era. In the years that followed, Soul Sector spent time traveling and learning from the originators and innovators of popping, locking, hip hop, house, and bboying. Soul Sector earned their reputation in underground circles and local clubs, keeping street style in it's rawest essence. They became influential in the global hip hop freestyle scene and is responsible for bringing NYC house dance foundation to the west coast. Soul Sector is considered to be one of the last true hip hop crews from the 90's that is still active. As a collective, the groups diversity and skill has enabled them to perform, judge contests, and teach workshops across the USA, France, Brazil, Singapore, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the Philippines, Denmark, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, and Japan. Soul Sector is also part of NYC's Mop Top family who include the originators of house and hip hop dance. In 2009 Soul Sector won Dance Delight New York and went on to represent the USA in the finals in Osaka, Japan.
  - Mikey Disko organizes a national popping & locking contest called Homecoming. Homecoming has served as a pre-qualifier event for the UK Champs in London and R16 in Korea. Soul Sector hosts a weekly practice session at City Dance San Francisco called Mixed Practice. Mixed Practice sessions are primarily focused on hip hop, popping, locking, and house. Mikey Disko compares it to a study hall in school where Soul Sector is available as tutors in learning how to freestyle opposed to teaching routines. Soul Sector is responsible for hosting master workshops and bringing in teachers that are originators and world renowned masters of street dance.
  - While teaching in Sao Paulo, Soul Sector met Bidu & Tevez, 2 hip hop dancers that shared a similar style and mind state. It turned out that their style was based of off Soul Sector's 1998 video (that can be seen on youtube). After discovering their history and their instant chemistry, Mikey Disko decided to form a Soul Sector chapter in Brazil.
  - Soul Sector is consistently traveling the globe staying active in the dance scene and contributes to the newer generations by sharing their experiences and being open to new forms of hip hop. Soul Sector's goal is to continue to evolve and learn as artists and students of street dance while keeping hip hop in it's truest form, in the cypher. Soul Sector is: Mikey Disko, Boy Wonder, Paulie Rhythms, Jardy, Shy Guy, Jaekwong, Bidu, & Tevez.
- - Robot Boys (Denmark)
  - Already well established on the European popping scene, the Danish duo Robot Boys won Denmark's Got Talent in 2008 – and from then on their career has really taken of. A unique mix of popping, mime, clear storyline and selfmade music makes their performances stand out. With more than 20 million Youtube views all in all of their different videos, the most frequent comments from fans all over the world are: When are you coming to my country? And where can I buy the music? They have performed live and on TV in most European countries – such as Germany, Norway, Italy, UK, Lithuania, plus in Russia and Kuwait, and now for the first time in the USA!
- - Chapkis Dance (Vallejo)
  - Chapkis Dance is an urban dance family founded by Greg Chapkis. Dancers are trained in all styles of dance by the best choreographers in the industry. Many go on to perform in music videos, commercials, and to tour with pop stars. The studio produces three annual shows including our theatrical Halloween Show and Collaboration, one of the biggest competitions in Northern California. With over 200 kids training on five different teams, Chapkis Dance is home to some of the hottest youth competition teams in the Bay Area. Ranging from age five to college age, our dancers celebrate and promote diversity by coming together from over 40 Bay Area schools. They are popular performers at competitions, school rallies, and community events. In the past 9 years Chapkis Dance has garnered top finishes in competitions such as World of Dance, Hip Hop International, Battlefest, Prelude Nor Cal, and Trifecta.
- - FootworKINGz (Chicago)
  - The FootworKINGz (FWK) is an all-star ensemble featuring Chicago's top footworkers. FWK was founded in 2007 by Leida "Lady Sol" Villegas, as a professional dance ensemble with a mission to attract global recognition to Chicago's unique style of footwork. This extreme style is primarily a lower body movement that evolved as a response to Chicago's House and Juke music scenes.
  - The FootworKINGz have rocked several stellar performances on MTV's "Best Dance Crew," Cedric the Entertainer's Urban Circus (TBS), Will.I.Am (Teen Choice Awards) and Ellen Degeneres' "Really Big Show" (TBS).
  - FWK members, King Charles and Prince Jron have toured globally on Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet" World Tour '08-'09. Both are featured in her music video "Celebration" and "Sticky & Sweet Tour DVD." They have also performed, taught and competed throughout Europe in Scandinavia, France, Russia, and the UK including Juste Debout 2010 & 2011.
- - Decadance (New York)
  - "The pioneering all female hip-hop group…a fearless coalition of b-girls."
    –The New Yorker
  - Since 2004, Brooklyn-based, Decadancetheatre has been redefining the image of women in hip-hop. Led by artistic director Jennifer Weber, the company represents a global vision of hip-hop with an international roster of dancers.
  - Decadancetheatre has toured all over the US, UK and France including performing at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Center, B Supreme Festival of Women in Hip Hop at London's Southbank Center, LEAP Festival in Liverpool and Bumbershoot in Seattle. In addition, DECA has been featured on the BBC, MTV, CBS, and in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit and XXL. Deca has received support from the Brooklyn Arts Council and a Time Out New York Bessie Award Nomination.
- - Antics (Los Angeles)
  - "Reclaiming hip hop... by expanding the idiom's creative horizons," says the LA Times. Antics Performance is a hip hop dance theater company based in Los Angeles under the artistic direction of Amy "Catfox" Campion. Antics creates multimedia urban performances that incorporate breaking, locking, popping, krumping, DJ's, spoken word, theater, and film. Antics Performance has been featured at the B-Girl Be Festival in Minneapolis, the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood, the REDCAT, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center in Los Angeles, and the Esalen International Arts Festival in Big Sur, amongst others. Watch for Antics' film "Pursuit" at the Dance on Camera Festival at the Lincoln Center in New York in January 2012.

∗Subject to change