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Home > Hancher > Rennie Harris Puremovement

Program - Rennie Harris Puremovement (January 21, 2006)

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Artists
  3. Program
  4. About the Artists
  5. Information

Introduction

Hancher Auditorium thanks Roger and Gayle Klouda, and Iowa House Hotel for support of Rennie Harris Puremovement.

The generous support of our sponsors enables Hancher Auditorium to bring the world's finest performing artists to our region.

This presentation is supported by the Heartland Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from General Mills Foundation, Land O'Lakes Foundation, Sprint Corporation and the Iowa Arts Council.

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Artists

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Program

Continuum

P-Funk

Intermission

March of the Antmen

Students of the Asphalt Jungle

Video Interludes

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About the Artists

Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), founded in 1992, is dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop culture through workshops, classes, hip-hop history lecture-demonstrations long-term residencies, mentoring programs and public performances. The company's work encompasses the diverse and rich African-American traditions of the past, while simultaneously presenting the voice of a new generation through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. The company is committed to providing audiences with a sincere view of the essence and spirit of hip-hop rather than the commercially exploited stereotypes portrayed by the media.

RHPM has established a strong reputation in Philadelphia for innovative and exciting classes and workshops for children beginning with Rennie Harris' own involvement, teaching as part of the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Center from the age of 14. The company engages its community on a number of levels and has made significant impact with at-risk youth in Philadelphia.

Since its inception, Rennie Harris Puremovement has performed to sold-out audiences at venues in the U.S. and abroad. Following the premiere of Rome & Jewels at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia PA, the company embarked on a 22-week national tour.

Rennie Harris (Artistic Director, Choreographer ,CEO) is well versed in the vernacular of hip-hop which includes the various techniques of B-boy (misnomer "break dancing"), house dancing, stepping and other styles that have emerged spontaneously from the urban, inner cities of America like the North Philadelphia community in which he was raised. He has brought these "social" dances to the "concert" stage, creating a cohesive dance style that finds a cogent voice in the theater. He is a powerful spokesperson for the significance of "street" origins in any dance style. Intrigued by the universality of hip-hop, he seeks inspiration from other forms and performance art. Since the age of 15, he has taught workshops and classes at many schools and universities including University of the Arts, UCLA, Columbia College, and Bates College. He is a 1996 recipient of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Choreography and has received awards from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a Pew Repertory Development Initiative grant, the City of Philadelphia Cultural Fund and 1996 Philadelphia Dance Projects commission. Harris was voted one of the most influential people in the last 100 years of Philadelphia history and has been compared to 20th-century dance legend Alvin Ailey and Bob Fosse. He was also nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award and has been recently awarded the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts. His group of dancers and their infectious brand of movement have toured around the globe. At 42, Lorenzo "Rennie" Harris is atop the hip-hop heap—its leading ambassador.

Darrin M. Ross (Director, Producer, Composer, Sound Designer and Engineer) has been producing and engineering songs since 1984 with Jam On Productions. He has recently completed the score and sound design for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Love Stories and Reminiscin along with Suzan Lori Parks TopDog/Underdog. He is also the recipient of a 2001 New York Dance & Performance Award (BESSIE) for his music composition for Rome & Jewels. Mr. Ross has worked with and established many artists in the industry such as Freeway, PM Dawn, Newcleus, Tuff Crew, Doug E. Fresh, King Britt, ZHANE, Jungle Brothers, Kim Waters, Todd Terry, The Roots, Bahamadia, Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, No Question, Az Yet, Victor Duplaix, Bowser, Rampage, Grisha Coleman, Philip Hamilton, Kenny Muhammad, Leon Evans, and more. In 1992, he formed I.Q. Records and is now directing his own production company, Kitinay Productions Inc. Past collaborations with Rennie Harris include the 1990 co-production of television segments for "Dance Party USA" and "1 House Street," scoring and composition efforts for works set on Pennsylvania Ballet and Memphis Ballet and various movies. In 1997, Mr. Ross received Philly's Street Buzz Producer of the Year Award. Currently, Ross is currently completing a Rome & Jewels documentary. Ross is also working on his solo album project and composing for other film and dance companies. His sound design credits include, Love Stories, Fallen Crumbs From The Cake, Cool Heat Urban Beat, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Memphis Ballet, Hot Mouth, Rome & Jewels, Facing Mekka, Maurice Hines' Hot Feet, Carols in Color, and many other dance theater works. Ross is president of the production studio, Kitinay Recording Inc.

Brandon Albright (Assistant Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer) also known as "Brother Peace," was an original member of the Scanner Boys and has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively. He has danced for major recording artists such as Schooly D, The Legendary Tuff Crew, LL Cool J, Will Smith and the Beach Boys. Other appearances include a spot as the featured dancer for the video and promotional trailer of the movie Nightmare on Elm Street featuring Freddie Krueger. While still committed to dancing with Rennie Harris Puremovement, he is also pursuing a career as a rapper and lyricist. Brandon is currently the artistic director of Illstyle and Peace Productions.

James P. "Cricket" Colter (Choreographer, Dancer) is a hard-core underground hip-hop (house b-boy, etc.) dancer who has opened concerts for major recording artists such as Boyz II Men, KRS-1, Dee-Lite, Will Smith and Rosie Perez and has danced in many international hip-hop dance contests. Cricket is an accomplished illustrator whose work is heavily influenced by hip-hop culture. He is also part of the New York based break dancing/hip-hop dance crew, Step Frenz and has his own dance crew/company, Crazy Natives/Soul Motion. Currently Cricket is researching and lecturing about hip-hop.

Duane L. Holland, Jr. (Dancer, Singer, Assistant Choreographer) was born in Devon, PA and currently resides in Los Angeles. Duane has studied dance at the Dailey's School of Performing Arts, Broadway Dance Center, and Creative and Performing Arts School. He has performed with Kool and the Gang, Maurice Hines, Chuck Davis and Ron Brown. He has also been performing with Puremovement since 1994 and has toured all around the world, not only as a dancer, but also as a gymnast. As a member of the Junior National Team between 1989 and 1992, he completed the Junior Pan American and in the Portugal Invitational, placing no lower than third place, twice. Duane aspires to have a career as an all-around entertainer, letting his singing lead the way. Duane was recently seen in the Broadway production of The Lion King. Look forward to Duanes debut CD in 2006. Duane is also the assistant choreographer to Maurice Hines in his production of Hot Feett coming to Broadway in May.

Alonzo Carter (Dancer) is a native of Washington D.C. and grew up dancing in the streets. He trained with the DC Showbiz kids, Dance Theater of Harlem, and at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Alonzo has performed with Donald Byrd, The Group; in premier performances of Brothers of the Knight and Soul Possessed with Debbie Allen and in Hit the Breaks with Brandon "Peace" Albright. Alonzo has dreamed of dancing with Rennie Harris Puremovement since he was a kid in D.C. and loves expressing himself with his own creative style.

Rodney Mason (Dancer, Actor) was born and raised in a multi-cultural urban project development in South Philadelphia. Since the age of 13, Mason has been performing and teaching around the country. The company is slowing down from a three-year tour of Rome & Jewels, of which Mason plays Rome, the first evening-length work, choreographed and directed by Rennie Harris in collaboration with dramaturge Ozzie Jones and composer/sound designer Darrin Ross. Rome & Jewels uses Shakespeare's text, in addition to original material contributed by the cast, to tell its own story based on West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. To date Rome & Jewels is the longest touring hip-hop dance theater work in American history. With three Bessie Awards, two Black Theater Alvin Ailey Awards, a nomination for an Herb Albert award and a nomination for a Lawrence Olivier Award (UK), Rome & Jewels has performed for sold-out audiences nationally and internationally. Mason himself has won a Bessie Award and a Chicago Black Theater Award nomination. Much of Mason's work up to and including Rome & Jewels, has explored his journey from projects to private school, war to Shakespeare and performance to politics. Origins of Man, Mason's solo work, is comprise of film, dance, poetry, prose and theater that dramatically and comically tell his life story through hip-hop. Origins is part of an ongoing effort to continue to develop the many different styles of hip-hop, but he acknowledges it is a difficult task. "The way hip-hop is displayed by Hollywood and the media at large, it is up to us to explore its spirit, history and limitless possibilities."

Brady Hil (Dancer) is part of a hip-hop dance company called the Untouchables, which is straight out of Philly. The group was originally conceived in 1988 and has since opened for many music artists including Dru Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, and LL Cool J, as well as, performed in videos for Will Smith and Boyz II Men. Their television appearance includes the Conan O'Brien show, "Soul Train," "Showtime at the Apollo," "Motown Live" and "Bet's Teen Summit." The company currently teaches and choreographs for Philadelphia recording artists.

James Clotfelter (Technical Director) is based in New York as a freelance lighting designer having recently relocated from Chicago to tour as the stage manager for Cedar Lake Ensemble's spring Emerge tour based out of New York. In addition to production managing and touring with the full Puremovement repertory, he has re-created the lighting for Legends of Hip Hop, was the assistant lighting designer for Facing Mekka, and is currently working as the lighting designer for Rennie's new piece, Prince Scarecrow. James also works with Phrenic New Ballet as their technical director and recently designed Four World Premiers in Philadelphia. This relationship has led to the development of M-Lab, a design and stage direction oriented laboratory that experiments with mixed media and technology in the live arts, with video designer and Phrenic co-artistic director Tobin Rothlein. While in Chicago he acted as the technical liaison and stage manager for the U.S. Dance Showcase at the 2003 Tokyo Performing Arts Market where he designed Hoi Polloi's Cupcake 2003 at the Tokyo Performing Arts Space as well as designing numerous productions in Chicago including the world premier of Walkabout Theatre Company's Human Interest Story. Prior to Chicago, James spent two years in London, where, among other things, he was the technical stage manager for the international tour of British Physical Theatre Company, Spymonkey and the lighting design apprentice for Mountview Theatre Conservatory. London lighting design credits include the Cochrane Theatre, Greenwich Playhouse, The Pleasance, Westminster Theatre, Watford Palace Theatre and Mountview. James received a BFA in lighting design and technical direction from Tulane University in New Orleans.

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Information

Rennie Harris Puremovement

Contact for Educational Programs and Master Classes

Darrin Ross
Rennie Harris Puremovement
P.O. Box 56333
Philadelphia PA 19111
Tel. 267/255-4275
Email: Darrinm@aol.com

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