Full Circle January newsletter

January flew right by... Obama and all..
Our event at the Bronx Museum was successful with a huge turn out. Rokafella screened a portion of Full Circle's upcoming film project entitled "All the Ladies Say" and was able to raise funds towards the continuation of post production phase. We thank the attendees for their generosity donating towards a highly anticipated film directed by a veteran b girl practitioner (Rokafella) that portrays women in a positive light as equal participants in real street dance community. Presently a website is in the making to help promote its development and scheduled screenings.

The panel which was originally intended for 5 Top "Hitters"-
Jay-Day Zone TDK, Klown, Wayne Blizz, and Nyce
had a swell of about 8 other important members of the four tribes that have created a lifestyle of street dance in NYC.. The Breeze Team -the original Executioners which then became the Float Committee -Transformers -United Street Artists.
Many things were discussed..topics like who came down to the deuce first, the science behind the format of a good street performance, the terminology coined based on the everyday struggle of the Hit, out of town Hitting, the hierarchy of the dancers and drummers, even the day to day harrassment of the NYPD was discussed -for which many a crew lost money and had to do jail time. But all in all, the spirit of perseverance was shining through, and it was clear to see the Hitters' love for the job they did and still do. Some were very proud to introduce their children who have followed in their footsteps becoming amazing Hitters, others hadn't seen each other in years and some shared jokes about their days on the street. It was plain to see that there was brotherhood and a commitment to this dance style.. they were real warriors representing Hip-hop even when this dance wasn't being done anywhere in the city because of how it was trend-ified and over used in the media.
Vanessa Bahmani (www.vanessabahmani.com) put together a beautiful slide show of the old and new fotos of the Hitters and the panelists provided commentary.. sometimes endearing, R.i.P. and sometimes hilarious.
Hitting is how Kwik and Rok met and it was important to shed light on this job held down by a veteran dancers who live Hip-hop. Kwik as a Hitter was a beacon to European b boys who came in the early 90's looking for history and NYC breaking techniques .. and Rok was one of the first women to street dance consistently and develop skills since then. They are two Hitters who have created a non profit dance theater organization that trains youth and fosters iconic dance elders' relevance in the community for over a decade.

A year ago the New York Times ran an article about the Executioners- Doug, Wayne and Po- as the first to Hit outside the New York Public Library main branch on 42nd st and 5th Ave.. and soon after the NYPL in conjunction with Full Circle awarded them with a lifetime acheivement "On Fire" award for their commitment to the NYC born dance style. Recently in October and again in January articles have surfaced highlighting the subway cousin newest incarnation of the Hitters. It is a great time to research the lives and history of a dance community that has been surviving through the years with out any mainstream visiblity, commercial exposure or inclusion inside the underground b boy community. It is finally being recognized that there are many different overlapping dance histories all of which are important and necessary. Soon we will take on the task of highlighitng Hip-hop dance history of the 90's and the first decade of the new millenium.

After the panel, DJ DP One hit the turntables providing beats for all to dance. The evening paused for a moment to wish DP a happy birthday.. cake candles and all.. and then the live band RPM featuring Rokafella on vocals spiced up the chilly full moon evening.

Rok and Kwik then traveled to Washington D.C. to Sidwell Friends school to offer an interactive discussion on dance and sexuality curated by Margot Greenlee and Rebecca Zug.
B boy Character, and Shea Butta performed for the first time with Full Circle at the Bardavon for a school assembly based around Hip-hop dance 101. After the informative section of the presentation was done, the teachers were gracious enough to get up on stage and show us how they got down.. and some still get down!!!

Kwikstep will perform at the Bristol Riverside Theater in "What You Will" a Shakespeare play with a Hip-hop edge beginning February 10- March 8,2009 for tickets log onto www.brtstage.org
Rokfella will perform at "Momma's Hip-hop Kitchen" at Hostos Community College on March 7 with her B girl sistas- J LA Rock, GI Jane and Beastie..

On FEBRUARY 4TH BRONX COUNCIL ON THE ARTS AWARDED FULL CIRCLE A CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT to screen "All THE LADIES SAY" at the BronxMuseum on JUNE 3, 2009 with the main b girl characters- BETA, AIKO, LADY CHAMP, BABY LOVE-featured in "BEATSTREET", SEVERE, AND VENDETTA-traveling to NYC to teach, dance and discuss life as a B Girl.
Melissa Ulto is the present editor of the documentary and Footnote Media Group is providing the marketing efforts.
We wish everyone a warm Valentine's Day and look forward to bringing you the best we have to offer in 2009!

Our site has been undergoing maintenance and upgrades..
We thank you for your patience.. and support!