"Freestyle is the art of self discovery. Breaking away from imitating to

One of my favorite sections, Once Upon a Time, led by Lindsey "OUTTHERE" Blaufarb, mimics a circular assembly line as dancers representing different robots move around the line and manipulate her.  We see a lot of "roboting" and mannequin in hip-hop, as it is a derivative of styles that came out of poppin’; I particularly enjoy this section for it cleverly mixes this style with a thematic presentation.  OUTTHERE just "kills" her isolations with such exciting intricacies in the choreography…  She’s amazing!  Kudos also go out to stand-out, John “JROCK” Nelson, who delivers some of the sickest robotic moves in the business.  Holla!

Lunch Break takes place when one of the dancers in the story is faced with finding a job, and facing the realities of the obstacles standing in the way of his dance career.  The dancer/actors manipulate boxes around, throwing and spinning them until the “boss” comes in (played comically divine by Richard "STEELO" Vazquez)…  causing them to quickly stop dancing and get back to work.  The actors do a hilarious job!  Whoever said dancers can’t act?  Finally, the boss joins in and a "breakin’ fest" begins.  Hot!

Another scene, entitled The Audition captures “a dancer audition” on-the-nose …and often when everybody laughs, I think to myself, "They don’t even know the half of it!”  The characters at the audition are a "girly girl" or "strip-hop" dancer, a musical theatre or jazz dancer ridiculed for being at a hip hop audition, and a girl who hits the movement too hard… a hilarious realistic touch!  Mistakes are even choreographed into each dancer’s act, a small detail that probably is unnoticed to the untrained eye!

Other stand-outs to this production is Julie "LADY JULES" Urich, who is one of the illest b-girls on the scene, and Daniel “CLOUD” Campos.  Lady Jules’ skills are really incredible; no doubt, she is strong and really has that "power freestyle" to hit her moves head-to- head to even to the best b-boy on the block.  She is so good that I would have loved to see her even more featured in the show.  Cloud (one of the leads in the show), quite simply, is the "The Truth."  His skills are MAJOR.  He flips, then hits,… goes from smooth, a slide, a turn, a jump tour, then a freeze without blinking.  In other scenes, he has a brilliant ability to put "presence" into the contemplative, more silent moments opening the audience to connect with his story with sincerity.  When Cloud dances, there is a glow literally around his body that excites the audience no matter what he does.  Only a true artist has that glow.  He’s a gift to the hip hop/freestyle world.

Amongst all the dancers, one of the most genuine and inspiring dancers to watch drop his grooves is Steven "Boogieman" Stanton.  He moves like butta and takes his time. His hits are nothing less than crystal clarity and definitely his presence and style show a link to old school hip hop in its purest form.  I do have to commend Steven "Boogieman" Stanton for rockin’ the entire show with a walking cane to support his leg trauma from a spinal cord injury!  Yes, the entire show!  That’s commitment, ya’ll… That is enough to teach all of us dancers to shut up and stop complaining!

It’s no surprise that these dancers have worked professionally in L.A., as they dominate the balance between entertaining and playing characters.  Although the show is very dynamic, I would have liked to see more originality and risk in the thematic ways that the story is told.  For Hip Hop Dance to break into the world of touring conceptual shows, more depth and range of aesthetic and perception needs to be coupled with those neck-breaking head-spins.  Can anyone say back flips landing on the elbows?  (Ouch!) Ivan Velez (aka Flipz) even flips off the back balcony – at least 8 feet high! 

All in all, if you want to see illest, most wicked skills of some of the best freestyle b-girls and b-boys on the planet, go see the Groovaloos.  Groovaloo is hot show, and an excellent step forward in hip hop and break dancing on the world stage.

Groovaloo runs December 1, 2009 through January 3, 2010 at Union Square Theatre, New York City.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by JoiLynn
Editorial Contributions by Candice Rox and Sheena DiMatteo
Performance: Groovaloo
Venue: The Joyce Theater  New York City
Date: Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
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Love New York for how in each borough of this creative city there is a happening community of creative types, -artists, activists, and industry socialites- that band together and have their own sty-lo uniquely characteristic of their own nook within this illustrious cityscape. Tonight, I’m at the free-feeling artist space at the Irondale Center taking in Brooklyn’s urban arts scene of the conscious, dred-locked, “one love” culture. On the program tonight is the JoiLynn Productions’ W.I.P. showing of HipOCrit, a multimedia dance theatre experience fusing hip hop movement, modern dance, and art.

In a large spacious room with tall ceilings and walls covered with peeling green paint, and JBL speakers bangin’ Bob Marley and some low, hip hop grooves, I get to feast my eyes on some intriguing artist installations of child-like macabre, courtesy of Halima Cassells. Inset within the audience, there is an easel with a bleeding American Flag and a set of Yaffa blocks stacked with giant-sized Leggos and half-butchered baby doll skulls pasted to the artwork. On the mirror, you see the red-painted words, “You Are Ugly.” In the entrance, there is a Crayola-colored kiddy tunnel that reads, “Life This Way.” Placed right next to me is a magnifying glass on a toddler table with two Black dollies seated in wooden chairs disturbingly covered in Silly String… Oh, my! After seeing this display of expression, I can only sit in anxious suspense intrigued by what is to come next…

HypOCrit’s first scene’s trio is dope! Holla… Featuring choreographer, JoiLynn, and freestyle artists, Cartier, and Raymond “Spex” Abbiw, the threesome show off their mad skills- which are nothing less than mad hot. Spex is the truth; he comes out and breaks it down with his clear “Kat Kat” hits and smooth transitions. And, Cartier, well… He’s just sick.

As a contrast to the men, Miss JoiLynn pops through with her own style and dances her aaaaass off! Here, we see JoiLynn’s versatility as both a contemporary mover and hip hop dance artist. Her movements are performed with clarity, passion, fully committed to every step. I watch and I BELIEVE! Here, she extends the energy out passed her fingertips, passed the ends of her toes with movement characteristically all her own –no tricks, no gimmicks, no Xerox –just pure “Joi”Lynn… Khack, khack, spin… smooth shape, reach… Ya, girl, I see you… Get it!

Flanking JoiLynn as she goes, Spex, one of New York’s finest hip hop veterans (responsible for teaching hundreds of New York City newcomers the real steps of hip hop at Broadway Dance Center –yes, I said it) and Cartier, a dance artist with some of the illist percussive stylings, lend individuality and power to some of the more unison sections. I love how Cartier works his way down his body -like a human xylophone – chest, chest, knee, knee, invert…down, down, down… It’s like watching him create hip hop music with his body in motion… NICE!

Throughout the show there are a group of five ladies, the corps, which are also known as “The Hipocrits.” These ladies perform the bulk of JoiLynn’s choreography. Every dancer in the group individually appears to be very well-trained; however, due to the possibility that they have only been together for eight weeks before performing this W.I.P., their precision and overall commitment to artistry and JoiLynn’s urban contemporary style have yet to gel.

Other than that, I love how JoiLynn’s choreography uses modern dance shapes with street jazz dance sensibilities in the construct of her group numbers. Being that the steps are rooted in hip hop, it is great to see that modern dance is only used to compliment the street vocabulary. By loosely borrowing elements from the modern construct, JoiLynn uses such things as “blocking-for-concert-dance” and the technical prowess from her classical training to solely provide a smoothness to her movement transitions from one “crack” to another rather than the opposite -starting with technical modern movement and throwing in a couple wave arms and chest pops for no other reason but to appear “contemporary.” Unfortunately, I find (time and time again) that most modern and contemporary dance companies, that abruptly break form into hip hop moves or elements of popping, locking and waving, merely just look like they’re trying too hard to be “cool.” However, in JoiLynn’s case, her dance company, already rooted in hip hop (a pop culture standard), is already “cool” and is simply adding another layer of difficulty with technique, a contemporary construct that makes her sty-lo WORK.

Illustrating this, one of the sections most potent is when “The Hypocrits” (dancers) run, very modern-esque, into the audience one by one, slamming towards the artwork. Once they all arrive, they are split into two halves within the room facing each other with about a fifteen-foot gap between the two groups. They then proceed into a dance combination, that just breathes angst of young street culture. As the pulse of the beat rides, a splatter of technique peeks throughout the phrase to provide effortless transition from move to move.

Another one of my favorite sections is a part that I personally like to call the “Live Hip Hop Culture Montage Collage.” It begins with the bounce of a dope hip hop loop played by DJ Lumumba AKA Revolution and the award winning actor, Cactuz..?13 (character name: The Truth), wheeling out a portable graffiti painted wall. The Truth continues to add words and design to the wall with his fat magic marker as he bebops his head to the beat, Stepping out second, Spex comes correct with his wicked freestyle where here, we see what really Spex can do… knee, knee, beat, beat, slide, who wee- Yaas, Spex.. That’s what’s up! On Spex’s exit, Cartier chimes in with his taps and breaks it down with his hip hop hoofin’ style. He sounds great and he looks hot too, I want to see more. Although the staging is simple, this section is most effective… JoiLynn has graffiti drawn live by an artist, a sick hip hop freestyler, a dope hoofer, and a DJ spinning a wicked beat on the one’s and two’s, and at the end, she has the piece come full circle as you see The Truth rip away the Mylar “mirror” off the wall to reveal the hypocrite inside the mirror. Whew… I love it!

To sum it up, JoiLynn redefines urban movement and how to use its evolvement in what we currently call modern dance. Because of JoiLynn’s range as both a modern dancer and a hip hop artist, her personal freestyle in which she builds her movement phrases upon lends itself to creating an original vocabulary, an urban contemporary vocabulary, that is totally all hers, and, can I say… totally Brooklyn.  I can’t wait to see her company perform in the future as it matures together and masters the exciting sty-lo that JoiLynn has to offer.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Candice Rox
Performance: JoiLynn Productions’ HipOCrit
Choreographer: JoiLynn
Venue: Irondale Center, Brooklyn, NY
Show Date: November 4, 2009
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An Innovative Hip-Hop Dance Theater Production

Makes New York Premiere

Kicking Off the Upcoming Joyce Theater Season

September 15-27

The Joyce Theater
(175 Eighth Avenue)

Hip-hop dance phenomenon The Groovaloos, best known for their breakout winning performance on NBC’s “Superstars of Dance” and appearances on FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” will open The Joyce Theater season in the groundbreaking original production GROOVALOO. Limited engagement: Tuesday, September 15 through Sunday, September 27.

Based on the award-winning troupe’s true-to-life experiences as told by the dancers who lived them, GROOVALOO is driven by jaw-dropping displays of physicality, a vibrant musical score and powerful spoken word poetry. The show’s intertwined stories chronicle the struggles, hopes and triumphs of the 14-member cast. GROOVALOO celebrates passion and purpose while revealing the heart, soul and artistry of hip-hop and freestyle dance.

In its most recent incarnation, GROOVALOO was cheered by the Los Angeles Times as “Inspirational” and by Variety as “Relentlessly creative and dynamic.” Over the past several years, the LA-based troupe The Groovaloos, spearheaded by Bradley Rapier, has continued to develop and refine the production. GROOVALOO co-creator Rapier explains, “We strive to showcase the most innovative dance moves while connecting with the audience on an emotional level through the narrative inherent in this work. We’re more than 14 performers on stage just having a good time. We share personal stories about what brought us to this place. In some cases, dance literally saved people’s lives — each performer has a story to share, and that’s where the real connection is made with the audience.”

Members of The Groovaloos have been featured prominently in a multitude of mass entertainment arenas. Music superstars Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Will Smith and Gwen Stefani have been inspired by the unique talent of these performers and featured their performances in recent concerts and projects. Additionally, Groovaloos dancers have had substantial exposure in feature films (Step Up, Charlie’s Angels, Idlewild) and in national advertising campaigns (iPod, GAP, Skechers, McDonald’s).

GROOVALOO is created by Bradley Rapier and veteran Broadway performer Danny Cistone, and directed by Cistone. This production features Lighting Design by Charlie Morrison and Sound Design by Lucas Corrubia. Music supervisors are Steven Stanton and Bradley Rapier.

Immediately prior to the New York run, GROOVALOO appears at Los Angeles’ El Portal Theatre (August 21-30). The show embarks on a National Tour beginning January 10, 2010, with performances at prestigious venues across the U.S. including Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center.

GROOVALOO plays from September 15-27 as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 PM, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 & 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 & 7:30 PM.

The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19^th Street). Tickets are $10.00 – $59.00; prices are subject to change. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, July 27. Tickets are available by phone at JoyceCharge: (212) 242-0800 or online at www.Joyce.org.

For more information please visit www.groovaloo.com

Become a fan of GROOVALOO on Facebook and follow GROOVALOO on Twitter here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/GROOVALOOS/44521674639?ref=ts http://twitter.com/groovaloos

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