Fabulous five!

An American hip hop and breakdance ensemble, put together by the US Department of State’s Arts Envoy programme, is set to perform at the Cultural Hall tomorrow at 8pm as part of the Spring of Culture festival.

Five internationally renowned and accomplished dancers will enthrall the local audience with their breathtaking performance, and through a series of workshops to be held in collaboration with the Youth Affairs Ministry.

The sessions themed ‘Creative Industries and Entrepreneurship in Arts’ will be held today from 4pm to 5.30pm at Muharraq Model Youth Centre in Busaiteen.

The Arts Envoy programme engages American artistic talent through cultural exchange initiatives, sharing the best of the country’s creative community with the world, fostering cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

Taking inspiration from his cultural background is American creative and athlete Frankie Perez of Dominican origin.

“I’m looking forward to connect with the locals, sharing what I know and learning in return,” the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics hopeful told GulfWeekly. “Breaking is inherently athletic and we train like sportsmen to be able to perform at the highest levels.”

Breaking, also called breakdancing, is a style of street dance developed by African American and Puerto Rican communities in The Bronx, New York City, US.

Anthony Omen Cabrera, who goes by Omen, discovered breaking and hip hop through television, but it wasn’t until his high school year that he started training to dance.

“Growing up in the Dominican Republic, dancing and drum rhythms are a part of your life,” he said.

“I feel that breaking today has transcended borders with people adding their own personal experiences and culture, making the style limitless,” said the dancer in the 2018 Emmy award-winning Broadway theatre show The Hip Hop Nutcracker. Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer and educator Randi Fleckens has shared the stage with celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and Travis Scott, and performed on shows, including Jimmy Kimmel and The Ellen Show, and The Grammys.

“I’m excited to be part of this programme and collaborate with such an incredible group of artists,” said the creative who has trained in house, popping, locking, whacking and commercial choreography, which she fuses to create her unique style.

“As a female in a male dominated dance style, I think times are changing and the scene today is more supportive of young girls but there’s still much progress to be made to bring them to the mainstream.”

Kenneth Marez Jr., popular as Ken Fury, has won more than 30 breaking championships worldwide and produced and released five music albums and award-winning short films.

“My indigenous roots greatly influence my philosophy and dance,” he said.

Ken, who is of Nuevomexicano and Indigenous Genízaro descent, was born and raised in Southern Colorado.

“When I perform, I create stories that are inspired by my roots and when I teach dance I share how indigenous dances have influenced breaking.”

Pep-C from Indiana started her dance journey with breaking in 2015. Some of her most notable accolades include Red Bull BC One Philadelphia Cypher 2019, B-Girl City Bonnie and Clyde 2019, and Break Free Day 2020 Most Valuable Breaker.

“I love how strong and powerful breaking and hip hop make me feel. My style is based in the roots of African American cultural dances and the many dance forms I have studied,” said the multi-award-winning artist.

The creatives will be visiting Bahrain for the first time, barring Frankie who has been before.

While they each have their distinct styles, the artists will collaborate and fuse their strengths together as one dance band for the performance tomorrow.

At the end of the day, it’s all for the love of dance.

For details, follow @culturebah on Instagram.