Dave Cowley, of Represent Dance Company, promotes the fact that ‘Peace, love, unity and having fun are the founding principles of hip hop’, and he hopes to teach young people these values in the upcoming hip hop youth arts event, ‘King of the Rock’.
The event, taking place at the Youth Arts Centre in Douglas, will offer participants the opportunity to learn the disciplines of break dancing, graffiti art, DJing and music from some of the UK’s foremost artists.
A beginner break dance workshop running from 1pm to 4pm (aimed at participants aged six and over), will introduce students to the foundations of this popular style of dance from guest instructor ‘Sir Swifty’, who has spent the last few years working with schools teaching dance and educating about the positive aspects of hip hop culture.
In the DJ workshop running from 1pm to 3pm , students aged 14 and over will have the opportunity to learn how to mix and scratch records from the world class DJ P-Nuts, working on old school turntables and learning about the origins of hip hop music.
All ages are welcome to guest artist Hyro’s graffiti paint project, running from noon to 1pm. Participants can watch the artist creating a template and then help to add colour and detail.
Then Hyro will host a graffiti workshop running from 3pm to 5pm for students aged 12 and over.
He will teach students how to create authentic graffiti letter forms as well as explaining the history of graffiti art.
The main event, starting at 6pm, will be the first ever Isle of Man under 16s break dance competition.
The contest will be judged by three highly experienced dancers from the UK and competitors will have to battle each other, improvising to tracks which will be selected and mixed live.
Organiser Dave Cowley created ‘King of the Rock’ with the aim of broadening the horizons of youngsters.
He hopes that by coaching individuals in the artistically rich and diverse culture of hip hop, he can also teach students about positive lifestyle choices.
The event was created in 2013 and, as a nonprofit project, relies solely on donations and sponsorship for maintenance.
This year’s event is sponsored by The Isle of Man Angel Network, Middleton Katz, the Isle of Man Arts Council and by the fund-raising efforts of the students at Represent Dance Company.
It will take place on Saturday, July 4 at the Youth Arts Centre in Kensington Road.
Each workshop costs £15, which includes free entry to watch the break dance competition. Tickets to watch the competition are £5.
For more information and for bookings contact Dave on 408545 / info@representdance.co.uk or via the event page on facebook.