What’s-The-Scenario: Hip-Hop Movement as Actor Technique and Training
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
What’s-The-Scenario is an interdisciplinary actor training technique devised to use hip-hop dance movement as physicality for the actor in performance. Hip-hop dance is one of the newest and most popular forms of physical art and movement; WTS uses it to quantify and categorize human personality and behavior. It is utilized not just as a character study tool but also as dance movement, a devising style for theatre and physical training for the actor. It expands on the concept of Hip-Hop Theatre, a new and rapidly growing genre of theatre (i.e. Hamilton the Musical), and pushes for a more thorough integration of hip-hop’s art and style with theatre. Initial work was done by comparing hip-hop dance with established movement acting styles such as Viewpoints, Laban, Growtowski and more, then finding a correlation between fundamental concepts and movement. The work was and still is being explored in practice through devised theatre pieces, dance pieces, and the introductory hip-hop dance course offered through the dance department, to create its own specialized set of guidelines and basic movement vocabulary. Hip-hop dance styles are performed, explored and broken down into fundamental moves that capture the essence and quality of the dance while providing building blocks for anyone and everyone to learn from. These moves are then used in translating character onstage by relating the character’s personality to the dance style’s essence and quality then physicalizing it through the movement vocabulary. WTS presents a 21st-century contemporary approach to acting and theatre built from a culture and art form started by minorities and people of color. It also has the potential to resonate better than older established acting techniques with the newer generation of actors immersed in a society heavily influenced by hip-hop.
What’s-The-Scenario: Hip-Hop Movement as Actor Technique and Training
UC Ballroom
What’s-The-Scenario is an interdisciplinary actor training technique devised to use hip-hop dance movement as physicality for the actor in performance. Hip-hop dance is one of the newest and most popular forms of physical art and movement; WTS uses it to quantify and categorize human personality and behavior. It is utilized not just as a character study tool but also as dance movement, a devising style for theatre and physical training for the actor. It expands on the concept of Hip-Hop Theatre, a new and rapidly growing genre of theatre (i.e. Hamilton the Musical), and pushes for a more thorough integration of hip-hop’s art and style with theatre. Initial work was done by comparing hip-hop dance with established movement acting styles such as Viewpoints, Laban, Growtowski and more, then finding a correlation between fundamental concepts and movement. The work was and still is being explored in practice through devised theatre pieces, dance pieces, and the introductory hip-hop dance course offered through the dance department, to create its own specialized set of guidelines and basic movement vocabulary. Hip-hop dance styles are performed, explored and broken down into fundamental moves that capture the essence and quality of the dance while providing building blocks for anyone and everyone to learn from. These moves are then used in translating character onstage by relating the character’s personality to the dance style’s essence and quality then physicalizing it through the movement vocabulary. WTS presents a 21st-century contemporary approach to acting and theatre built from a culture and art form started by minorities and people of color. It also has the potential to resonate better than older established acting techniques with the newer generation of actors immersed in a society heavily influenced by hip-hop.