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September 24, 2007

REICHHOLD CENTER FAMILY SERIES RETURNS WITH BREAKDANCING

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   The Reichhold Center for the Arts’ Family Series opens with Break! The Urban Funk Spectacular on Saturday, October 6, 2007 at 7 p.m. Straight from the streets of New York City, this theatrical production features the country’s premiere break dancers, combining Hip Hop music with back flips, spins and gravity-defying leaps. Led by master deejays on turn-tables, Break! charts the rise of Hip Hop over the last 30 years.
     The Hip Hop scene has always been about music and dance; and breakdancing started the revolution. Breakdancing is a type of street dance with intricate footwork, gymnastic moves, tumbling, freeze positions and much more.
    “They call it breaking because you dance to the break of the song,” says Otoniel “Aquaboogy” Vasquez, Break!’s master of popping and locking. “In disco records, a lot of times, there would be a part in the song where everything drops out and the percussion just goes bananas. The deejays would time that break and loop it.”
     Vasquez’s own style of popping and locking got him his name. His dancing looks a lot like liquid slow motion. On Stage, Vazquez’s breaking movement starts with quick, little jerky segments, then move into a very fast and stiff robotic style. His entire body looks like it’s under a strobe light.
     Like Vasquez, all of Breaks!’s breakdancers and musicians are masters of their craft. The lone female on the beat, Kumiko “Locking Q” Naito is an award-winning break dancer. The Japanese-born Hip Hopper can only be described as a human accordion, willing her body into some of the most ‘tight’ dance moves.
     On the music side, Kenny “The Human Orchestra” Muhammad’s beatboxing skills are the soul of Hip Hop rhythms. Using his mouth, Muhammad can layer sounds of drums and music at the same time, spitting out words ‘like they are going out of style.’
     Doron Lev, on the other hand, actually bangs the drums; hard and fast. The talented drummer and emcee is an eclectic rhythmist, layering influences from Jazz, Latin and Hip Hop. His drum sticks ‘moves at the speed of funk.’
     Along for the breakdancing party are Ramon “DJ Ramon” Gilmore, Antoine “Doc” Judkins, Ron “Zen One” Wood, Deshawn “Jumping Bean” Sanders, Brandon “Peace” Albright and Ivan “Urban Action Figure” Manriquez.
     Founded by Steve Love, Break! The Urban Funk Spectacular has something for parents and children. Audiences in Korea, Australia, France, Australia, Canada and across the United States hail the Break! shows.
    Break! The Urban Funk Spectacular is sponsored by First Bank, First Insurance, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Resort, Tropical Shipping, the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and Innovative Cable TV.
     Tickets are $8, $15 and $18. Tickets are available at Modern Music, UVI Bookstore, V.I. Bridal & Tuxedo, Urban Threadz, Essentric Shoe Boutique, Island Video (Nisky), Home Again (Red Hook) and the Reichhold Center Box Office at 693-1559.

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