Break dancing has at last made it to the Olympic Games. This acceptance by the most exclusive of sporting institutions has been a long time in the making. Break dance promoters first mooted its inclusion in the early 1980s.
Break dance is an artform based on martial arts and dance that originated in the working and underclass culture of New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The acceptance by the Olympics has elevated it to an acceptable and established form of performance athletics, which also includes ice skating, synchronised swimming and diving, as well as the recently included sports of skateboarding and snowboarding.
Break dancing has also always been a highly competitive, physically demanding art form. Those of us who grew up in the 1980s can’t forget body popping and break dancing battles in the clubs of even our most unglamorous cities.
Because of its origins, break dancing was often paired with rap and scratch music, which itself became a competitive art form with impromptu battles becoming legendary in the 1990s.
There seemed to be few rules to these battles in the early years, or at least few written rules. Because break dancing wasn’t linked to an institution or membership organisation, anyone of almost any background could compete to gain acceptance. This gave break dance a sense that it was for everyone, and that anyone had the potential to succeed at it, no matter who they were or where they came from.
Despite these egalitarian beginnings, break dancing has not made it to the Paralympic Games, the alternative form of the Olympic Games developed to celebrate sport by people with disabilities.
It is a sad reality that, all too often, people with disabilities are excluded from such art forms, particularly younger people who are born with a disability. These young people are often tacitly excluded from this dance culture (despite the occasional tokenistic appearance of disabled celebrity dancers) because of its image of physical perfection and extreme, unrestricted movement.
It is with this exclusion in mind that some contemporary break dancers have founded a series of projects that seek to include people with physical disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. Break dance can help with balance and teach ways to fall safely, both of which are helpful for people with visual impairments.
Researcher Nathan Geering teaching children with visual impairments in South Yorkshire to break dance.
In a participatory break dancing project I took part in just prior to lockdown, people with visual impairments in South Yorkshire in the UK were brought together with a group of professional break dancers. Together, they co-designed choreography, dance skills and an accessible music technology keyboard. This project aimed to encourage visually impaired break dancers to touch and hear dance movements to learn their art form.
Although the visually impaired young people involved in the project had never tried break dancing before enrolling, they adapted the techniques and skills to their needs. Over the course of a number of weeks, they showed greater physical confidence.
During the project, the amateur break dancers adapted well to the technology. Audio description techniques devised to provide onomatopoeic representations of dance moves allowed them to imagine and then communicate choreography and design whole dance sequences. Onomatopoeic representations are sounds that represent the “shape” and “movement” of dance moves as precisely as possible.
The professional dancers were also genuinely surprised by the way that they could integrate their choreography and dance routines and appreciated the adapted music technology. Importantly, working together with the technology and the newly adapted techniques helped the visually impaired participants gain a sense of social acceptance among the group.
Projects like this show that people with physical disabilities are capable of materially and psychologically choreographing dance moves as well as dancing themselves. In light of this, break dance culture should now do more to embrace marginalised groups such as people with disabilities, who have been excluded from the competitive element of this art form for far too long.
It is true that we have a long way to go to find the number of people with physical disabilities who have developed the skills that are needed to compete at an elite level. However, it is only when break dance is introduced into the Paralympic Games too that it can be called a truly inclusive, as well as an elite, sport.
Becky Hill’s massive Newmarket Nights concert has officially sold out. Over 18,000 music and racing fans have snapped up their tickets, with the event now revealed as the popstar’s biggest British headline show to date.
Emma Rogerson-Smith, Marketing Director, The Jockey Club Live, said
“Becky Hill is a truly special talent and it’s such a delight to welcome her back this year as a headliner, having played the racecourse previously as special guest to Pete Tong. Her show selling out is a true testament to her incredible year and we can’t wait to celebrate this landmark with her!”
Sophie Able, General Manager of Newmarket Racecourses and International Director, said
“We’ve had a superb season so far, recently welcoming Busted to a glorious summers evening on the July course. We have a fantastic line-up for August with a sold-out show from Becky and tickets selling fast for the final shows of the season, James Arthur and Deacon Blue. Keep your eyes peeled as can’t wait to share what we have in store for 2025 soon…”
Becky Hill has had an incredible year so far. Her latest album, “Believe Me Now?” was released to critical acclaim, she earned her third BRIT Award nomination and her career streams have surpassed 10 billion, with six UK Top 10 hits. Her sold-out Newmarket Nights concert is the latest milestone in her impressive career.
Newmarket Nights continues to be the premier entertainment destination for the East. Renowned for combining an electric evening at the races with a spectacular evening concert in an informal and relaxed open-air setting, the award-winning series has welcomed headliners including JLS, Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics and Busted so far in 2024. Limited tickets remain for the August shows in the series, available now via thejockeyclublive.co.uk. Hospitality packages are available to suit all budgets.
In addition to world-class live music and racing, the events provide a selection of culinary delights for all, ranging from street food to Newmarket’s array of exceptional restaurants.
2nd August – JAMES ARTHUR
9th August – BECKY HILL
16th August – DEACON BLUE
Let’s start with the good stuff. Deadpool & Wolverine is a fun, irreverent and blood-soaked summer blockbuster that fans of the Deadpool franchise are going to love.
Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson (Deadpool), and Hugh Jackman is resurrected as Wolverine, after his character was killed off in Logan in 2017. Packed full of cheesy music and meta-comedy, the movie delivers fan service in spades, finally bringing the bromance between Reynolds and Jackman to the big screen.
Meta-comedy and fan service are the things that make this film work. But they also serve as stark reminders of what’s not been working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) these past few years.
Meta-comedy is a form of self-aware humour that playfully breaks the fourth wall, winks at the audience, and pokes fun at its own conventions. In Deadpool & Wolverine’s case, that’s the MCU and the superhero movie genre in general.
Fanservice is the inclusion of content that specifically caters to the desires and expectations of existing fans. It’s often risqué or sexual in nature, but can also be about bringing back iconic characters, one liners and familiar moments from previous instalments in a franchise – Deadpool & Wolverine does both.
The trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine.
The problem is Deadpool & Wolverine is so meta and packed full of fan service that to fully appreciate the film, viewers must understand the context of its production.
If you didn’t know that prior to 2019, when the Walt Disney Company purchased 21st Century Fox, the characters of Deadpool and Wolverine were not part of the MCU, then many of Reynold’s snarky asides about the acquisition will slide right over your head.
Similarly, if you’ve not seen the full slate of Marvel movies produced by Fox, such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Blade franchises, to name but a few, then you’ll be wondering what the myriad of cameos is all about. To be honest, you might still be trying to remember just who these characters are even if you have seen them all.
If you’ve not been keeping up with the Loki series over on Disney+, then the Time Variance Authority sub plot, which allows Wolverine to be resurrected, might have you scratching your head. This all results in Deadpool & Wolverine having lots of stuff going on, but not much story.
Drunken eulogy
So, will it save the MCU? The short answer is no. Deadpool & Wolverine is most fun when looking back rather than forward. Underneath the over-the-top slapstick and super-violent comedy, there’s a sad air of nostalgia to the movie. At times, Deadpool & Wolverine feels like a drunken eulogy for the Marvel content produced by 20th Century Fox.
The elements that work in the film, like the bromance between Reynolds and Jackman, the cheeky self-referential comedy and the slapstick set pieces, are the things that separate it from the rest of the MCU.
The elements that don’t work in the film, like the intrusion of over-complicated multiverse plot strands and the need to be in the know about the plots of other Marvel films and shows to fully understand the plot of the film you’re watching, highlight some of the reasons fans have been abandoning the MCU in recent years.
Perhaps in the end though, Deadpool & Wolverine is a hopeful metaphor. If you’re willing to navigate the jumble of added MCU content, you’ll find the good stuff– the bromance between Deadpool and Wolverine.
Perhaps then, for Marvel fans who’ve weathered the post-Avengers: Endgame MCU disappointments, there’s a glimmer of something brighter on the horizon – but of course, that’s probably, to quote Wade Wilson, an “educated wish”.
The 2024 Mercury Prize 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ were announced on Thursday 25 July on BBC Radio 6 Music from 11am by Tom Ravenscroft (standing in for Mary Anne Hobbs).
The 2024 Mercury Prize 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ are:
Barry Can’t Swim ‘When Will We Land?’
BERWYN ‘Who Am I’
Beth Gibbons ‘Lives Outgrown’
Cat Burns ‘early twenties’
Charli xcx ‘BRAT’
CMAT ‘Crazymad, for Me’
Corinne Bailey Rae ‘Black Rainbows’
corto.alto ‘Bad with Names’
English Teacher ‘This Could Be Texas’
Ghetts ‘On Purpose, With Purpose’
Nia Archives ‘Silence Is Loud’
The Last Dinner Party ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’
BBC Music continue their long-standing broadcast partnership, which sees programming on BBC Four and 6 Music, celebrating all 12 albums.
The Mercury Prize recognises and celebrates the ‘Albums of the Year’, establishing a reputation for highlighting the work of both exciting emerging talent and more established bands and artists. The 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ are chosen by an independent judging panel and recognise artistic achievement across a range of genres. Albums by British and Irish artists with a UK release date between 15 July 2023 and 12 July 2024 are eligible for the 2024 Prize.
The 2024 Mercury Prize judges are: Danielle Perry – Broadcaster & Writer; Jamie Cullum – Musician & Radio 2 Broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – 6 Music Broadcaster & DJ; Jeff Smith – Head of Music, Radio 2 & 6 Music; Lea Stonhill – Music Programming Consultant; Mistajam – Songwriter, DJ & Broadcaster; Phil Alexander – Creative Director, Kerrang!/Contributing Editor, Mojo; Sian Eleri – Radio 1 Broadcaster & DJ; Will Hodgkinson – Chief Rock & Pop Critic, The Times; Sophie Williams – Music Writer & Broadcaster. The Chair of the judging team is Jeff Smith.
The overall winner of the 2024 Mercury Prize will be revealed in September with the Prize’s broadcast partner BBC Music providing exclusive television and radio coverage as well as online and social media support as part of the wider media and retail engagement around all the 12 albums. This year, other extensive promotional activity will replace the usual live performance event element of the Mercury Prize – details to be announced closer to the time.
As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting UK recorded music, renowned British premium audio brand, Bowers & Wilkins, continues as long-term official audio partner of the Mercury Prize. At the forefront of music creation for over 40 years, it is uniquely placed to help the Mercury Prize celebrate the album format and the creative achievements of the 12 artists.
Having just completed a dream tour as special guest to Stevie Nicks which included BST Hyde Park, Nina Nesbitt now announces details of a UK headline tour this October. The tour will be her first in support of her new album ‘Mountain Music’ which comes out on September 27th, and includes her recent releases ‘I’m Coming Home’, ‘Mansion’, ‘Pages’ and ‘On The Run’. Public demand for tickets is sure to be huge after her previous solo show at Camden Assembly sold-out within a minute.
Nina says, “I’m unbelievably excited to announce some UK tour dates for my new album, ‘Mountain Music’. I can’t wait to bring these songs to life and see the faces that I know!”
Fans who pre-order ‘Mountain Music’ from Nina’s official store will receive access to a pre-sale for tickets. The pre-sale will open at 10am next Wednesday, July 31st and will run until remaining tickets go on general sale HERE at 10am on Friday, August 2nd. Physical formats include two different vinyl versions, CD and cassette, while bundles include new merch designs, bumper stickers and a Mountain Map designed by artist Sarah Obtinalla.
The dates are:
OCTOBER
16th – London, Scala
17th – Manchester, Academy 3
18th – Glasgow, Old Fruitmarket
The first release under her own independent label Apple Tree Records, ‘Mountain Music’ represents the start of an exciting new era for Nina. Exploring her love of US folk and Americana, it’s the most authentic album of her career and explores the perspectives that have come in different chapters in her life: the naivety and ambition she had growing up in a small village of Scotland; the tumultuous experiences of spending her twenties in London; and the calm and deeper reflection that comes from her new home in the countryside. She produced the album with Peter Miles, who mixed and mastered the set at his Middle Farm Studio in Devon.
‘Mountain Music’ will be the fourth album of Nina’s ever-evolving career following ‘Peroxide’ (2014), ‘The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change’ (2019) which has exceeded a billion streams, and Älskar (2022). Nina has been championed by Taylor Swift, and has played huge shows as special guest to Coldplay.
As she prepares for the release of her third major label album, Obsessed, Morgan Wade gives fans a last tantalising preview with new release ‘Total Control’. Listen below.
The album opener, ‘Total Control’ sees Wade relinquishing her composure in favour of an all-consuming love. With previously released sneak peeks ‘Halloween’, ‘Moth to A Flame’, ‘2AM in London’, and ‘Time to Love, Time to Kill’, anticipation grows for Obsessed, which Rolling Stone calls “a songwriter record that is stripped down, primarily acoustic, and a powerful showcase of Wade’s dynamic vocal capabilities.”
An entirely solo-written 14-track collection, Obsessed was produced by her touring guitarist Clint Wells and showcases Wade at her rawest and most vulnerable. She writes with incredible force about the ache for home and the emotion of being reunited with loved ones, of feeling dangerously preoccupied with someone, and of being in situations that society might consider outside the norm.
On Obsessed, Wade also does a thorough examination and inventory of her journey as a person, not sparing any ugly details when she’s been the one at fault. The project arrives on August 16th and follows her celebrated second album Psychopath, which was named one of 2023’s best albums by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and more.
Ahead of her new album release Morgan Wade is continuing to tour arenas across America with Alanis Morissette and Joan Jett. The tour finishes in Los Angeles on August 10th.
Obsessed tracklisting:
1. Total Control
2. Department Store
3. Time to Love, Time to Kill
4. Obsessed
5. Juliet
6. 2AM in London
7. Hansel and Gretel
8. Spin
9. Reality
10. Walked on Water (feat. Kesha)
11. Halloween
12. Crossing State Lines
13. Moth to a Flame
14. Deconstruction
Canadian pop singer & songwriter JESSIA presents her new EP, Okay With Every Part, and announces her first headline tour across North America. The Be Here Now tour begins on October 22nd in Los Angeles and includes stops in Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Montreal, and more. Tickets will be on sale on July 26th.
The tour announcement arrives alongside her independently released EP, Okay With Every Part. Wielding her sharp lyricism and powerhouse vocals, the 6-track project takes listeners on a journey of growth and change.
JESSIA opens up about the new EP: “Losing a label and a relationship within the span of 3 months shook me. I felt shame, rejection, anger, frustration, but also freedom, adventure, passion, and resilience. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to learn to accept and move through these new obstacles. Each song on this project represents a pivotal moment in my journey to finding peace and confidence again. This EP represents me accepting the good and bad parts of life so that I can look back and say, I’m okay with every part.”
With over 375 million collective global streams, JUNO Award-winning pop songstress JESSIA has taken the music industry by storm, capturing the hearts of fans across the world with her raw talent, dazzling pop melodies, and heart-wrenching lyricism. She made her explosive introduction in 2021 with the viral single, “I’m not Pretty.” Racking up hundreds of millions streams and views, the single caught the attention of Grammy-nominated artist Bebe Rexha, who later joined JESSIA on the track remix. She kept the buzz going with the release of her debut EP, ‘How Are You?,’ which was met with widespread support from iHeart, SiriusXM, and Billboard.
In 2023, JESSIA bravely transitioned to releasing music independently. Last year also saw JESSIA take her music on the road with an Asia tour supporting OneRepublic and a sold-out Canadian tour with Dean Lewis. With the release of her second EP, Okay With Every Part, as well as her forthcoming headline tour, JESSIA continues to prove that the sky’s the limit.
Listen to Okay With Every Part on all streaming platforms:
Upcoming Tour Dates:
October 22 – Los Angeles
October 24 – Vancouver
October 28 – Calgary
October 29 – Edmonton
November 3 – Toronto
November 4 – New York
November 6 – Montreal
November 7 – Ottawa
* tickets will be on sale July 26th @ jessiamusic.com
The romantic ideal of being a touring musician is wonderful: hitting the stage each night, seeing new places, the camaraderie of being surrounded by your friends, and enjoying the space to be creative whenever the mood takes. Yet that’s often not the reality. But it’s something that The Vamps star and confessional singer-songwriter James McVey relished when he toured with Henry Moodie earlier this year. It was a time of such inspiration that he wrote and recorded an entire set of songs on the bus, while waiting for soundcheck, or late into the night after gigs. Today he shares those songs with the release of his second solo EP ‘Letters Home’. Listen HERE.
James says, “I wrote and recorded this EP over a few weeks on tour a couple months ago. I had no plan to make this EP and no idea these songs would come to me on the road. These songs mean so much to me and I’m over the moon that you’re connecting with them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for breathing life into these songs.”
As we’ve discovered from the EP’s previous singles, the process inspired a period of intense reflection within James’s songs. First, ‘All The Things’ presented a tender rumination on the small things in life that you only realise are important when you’re apart. And then the stomping folk-rock singalong ‘Thick And Thin’ remembered those defining moments that come as your life-long friendships are cemented.
Those themes continue with the EP’s new focus track ‘Hold On To The Times’. It’s a song of peaceful reflection that remembers those who have been lost along the way of life’s journey: the connection you once shared is now nothing but a photograph and a memory, yet the impression that it made upon you will always shape you in some way. Its instrumentation builds as the song moves to its conclusion, its brighter tone signifying that although mourning doesn’t fully pass, it becomes balanced by an appreciation for what you had.
‘Letters Home’ is completed by three other new songs. ‘State of Mine’ examines the precarious tightrope of the ups and down of mental health struggles; ‘Hate How I Hurt You’ hold nothing back as James expresses immense regret for things that now can’t be changed; but the grander, anthemic sound James presents on ‘Eyes Closed’ ends on the uplifting note that perhaps love can be forever.
Collectively ‘Letters Home’ presents a compelling insight into James as a person and an artist. Its songs feel natural and unhurried, while its stories take us deeper into the man behind the musician after last year’s acclaimed solo debut EP ‘Manabi’.
James will be back on tour with The Vamps in September. Phenomenal public demand saw every show quickly sell-out, resulting in three additional dates being added. But expect his solo adventures to continue soon.
‘Letters Home’ EP tracklist:
1. ‘State of Mine’
2. ‘All The Things’
3. ‘Thick and Thin’
4. ‘Hold On To The Times’
5. ‘Hate How I Hurt You’
6. ‘Eyes Closed’
Having just been honoured with a BRITs Billion Award in honour of a billion domestic streams (part of a global total of 10 billion+), The Script now share their latest single ‘At Your Feet’. It’s the latest single from their new album ‘Satellites’ which follows on August 16th. Watch the video below.
‘At Your Feet’ unites The Script’s two key strengths: the soaring choruses and dramatic quiet/loud dynamics which makes them an irresistible live force, together with the personal connection that comes from Danny O’Donoghue’s flair for crafting lyrics rich with powerful, intimate emotions.
The idea for the song came when Danny was watching football on television and one of the pundits said, “He plays with the world on his shoulders when it should be at his feet.” Danny turned those words into a lyric that will resonate with so many people: “I’d rather take the world off your shoulders and put it at your feet.”
Danny says, “I was like: brilliant! I’m having that! You can totally turn that into some kind of connotation with love. And I went into the studio the next day with that and in five minutes we penned the chorus.”
‘At Your Feet’ was produced by hitmaker Steve Robson (One Direction, Rascal Flatts) and joins ‘Both Ways’ in driving anticipation for the ‘Satellites’ album which is available to pre-order/pre-save.
The album is available as a limited edition hardback book CD, black vinyl and standard CD. The Script’s official artist store also offers a limited edition white vinyl, cassette and new merchandise, and anyone who pre-orders the album via the official store will have the chance to win a very special prize package: the jacket that Danny wore when he met the Queen as well as signed, handwritten lyrics to a Script song of your choice.
The Script are currently on a world tour as special guests to P!nk, with dates running through until late October. They then embark upon a huge UK and European tour in November, with many dates already sold-out and phenomenal demand resulting in extra nights added in Belfast and Dublin – all shows contributing to The Script playing to a total audience of 2 million people this year. The tour features special guest Tom Walker at all shows from November 13th through to December 7th.
Remaining tickets and a full list of all international shows are available. Their headline dates are:
JADE, AKA Jade Thirlwall of multi-platinum selling, BRIT Award winning pop phenomenon Little Mix, today releases her highly anticipated debut solo single, ‘Angel of My Dreams’.
JADE co-wrote ‘Angel of My Dreams’ in LA alongside Steph Jones (Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso), Pablo Bowman (Calvin Harris’ Miracle) and producer Mike Sabath (RAYE). The track is a frenetically shapeshifting, gloriously OTT banger that explores her love/hate relationship with a pop industry she’s been at the heart of since 2011.
“I didn’t want to do a safe first single, that was really important to me,” JADE states. “I’m setting the tone of who I am as an artist on my own. I want people to hear it and be like ‘what the fuck is that song?’. My worst nightmare is for someone to hear my song and go ‘that’s nice’.”
The lyrical themes are brought to life via an eye-popping video that takes the song’s playful storytelling and blows it up into big neon letters. Directed by Aube Perrie (Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion), and filmed over four days (“the budget was budgeting” laughs JADE), it’s a visual feast, inspired by the Fifth Element, Showgirls and Black Swan, that stars various versions of Jade all scrapping for the spotlight.
“There’s 11 looks in the video! The concept is sort of rags to riches It was emotional actually because for one bit I’m busking and walking past a Sainsbury’s Local. When I was 16, I would stand outside my local Sainsbury’s and sing Christmas songs.”
It’s been a long, carefully chosen path to get to ‘Angel of My Dreams’. When Little Mix announced their hiatus in 2022, JADE started to set her solo career in motion across multiple studio sessions with collaborators including MNEK, Cirkut, Lostboy, RAYE, Lauren Aquilina and Dave Hamelin alongside Mike, Steph and Pablo. ‘Angel of My Dreams’ immediately jumped out as the lead single. Built around a cheeky, knowing sample of Sandie Shaw’s 1967 hit ‘Puppet on a String’, lyrically JADE wanted to reflect on her time in an industry that has brought her both unimaginable highs and deep lows.
“It’s about how obsessed I am with the industry – so there are lyrics like “love when you call me a star” – but also there’s the dark side that comes with that. It’s not as glam as it seems.” The sample, which JADE had wanted to use in a song for years, was chosen very specifically. “In the beginning of our career you do think you are this puppet, but at the same time it isn’t true – we wrote a lot of our songs, and we were behind a lot of what we put out there. I resented that as a statement. So it felt natural to take that and show that it can be true and untrue at the same time.”
The track is Jade delivering Big Pop Girl Energy. It is, as she says, doing the most; it’s OTT, it’s ridiculous and it’s gloriously WTF.
“This dawn of pop girls giving people everything is so exciting. It couldn’t be better timing for my music. I’m so proud of it and I can say that with chest. The fans have waited long enough so now we just want to give it to them”.
Break dancing used to pride itself on inclusivity – so why is it in the Olympic Games but not the Paralympics?
By Simon Hayhoe, University of Exeter
Break dancing has at last made it to the Olympic Games. This acceptance by the most exclusive of sporting institutions has been a long time in the making. Break dance promoters first mooted its inclusion in the early 1980s.
Break dance is an artform based on martial arts and dance that originated in the working and underclass culture of New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The acceptance by the Olympics has elevated it to an acceptable and established form of performance athletics, which also includes ice skating, synchronised swimming and diving, as well as the recently included sports of skateboarding and snowboarding.
Break dancing has also always been a highly competitive, physically demanding art form. Those of us who grew up in the 1980s can’t forget body popping and break dancing battles in the clubs of even our most unglamorous cities.
Because of its origins, break dancing was often paired with rap and scratch music, which itself became a competitive art form with impromptu battles becoming legendary in the 1990s.
There seemed to be few rules to these battles in the early years, or at least few written rules. Because break dancing wasn’t linked to an institution or membership organisation, anyone of almost any background could compete to gain acceptance. This gave break dance a sense that it was for everyone, and that anyone had the potential to succeed at it, no matter who they were or where they came from.
Despite these egalitarian beginnings, break dancing has not made it to the Paralympic Games, the alternative form of the Olympic Games developed to celebrate sport by people with disabilities.
It is a sad reality that, all too often, people with disabilities are excluded from such art forms, particularly younger people who are born with a disability. These young people are often tacitly excluded from this dance culture (despite the occasional tokenistic appearance of disabled celebrity dancers) because of its image of physical perfection and extreme, unrestricted movement.
It is with this exclusion in mind that some contemporary break dancers have founded a series of projects that seek to include people with physical disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. Break dance can help with balance and teach ways to fall safely, both of which are helpful for people with visual impairments.
In a participatory break dancing project I took part in just prior to lockdown, people with visual impairments in South Yorkshire in the UK were brought together with a group of professional break dancers. Together, they co-designed choreography, dance skills and an accessible music technology keyboard. This project aimed to encourage visually impaired break dancers to touch and hear dance movements to learn their art form.
Although the visually impaired young people involved in the project had never tried break dancing before enrolling, they adapted the techniques and skills to their needs. Over the course of a number of weeks, they showed greater physical confidence.
During the project, the amateur break dancers adapted well to the technology. Audio description techniques devised to provide onomatopoeic representations of dance moves allowed them to imagine and then communicate choreography and design whole dance sequences. Onomatopoeic representations are sounds that represent the “shape” and “movement” of dance moves as precisely as possible.
The professional dancers were also genuinely surprised by the way that they could integrate their choreography and dance routines and appreciated the adapted music technology. Importantly, working together with the technology and the newly adapted techniques helped the visually impaired participants gain a sense of social acceptance among the group.
Projects like this show that people with physical disabilities are capable of materially and psychologically choreographing dance moves as well as dancing themselves. In light of this, break dance culture should now do more to embrace marginalised groups such as people with disabilities, who have been excluded from the competitive element of this art form for far too long.
It is true that we have a long way to go to find the number of people with physical disabilities who have developed the skills that are needed to compete at an elite level. However, it is only when break dance is introduced into the Paralympic Games too that it can be called a truly inclusive, as well as an elite, sport.
Simon Hayhoe, Associate Professor of Special Educational Needs, Disability & Inclusion, University of Exeter
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.