Member Article

Arts charity pops up with US dance event to end year on a high

A TRANSFORMATIVE arts charity is popping up with an event to end the year on a high.

Action for Arts is hosting an all day session in celebration of the elegant ‘Popping’ dance style, which dates back to 1960s California.

And two of the UK’s exponents of the technique, adapted out of earlier ‘Electric Boogaloo’ (funk dance), will lead the session to raise its profile.

Strictly Popping is to take place in Wrexham, led by London-based professional dancer and mentor Alex Mechnikool, and Wrexham’s Tom Kaiba, best known for his scintillating performances on the Sky TV show, Got to Dance.

Action for Arts founder Ali Carter, from Colwyn Bay, said a dramatic rise in interest for the authentic street dance forms – including Red Bull’s championing of them via the Dance Your Style competition – is focusing more attention on the requirement for quality training in the region.

“Our aim is to raise the standard of training in historically authentic street dance styles, and we’re working in collaboration with our international team to stay true to the heritage,” she added.

“We spent the summer of 2022 working with some of the originals of the movement in California and delivered workshops to dance studios, clubs, and community projects in cities from LA to San Francisco.

“This gave us the opportunity to experience the culture, the music history, and learn from some of the greatest and most highly respected dancers in the world.”

Funded by the Arts Council of Wales, the 10-month research project will help Action for Arts break new ground in dance and physical training.

“We’re encouraging more people to get involved through our local community events and scouting for promising dance talent to join our unique mentorship programme in 2024,” said Ali.

“We are particularly excited to see more people learning the art of Popping as it’s a wonderful medium for expressing creativity, for improving physical and mental health, and for connecting to a wider international community.”

The Strictly Popping session will be at Avant Cymru’s Hip Hop space at the Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre in Wrexham on November 26.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin James Williams .