Diversity Festi’couleurs 2019: fashion, dance shows and dance battles

I attended on Saturday 30th March 2019 the festival Festi’ Couleurs at Exhibition Park in Toulouse, France.

There are two more events to come in May 2019!

1. About the festival and its organisers

Association Kirikou Evènements (A.K.E) organises every year Festi’ Couleurs, the diversity festival around spring in the Exhibitions Park from Toulouse.

Indeed, the events offer to the public a large range of people, cultural diversity in a friendly atmosphere and a sense of togetherness and sharing.

Furthermore, Festi’ Couleurs’ purpose is:

• to highlight the rich cultural diversity of the region
• to ensure the promotion of arts and unknown or underrepresented country cultures.

Besides, the festival allows collecting donations (school supplies, IT equipment, clothes, medicines…) for their various international solidarity actions.

2. Entertainment offered

Additionally, you can find at the festival:

• Afrobeat dance battles
• Artistic shows (dancing, singing, circus arts…)
• Fashion shows
• Entertainment (children shows)
• Exhibition village (craftspeople, associations…)
• African and Caribbean food.

A.K.E partnered with Canal+, Univers Voyages, Ramdam, Toulouse Library, Battle Afro, Occitanie Region.

3. Fashion Show

At first, I filmed one of the fashion shows, collection from Tout Mimi. She creates clothing and accessories’ lines for both men and women.

I hope you will enjoy this video:

4. Artistic dance performance

Then, I divided the Madagascan dance video performance into 3 parts. To view the second and third videos, click on the small arrow on the right-hand side of each video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzhwlwgUY8/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet

5. Afrobeat dance battles

Finally, I recorded the Afro Battles qualifications. The dance winners of each category are qualified for the French final in Paris with the best European dancers. You can find snippets of them below.

• Women battle

To view the second video, click on the small arrow on the right-hand side of the video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvrhBLQA1Zb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

• Men battle

• Dancing duet

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Funky Merry Christmas wishes to you all in music and dance!

FUNKY MERRY CHRISTMAS

First of all, I would like to send you all my warmest season greetings. 🎅

I wish you a Funky Merry Christmas holiday..in music and dance, of course! 🎶👯

CHEERFUL CHRISTMAS MUSIC

 Secondly, here a few lovely tunes to get you into a happy mood:

• soul,
• funk
• and old-school hip-hop Christmas soundtracks:

If you want to listen to full songs of old and modern funk songs, check this YouTube playlist:

UPLIFTING CHRISTMAS DANCE MOVES

Finally, if you have put on weight after all this seasonal food stuffing,  here are some street dance choreographies to get you back in shape! The dance styles are new style hip-hop and locking. But, let’s start dancing the boogie, breaking, locking or whatever dance you like.

Who knows? You might get inspired to create your own one!

Regular and occasional afrobeat events in Dublin, Ireland

DUBLIN AfroBEAT EVENTS 

Following a popular search for Dublin afrobeat events, please find below:

• few good DJ organisations
• live bands
• festivals/carnivals happening in and around Dublin.

1) DJs Weekly events with occasional guest singers from abroad:

• Every Saturday at Break for the Border with Rap Ireland. It’s 10 Euros. You can be on the cheap list if you get in touch with them. They will play a mix of:
  •  Hip-Hop
  • Afro-beats
  • RnB
  • Dancehall.

Give them a like on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/officialrapireland

• Every Sunday at River Bar (Passion nightclub) with Boom Entz. The venue is located at O’Connell House Bridge. It’s 5 Euros in. They will play a mix of:
  • Hip-Hop
  • Afrobeats
  • Rn’B
  • Reggae.

You can follow them or add them as a friend on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BoomEntz/

• Further events in and around Dublin are advertised in these public Facebook group pages:

https://www.facebook.com/afrobeat.segun?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/afroclubent/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/africanmusicnetwork/?fref=ts

2) Live band concerts (you can listen to some of them on my Youtube Channel):

• Tig Linn with female and male singers (blessed with powerful voices). For their planned concerts, check their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tig-Linn/211049728918708?fref=ts

• Dublin Afrobeat Ensemble with a male singer (blessed with a lot of charisma and energy).

For more information, check their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DublinAfrobeat?fref=ts

• Manden Express with a female singer. For more information, check their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/mandenexpress?fref=ts

• You can also catch a few Afrobeat/Afrojazz live concerts at ‘National Concert Hall’.

Go to their website for more details:

https://www.nch.ie/Online/

3) Yearly Festivals and carnivals:

• Event organised generally at the end of May by ‘Africa Day’ about:
  • African music
  • fashion
  • arts and crafts
  • clothing
  • culture.

For more information, check their Facebook page and/or website:

https://www.facebook.com/africadayireland?fref=ts

• Event organised generally around mid/end August by ‘Nigerian Carnival Ireland’. The themes are on:
  • Nigerian music
  • comedy
  • food
  • fashion.

For more information, check their Facebook page and/or website:

https://www.facebook.com/nigeriancarnivalireland?fref=ts

Have you heard of any other nights worth mentioning? If so, drop a comment and we’ll add them to the list!

 

Dance Aware fundraising event at Twisted Pepper (August 2014)

Dance Aware

First of all, Dance Aware was a fun-filled night of dancing at  Twisted Pepper on Friday 15th August 2014.

As a side note, you will not find any information anymore about the ‘Twisted Pepper‘ venue name as it has closed in down in 2015. It has however re-opened after restorations under the name of Wigwam.

ABOUT THE DANCES

Secondly, the annual dance aware event showcased various dance styles from across the globe, such as:

• Lyrical Hip Hop (mix of hip-hop and contemporary dance)
• Traditional African Dance
• Hula Hoop
• Tribal Fusion Belly Dance
• Polynesian Dance
• Flamenco
• Italian and Polish Folk Dances…

We were very lucky to have the fabulous Kristine Adams of FatChanceBellyDance performing at this event.

ABOUT THE CHARITY

As regards to the fundraising event itself, it was organised by Resham-Ka Tribal in aid of Aware.

The aware charity helps people affected by stress, depression and mood disorders.

Furthermore, if you would like to know more about this charity, donate or raise funds for them, visit their website.

If you would like to view pictures from the event, please check their related Facebook event page.

DANCE SHOW LIVE RECORDINGS

Finally, if you have missed the event or would like to see its live recordings, have a look at the 6 below Youtube videos:

B-Xtreme breakdance crew live performance at Bray Summer Festival 2014

B-XTREME breakdance CREW

As you can see from the below picture, Bray Summer Festival lines up lots of cool acts for both adults and children like the B-Xtreme breakdance crew. If you haven’t made it this weekend, don’t worry as it will still continue until the start of August 2014!

B-XTREME CREW MEMBERS

I have had the pleasure to attend the B-Xtreme high-energy acrobatic interactive breakdancing show at the Bray Summerfest.

The crew is composed of 3 dancers from New York City, USA:

• Anthony Ready Rosa
• Christopher Cuba Munoz
• Jose Mini Collon.

THEIR PERFORMANCES AND AWARDS

These award-winning performers have not only brought dance from the streets but have exhibited their talents to:

• colleges
• festivals
• half-time
• shows
• films and special events around the world.

They performed at the well known America’s Got Talent TV show in 2013.

Their shows are packed with:

• acrobatic stunts
• hilarious antics
• and the hottest dance moves.

By combining their cutting-edge dance choreography with performing talents, they deliver an unforgettable experience that leaves crowds cheering for more.

LIVE RECORDING

I filmed their live performance on Saturday 12th July in Bray. They both delivered a brilliant dance routine and got the audience involved.

So sit tight and watch the whole video! Follow them on Facebook if you like!

 

 

Street Dance films starring children or teenagers worth watching!

STREET DANCE FILMS STARRING CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

I usually post videos or films starring adults but I discovered two nice street dance films showcasing children’s talents. As you know, most professional dancers start at a young age, so don’t dismiss their skills! I have included the full film videos in this post. So have a read of the plots and enjoy watching!

ALL-STARS

The first one is ‘All-Stars‘, a British film, which has received very good ratings and has a nice storyline.

It features the 2010 winner of Sky HD hit TV talent show ‘Got To Dance’ Akai Osei-Mansfield.

This comedy family entertainment film tells the story of two kids teaming up to save their East London youth club by staging a dance show…and have to move fast to avoid humiliation. With one banned from dancing and the other discover that he has two left feet, the pair rope in their misfit mates to put on a show-stopping routine. But can they get their act together in time for their make or break performance?

‘All Stars’ features a cast of famous faces including Theo Stevenson (Horrid Henry), and Kimberley Walsh (Girls Aloud).

BATTLEFIELD AMERICA WHERE KIDS RULE

The second one is ‘Battlefield America‘, an American film, which has received moderate ratings. I still think it’s worth watching it, though.

Starring Marques Houston (Sean Lewis), Mekia Cox (Sarah Miller), Lynn Whitfield (Marcia Parker), and a slew of talented young dancers, Battlefield America is filmed in Los Angeles.

It tells the story of Sean Lewis (Houston), a successful businessman sentenced to community service for a DUI. Forced by children’s centre director (Cox) to teach a band of misfits how to dance, Sean (Houston) winds up learning much more about himself than he ever imagined.

Talented youth dancers – Tristen Carter (Eric), Edward Mandell (Marv), Kida Burns (Tommy) and Camren Bicondova (Prissy) – steal the show in an underground dance competition (aka “battles”).

Now, want to watch them? Check out the below Youtube videos. Free viewing and no need to download anything!

UDO world street dance championships 2014: Irish selections

UDO World Street dance

This post is for those who want to watch your performance or have missed the Udo World Street Dance event and want to catch up with what has happened at it!

At these street dance championships, all hip hop dance styles were showcased:

• New Style Hip-Hop
• Locking
• Popping
• Krumping
• Locking
• Breaking
• House

in solos, duos and battles divided by age categories (children, teenagers and adults).

The event was judged by:

• Jeffrey Felicisimo, member of the Flowless
• John Graham
• Chuck
• Calvin Francis.

For more information about the judges, check UDO’s website.

You can view a showcase from Chuck in this video.

Although I haven’t filmed the whole event, I hope you will enjoy the 10 videos I took.
You will see the other related videos suggested on the right-hand side, once you click on the YouTube title name.

If you want to watch more of these, subscribe to my Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/emelinej1

If you want to watch pictures and more information about this event, check their Facebook fan page here:

https://www.facebook.com/udoireland?fref=ts

 

 

 

 

“Step Up 5” aka “Step Up All In” upcoming film and its soundtrack (2014)

STEP UP ALL IN

Hello, my dance fans!

First of all, here is the ‘Step Up All In‘ film we have all been waiting for!

FILM CAST and trailers

Secondly, the main dance characters from this film consist of the previous Step Up all-stars:

• Hair (Chris Scott)
• Vladd (Chadd Smith)
• Monster (Luis Rosado)
• Jenny Kido (Mari Koda)
• Andie West (Briana Evigan)
• Sean (Ryan Guzman).

ABOUT RYAN GUZMAN

Ryan Guzman was born in Texas, USA and relocated as a child to San Francisco, California.

He is a dancer and actor known for his roles in Step Up Revolution and April Rain amongst other non-dancing films.

About Chris Scott

Christopher Scott was born in Wheaton, Maryland.

He is a dancer, choreographer, actor and producer. He has acted and danced in many other well-known dance films such as:

• The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers
• all the step up films
• Glee
• Alvin and the Chipmunks…

ABOUT Chadd Smith

Chadd Smith was born in Ventura, California.

He is a street dancer and actor specialised in robotic movements (street dance called ‘popping’). He appeared in Step Up 3D, Step Up Revolution and Step Up All In and in the web series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD).

ABOUT Luis Rosado

Luis Rosado was born in Germany, grew up in Italy until 7 years old, who relocated to Florida and finally to Los Angeles.

He is a competitive dancer best known as a member of the crew Skill Methodz and also portrayed the character of Monster in the Step Up film franchise. He took part in The LXD as well.

ABOUT Mari Koda

Mari Koda was born in Japan.

She is an actress and dancer who is best known for her role as Jenny Kido in all the Step Up films. She also appeared in Timbaland and Missy Elliot’s music video “Cop That Disc” as a soloist.

If you’d like to watch film trailers, check this article.

FILM PLOT

Thirdly, the plot is like for all dance films, focused on the dance rather than the actual story.

Indeed, it’s the story of Sean, a street dancer from Los Angeles who is trying hard with his crew to succeed. Unfortunately, after several unsuccessful gigs, the crew leaves him. He feels like his dreams have vanished until he discovers an elaborate Vegas dance competition called the Vortex, being organized by VH1. For the purpose of the event, he sets up a new crew and they end up winning the battles.

Additionally, if you would like to know more about the plot details, read this film review.

FILM SOUNDTRACK

Finally, for those who have already watched it and really enjoyed its soundtrack, check these music tracks.

So, are you going to watch it? Leave us your comments about the film below, once you’ve seen it!

Kwaito (South African House): its music evolution, exportation and the dance

For those of you who never heard of Kwaito music, I let you catch up on this by reading my previous article at the following link:

http://wp.me/pXgap-fR

To understand the origin of Kwaito, please check this article out:

http://africanmusicdance.wikia.com/wiki/Kwaito

Today, I will introduce you to the Kwaito music industry through a very good documentary filmed by Eric Sell a.k.a EES (also: eesy-ees/EeS/EeS, “Easy Eric Sell”) a Namibian German Kwaito artist and rapper. He travels between South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Germany to demonstrate the music evolution and its exportation. Any of his German explanations will be subtitled in English, but most part of this reportage is in English. Now, enough talking from me, check out the youtube film below:

Since you know now more about what Kwaito music is, you may want to see how the Kwaito dance looks like and try out few basic steps. The two first video below will showcase a TV dance show and a dance performance and the last one is a dance tutorial from EES (Eric Sell). What are your thoughts in this music and dance style? Do you think it has potential to become a worldwide phenomenon?

To listen to and watch Kwaito music mix and dance, check out this link full of videos:

http://www.mashpedia.com/Kwaito

Azonto/Hip Life: music and dance videos

Some of you may ask: what is Azonto? Where does it come from?

Azonto is a dance originating from Ghana. The African dance form incorporates complex co-ordinated body movement and non-verbal communication in a rhythmic fashion in very few one-two timed steps. Just like most African dances, knee bending and hip movements are rudiments to dancing it.

The dance was first called “Apaazee Renetta Kojo” (which means work) by the people of Bukom. However, the term ‘Azonto’ (a name which was given to the dance by the people of Tema) was popularly used by students of The Accra Academy to refer to life and later became accepted by the larger population as the name for the dance. The dance now known as Azonto was later observed in an evolved form among ‘street communities’ in Agona Abodom, Abossey Okai, Takoradi and certain suburbs of Accra (namely Korle-Gonno, La, and Chorkor), in pubs, night clubs, & dance battles.

You might enjoy the following short documentary video explaining you the meaning of some Azonto dance moves:

This dance has evolved with new trends such as break dance and “crip walk” to become what it is today and has gained popularity not only in Ghana but also in Great Britain, as it is explained in the following “The Guardian” newspapers article:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/03/ghana-azonto-dance-craze-world

Now, do you want to hear what it sounds and see how it looks like? Check out the 6 below videos (4 music clips, 2 dance choreography). If you come across a nice azonto dance, leave the link in the comment box below this post!