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London Battle

London Battle takes over our iconic open-air courtyard with a world premiere and a day packed with showcases, workshops, live DJs and a big outdoor party.

Archived Event

DatesSat 07 Oct 2023
Times13.00 - 18.30
SpaceEdmond J. Safra Fountain Court
PriceFree

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip hop culture, and with Breaking set to be one of the highlights of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dance Umbrella and Somerset House are bringing together some of the most exciting talent from the four corners of London to go head to head across a diverse range of styles.

Curated by choreographer Jade Hackett, who has performed with some of the UK’s leading hip hop dance theatre companies, including Boy Blue and ZooNation, you'll be the judge, deciding which neighbourhood of our global city brings the best dance flavour on the day. Will it be north, south, east or west London that takes the honours?

NORTH
Dat Boi Troy (aka Troy Banton) – Captain
Rory Clarke
b-girl Stefani (aka Anna Ponomarenko)

SOUTH
Marvel (aka Nicholas Marvel) – Captain
b-girl Roxy (aka Roxanne Milliner)
Sev Raven (aka Chaldon Williams)

EAST
Jordan ‘JFunk’ Franklin – Captain
Evion Hackett
Toby “Shush” Jackman

WEST
Reckless-Lee (aka Lee Crowley) – Captain
Elise Antonia
Shahi (aka Benjamin Banishahi)

London Battle: a celebration of hip hop culture

Jade Hackett

Choreographer Jade Hackett. Photo: Camilla Greenwell

Jade Hackett is an experienced choreographer, dancer and actor, whose dance theatre productions include The Pied Piper, Boy Blue Entertainment, Blaze, the international tour, and Into the Hoodz, The Mad Hatter's Tea Party and Some Like It Hip Hop with ZooNation Dance Company. Her theatre work has included Hex at the National Theatre, she was associate choreographer for Get Up Stand Up the Bob Marley West End musical, Sylvia at The Old Vic, Nine Nights at Trafalgar Studios and Black Boys at the Apollo Theatre. Jade has also appeared in StreetDance 3D The Movie, campaigns for adidas and ASOS, as well as the London Olympics and Baku European Games ceremonies.

Schedule

Workshops
13.00 – 15.30
All abilities welcome

Turbo (aka Issac Baptise) – House style
Tiago Santos – Waacking
Olu Alatise – Afrobeats
Kloe Dean – Hip Hop

Showcases
15.30 – 16.30
A series of performances from some of London’s most exciting dance talent, featuring Gully South Block (GSB), The Queens, Lauren Scott and Boy Blue.

London Battle
16.30 – 17.30
Four teams hailing from the four corners of London meet in our courtyard to slog it out for the London crown. Who will be the best? You help decide!

Party
17.30 – 18.30
Once the winners are crowned, there'll be a celebration of Hip Hop bringing all the elements of the day together in one big party.

DJs featured across the day include the Midnight Train Collective and Josh Constanzo. Our MC for the day is Ashley J.

Please note the performance and audience areas are not covered, this event is standing only, and it's an open air setting, so you should come dressed appropriately for the prevailing conditions. Timings may be subject to change, so keep up to date on Somerset House and Dance Umbrella social media channels.

This event is part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2023, which runs from 06 - 31 October. Dance Umbrella is London’s international dance festival, taking place every October across the capital and online.
Find out more at www.danceumbrella.co.uk

Somerset House strives to be open and accessible to all. We are working to remove barriers for visitors with disabilities and to ensure our events and exhibitions are accessible. For further information and to plan your visit, visit our Accessibility page.

A Dance Umbrella & Somerset House co-production

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