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"... a complex, deeply intuitive dance experience that takes the vocabulary of this galvanic African American street form into the realm of the spiritual." --The LA Times
Philadelphia's Rennie Harris reigns as the leading ambassador of hip-hop
and its various techniques: B-Boy, house, popping and locking, stepping,
and others that have emerged from America's inner cities. In Facing
Mekka, Harris and a cast of 17 undertake an epic journey through global
hip-hop set to a new score performed by Grisha Coleman (Hotmouth), beat
boxer Kenny Muhammad, vocalist Philip Hamilton, percussionists, and turntablists.
Harris expertly uses hip-hop, removed from its commercial context, to
address a fractured world, linking the personal, political, and spiritual
to create a work unifying people and cultures. Co-commissioned by the
Walker and copresented with Northrop Auditorium as the concluding event
of the 12-day Hip-Hop Moves Festival.
RENNIE HARRIS' RESIDENCY AND PERFORMANCES ARE MADE POSSIBLE
IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTERS
ARTS PARTNERS PROGRAM, THE WALLACE FOUNDATION, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS, THE HEARTLAND ARTS FUND, AND THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK
(NPN) COMMUNITY FUND. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL DANCE
PROJECT OF THE NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS, WITH LEAD FUNDING
FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE
FOUNDATION; ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION,
ALTRIA GROUP, INC., AND THE PENNSYLVANIA COUNCIL ON THE ARTS.