Street dance has been in the headlines more than usual this year. Luckily, if you’ve been waiting for a chance to see it for yourself, the perfect opportunity is right around the corner.
According to dancer and Chief of Staff from Destructive Steps Dance Association, Amelia Duong, the street dance space is small but growing in Australia.
“In Australia, it’s still quite underground, underfunded, and not really known about, but it’s a really tight-knit and growing community,” she said.
“There have been a lot of new developments, though, with more events, and different styles coming up as well.”
It’s for this reason that Duong said it’s become incredibly important to bring street dance into the theatre space.
“It’s definitely important to be able to put street dance in a different light, and to reach out to different audiences,” she said.
“We’re usually all in our own spaces, underground, so it’s not really visible, so it’s good that we get to represent street dance in this kind of space.”
On Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30, FORM Dance Projects will be bringing Intersections: Street Dance x Theatre to Riverside Theatre in Parramatta.
The show will be a double bill of western Sydney, female led street dance crews, Oh Sheila and Duong’s Destructive Steps Dance Association.
“Oh Sheila is an all-female mostly popping crew, but they all do different street dance styles. They’re adapting their previous show called ‘Kinetic Illusions’ to the Parramatta stage,” she said.
“For our piece ‘INTERFLOW’, we’re focusing on the style of waving, but we’re also mixing that in with a base of locking, hip hop, and popping. It’s about creating more mood and narrative on that kind of stage, compared to what we normally do.”
As for who Duong thinks should head down for the show, she said there’s something in it for everyone.
“I think street dance is more accessible than a lot of other dance styles, because a lot of it is very based in expression, in feeling, and the fun of street dance,” she said.
“It’s very different to attending a lot of other dance shows, more approachable.”
By the end of it, Duong said she hopes audiences see street dance in a different light.
“I hope that people see the power of street dance and are able to have more appreciation for the different styles that we do and the depth of those styles, but also see where it can go in terms of the stage and what that can bring to the expression of street dance,” she said.
Intersections: Street Dance x Theatre will be on at Riverside Theatre on Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30. Tickets start at $35. For more information or to book, visit http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au.
Cassidy Pearce is Parra News' entertainment journalist and beauty columnist. She is a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney.