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David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico
Tickets: $15 (+$1.75 ticketing fee) ; students are free. Every attendee must register prior to attending.
Ana “Rokafella” Garcia is a leader in women’s breakdancing, whose early entry into the male-dominated New York street dance scene paved the way for a generation of b-girls . Her husband, dancer, DJ, and drummer Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio, founded the acclaimed Bronx-based hip-hop dance company Full Circle Souljahs and has taught some of the best break dancers in the world. Together, Rokafella and Kwikstep are renowned for preserving classic hip-hop dance styles while embracing new iterations.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Rokafella, Kwikstep, and the Full Circle Souljahs will lead a conversation on the traditions of popping—a street-dance style that originated in California and was built upon by New York City dancers—followed by a dance demonstration that celebrates the genre’s soulful resilience. The presentation will be followed by a reception with special access to the DR Center gallery, currently showing Portraits of Process.
This event is presented in partnership with Works & Process and the RBF Culpeper Arts & Culture Program.
Ana “Rokafella” Garcia
Ana "Rokafella" Garcia is an NYC native who has represented women in hip-hop dance for the past three decades. Rokafella directed the b-girls documentary All the Ladies Say and explored the duality of women in street and club dance in Beauty Meets Beast. She co-founded Full Circle Productions—NYC’s only nonprofit Break Dance Theater company—with her husband, veteran b-boy Kwikstep. An adjunct professor at the New School and instructor at NJPAC, she teaches students to celebrate the history as well as the technique of hip-hop dance.
Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio
Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio started dancing as a child, influenced by Soul Train and NYC block parties. He has performed on PBS’s Peabody Award-winning Everybody Dance Now, the Great Performances 20th Anniversary Special, and September Songs—The Music of Kurt Weill, which was nominated for an Emmy. Kwikstep and his wife Rokafella established Full Circle Productions as a nonprofit hip-hop collective in 1996. He is an adjunct professor at Queens College and received the 2017 National Teachers Award from the American Dance Festival.
Missed Your Chance to get Tickets?
You can watch at home on the livestream below. It will start approximately 15 minutes before showtime.