Nadja Harek follows the preparation of two of the leading French hip hop companies, the Vagabonds and Pockemon Crew, for a French selection in view of the Battle of the Year international competition (BOTY 2013). The film reveals, supported by testimonies, the richness of a mixed-culture choreographic language, based on constant invention and driven by the desire to shake up this “street dance” as it was considered at the start.

Ever since its emergence in France in the 1980s, hip hop has well and truly found its place in the choreographic landscape and has ended up transferring to the stage its figures (including the essential circle figure) and its dynamic gestures (leaps and floor dance), whether developed solo or conveyed by the group’s force. While the BOTY stage is above all a place of confrontation and the surpassing of oneself, the stages hosting the two companies for the elaboration of their projects tend rather to highlight the uniqueness of the approaches. Under the kindly gaze of two choreographers who have defended the qualities of hip hop (Mourad Merzouki and José Montalvo), the Vagabonds and Pockemon Crew advocate the merging of all dance forms, from the rigour of classical dance to the experimentation of the most contemporary dance, not to mention the spectacular dimension of musicals.  

Source : Damien Truchot