The Dance Center Theater morphs into a free DJ’d dance party with head-to-head freestyle dance battles, performances, cyphers, live painting and more!
The jam kicks off with a slammin performance by Furious Styles, a collaboration between DJ Shon Dervis and percussionist Ernie Adams. During this opening set (2-4pm), three Cypher Winners will be selected for automatic entry into the Top 16 at the Red Bull Dance Your Style Chicago Auditions.
Competition Format: DJ’s spin four different “cypher sets” of the following genres: Funk, Hip Hop, House and Juke/Footwork. During each cypher, 8 dancers are selected for the battle, and randomly put into eight 4-person crews. The crews battle and the 4 winning crews move to the next round. At the end of each semi-final battle, the winning crew will select one member of the losing crew to join them in the finals for an epic 5v5 Open Styles Battle. Prizes: Winning Crew = $2,500 ($500 each dancer), Second Place = $500 ($100 each dancer).
Judges include globally celebrated House, Hip Hop, and Waacking icon LaTasha Barnes, Popper BIONIC (Machine Gone Funk / Rock Force Crew), Freestyler Mikey Disko (MOP TOPS / Knuckle Neck Tribe / Soul Sector) and Chicago’s own legendary Lady Sol and Footwork pioneer Q.V.I.P. DJs include: DJ Roc, Moz Definite, Nero The Professor, plus more musical guests and performances including a Tap exhibition and exchange with Jimmy Payne, Jr. Hosted by: BRAVEMONK & Killarina.
B-Long: Honoring and Examining Lineage, Legacy, and Belonging in Hip Hop and Street Dance Culture celebrates ten years of the B-Series Festival with workshops, cyphers, panels, screenings, battles, and jams that unite academic scholars, commercial practitioners, and community innovators.
The presentation of the B-Series 10th Anniversary is made possible in part by support from Alphawood Foundation, Chicago Arts Recovery Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, Honey Pot Performance's The Chicago Black Social Culture Map, the Illinois Arts Council, and Red Bull.
The presentation of 7NMS|PROPHET Wkshp: PILLARS was made possible in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
This project is partially supported by a grant from the Office of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Columbia College Chicago.