Freemind Freestyle
About this Piece
Freemind Freestyle brings high–energy, unadulterated Hip Hop movement to the stage. It explores the depths of improvisational dance, using Hip Hop and Streetdance vernacular such as Locking, Popping, Breaking, and Krump as vehicles of expression. No show will be the same, as each night will offer a brand new experience of FREESTYLE dance live on stage. Audiences will walk away with a visceral immersion into Hip Hop dance culture.
Freemind Freestyle dives into the concept of freedom. What confines us and oppresses us? How do we interact with those forces? And what ultimately allows us to break free? The work explores these questions from both an ancestral and evolutionary lens, blending cutting-edge Hip Hop, Popping, and Krump movement with House dance, a deeply respected form of Streetdance that inherently pays homage to the Afro-Latin roots of the company.
Danced to sonic remixes of Hip Hop, classical, and electronic music, the work calls upon each dancer in the diverse company to express his and her own personal experience of freedom. Freemind Freestyle pushes the dancers’ mental, physical, and spiritual limits through the rich, evocative vocabularies of Hip Hop and Streetdance, and also pushes the viewers’ notions of their own, personal experiences of oppression and freedom.
Cast & Crew Credits
Founders/Artistic Directors/Choreographers
Jackie “Miss Funk” Lopez-Foaad
Leigh “Breeze Lee” Foaad
Project Manager
Brandon "BeastBoi" Juezan
Partnerships Manager
Harry "Full Out" Weston
Social Media & Marketing Manager
Ernesto "Precise" Galarza
Co-Rehearsal Directors
Alli Gray
Gbari “GQ” Gilliam
Hip Hop/Streetdance Company Artists
Jackie “Miss Funk” Lopez-Foaad
Leigh “Breeze Lee” Foaad
Alli Gray
Harry “Full Out” Weston
Anthony “Berry Groove” Berry
Cynthia “C-Soul” Hernandez
Ernesto “Precise” Galarza
Brandon “BeastBoi” Juezan
Brianna “Passion” Grey
Gbari “GQ” Gilliam
Jessi “Tru Flow” Pontillas
Ceanne Augustin
*Note: Freestyle sections were conceived by each individual artist*
Spoken Word Written & Performed By
Kane Smego
Dramaturg
Bobby Gordon
Consultant
Rennie Harris
Costume Designer
Alex Ayon
Stage Manager
Aubrey Mamaid
Assistant Stage Manager
Bianette Linares
Videographer
Jaimar Viray
Photographer
George Simian
Music and Sponsor Credit
Music
Enter The Cypher (“Rej Against The Machine” - Tomahawk Bang)
Birth (Royalty Free)
Soldiers Assemble (“Bursts of Anger” - Craneuhm)
Extinction (“Extinction” - Mixed and Mastered by DJ Quest)
Outcry (“Wooming” - Thriftworks)
Unborn (“Violet Vape” - Cheel)
Rebirth (“Ishikari” - Geode)
Spirit of The Bones (“Moya Wa Taola” - Black Motion)
Sponsors
Rosenthal Family Foundation
Mihran K. Studios
California Community Foundation
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
New England Foundation for the Arts
"Freemind Freestyle was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew J. Mellon Foundation."