Decadancetheatre
Brooklyn based all female hip-hop crewAbout DECA
“The pioneering all female hip-hop group…a fearless coalition of b-girls,”–The New Yorker.
Since 2004, Brooklyn-based, Decadancetheatre has been redefining the image of women in hip-hop. Through performances, workshops and creative commissions, Decadancetheatre has become a key ambassador of authentic, New York City hip-hop culture around the world. Led by artistic director Jennifer Weber, the company represents a global vision of hip-hop with an international roster of dancers from the US, UK, Norway, France and Japan. Challenging hip-hop’s male-dominated convention, Decadancetheatre takes female dancers out of the background of music videos and into the forefront of theatrical performance.
Decadancetheatre emerged on the hip-hop scene in 2004 with the debut of Decadance Vs. The Firebird—an urban re-imagination of the 1910 Stravinsky Ballet. The hip-hop ballet mash-up won the 2004 Best Choreography Award at the New York International Fringe Festival and received critical acclaim in The New York Times and The Village Voice. Firebird’s success enabled the company to begin touring on the national level. Since premiering that signature work, Deca continues to explore hip-hop theatre, adapting texts ranging from a 12th century Japanese ghost story to a more personal narrative inspired by the challenges woman face in hip-hop today. MAX338 (2009) remixed the children’s classic Where the Wild Thing Are into a hip-hop fairytale. Focusing on all elements of hip-hop, including b-boying (breakdance) mcing, djing and graffiti, Decadancetheatre’s core vision translates the vibrant energy of New York City’s street culture to the international stage.
Decadancetheatre has toured all over the US, UK, France and Japan including performing at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, B Supreme Festival of Women in Hip Hop at London’s Southbank Center, LEAP 08 in Liverpool and Bumbershoot in Seattle where DECA shared the bill with Wu-Tang Clan, John Legend, and Fergie. In addition DECA has been featured on MTV, CBS, and in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit and XXL. Deca has received support from the Brooklyn Arts Council and has received the 2004 Audience Choice Bessie Award Nomination. The company’s highly sought after workshop series continues their desire to educate the next generation on the positive roots of hip-hop culture and the creative potential of hip-hop as a dramatic language.
