Foto: Patryk
Foto: Patryk
Foto: Patryk
Foto: Patryk
For 4 days from 29.8.-1.9. the Zoogesellschaftshaus and the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm will become a meeting place for the local, national and international urban dance scene.
"It's all about us and the music" - Random Circles is a unique platform for dance, music, creativity, passion and artistic and cultural exchange.
Frankfurt has the liveliest HipHop and street dance communities in Germany, which you can encounter in youth centers, museums, on the banks at the Main river, in theaters or clubs.
Over the past two years, the street dance scene has become an increasingly important part of the Tanzplattform Rhein-Main program. The annual Random Circles festival, which takes place in cooperation with the platform, makes a significant contribution to this by providing an opportunity to exchange ideas and network with dancers and choreographers who showcase their skills.
Founded in 2014, the festival brings together all dance enthusiasts with local and international dancers and musicians - whether as fellow dancers or as an audience member. It offers the unique opportunity not only to watch greats from the scene improvise, but also to immerse yourself in the community.
Dancer and choreographer Edwin Batalla and his crew present various genres and styles such as popping, house or hip hop and connecting formats such as talks, battles, workshops and jams. At the heart of the festival are battles in various disciplines, in which a jury decides who goes through to the next round. The most important thing, however, is always the artistic exchange. It is the challenge and debate that counts, not winning.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Studio 1
Popping has its roots in the vibrant 1960s of California. During the heyday of funk music, the Oakland Boogaloo dance style emerged in African American neighborhoods, laying the foundation for today’s Popping. Even in its early phases, this style combined fluid and mechanical movements, extremely isolated, that paved the way for modern Popping. In a time when information was primarily exchanged in person, various variations and derivations of this dance arose, including Strutting, Electric Boogaloo, Popping, and others.
The breakthrough into popular culture occurred in the 1970s when Popping gained recognition through TV shows like “Soul Train.” From that moment, the dance style spread across the United States and won enthusiasts like the legendary Michael Jackson. Popping artists traveled the world as background dancers and choreographers to disseminate the culture and the dance.
Despite its long history, Popping has remained eternally youthful and has established itself as a global phenomenon. It has significantly influenced hip-hop culture and, despite numerous changes and trends, maintains its roots, which are based on fluid and isolated, muscle-contracting movements.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Großer Saal
HipHop is a versatile dance style that has developed in the USA since the 1970s. It is characterized by fast, rhythmic movements that are closely linked to the music. The style integrates various elements such as popping, locking, breaking and krumping and is therefore very diverse in its execution. HipHop is not just dance, but also a cultural movement that often addresses social and political issues.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Großer Saal
House dance is a style of dance that originated in the early 1980s in the underground clubs of Detroit, New York and Chicago. It is closely associated with the House music genre. The dance style is characterized by fluid and continuous movements that are often executed on the off-beat, with a focus on footwork following the beat and floating movements of the body. House dance has evolved over the years and has been influenced by various other dance styles such as African, Latin, and Jazz. Today, it is a popular dance style worldwide and is an important component of the so called “urban” styles.
Künstler*innehaus Mousonturm, Studio 1
In its original sense, the term dancehall refers to a place where people dance. Additionally, it describes a music genre as well as a dance style. Both are rooted in Jamaican dancehall culture, which emerged as an offshoot of reggae music and movement in the late 1980s in Kingston. Dancehall dance is a street dance style that originates from the dancehall culture and is primarily danced to dancehall music. It includes a wide variety of codified steps with specific names, which are directly influenced by everyday Jamaican cultural and social peculiarities and gained recognition through solo dancers and dance crews in Kingston. The fundamentals of dancehall dance encompass movements that can be described as grounded, curvy, flowing, and polyrhythmic.
12 – 21 Uhr, Zoogesellschaftshaus
Day Ticket
*no afterparties or side events included. Please purchase the afterparty and side event tickets (Bbq Jam & Random Hangover Jam) at the official Random Circles website
On Friday, the preliminary rounds (preselections) will take place in the HipHop, House and Popping categories. Those who qualify here will compete in the final ("7-to-smoke") on Saturday. At the end of the day, the jury members will select two daily winners (Cipher Queen and Cipher King) from all categories together, regardless of the respective category.
Preselection Runde 1
Preselection Ciphers: "Preselection" means the qualification phase or preliminary round, which takes place in ciphers, i.e. circles. There is no obligation to register and the participants form different ciphers in which they dance one after the other. Whether alone, in pairs or in a group, everything is allowed and up to you. Our invited jury will distribute chips during the cipher preselection, which will grant admission to the second preselection.
Preselection Runde 2
Decision Ciphers: This year, 40 chips will be distributed to 40 dancers in the Cipher Preselections. The 40 dancers will each form 8 ciphers with 5 people each. All 8 ciphers will be performed simultaneously in the same room. The dancers have 30 minutes to dance individually or together in the cipher.
The twist this year is that the dancers themselves take on the role of the jury during the second preselection; after the time is up, the dancers decide who has made it through the second preselection and thus into the "7-to-smoke".
Cipher King / Cipher Queen:
During the preselection, the jury members jointly select a Cipher King and Cipher Queen. They are the dancers of the day.
13 – 21 Uhr, Zoogesellschaftshaus
Day Ticket
*no afterparties or side events included. Please purchase the afterparty and side event tickets (Bbq Jam & Random Hangover Jam) at the official Random Circles website
Finale -7-to-smoke (Hip Hop, House, Popping):
The 8 finalists from the preliminary round battle in a "7-to-smoke" format. The dancer receives one point for each battle won. Whoever has collected 7 points first (in other words: smoked 7 other dancers) wins the 7-to-smoke and thus also the category.
Before each round, the jury members introduce themselves in their respective categories with a dance performance.
Concert
After the finalists have been crowned, there will be a concert where all guests can celebrate, dance and end the day together. The artist is still top secret, but - this much should be said - get ready for a banger.
Künstler*inenhaus Mousonturm, Großer Saal
HipHop is a versatile dance style that has developed in the USA since the 1970s. It is characterized by fast, rhythmic movements that are closely linked to the music. The style integrates various elements such as popping, locking, breaking and krumping and is therefore very diverse in its execution. HipHop is not just dance, but also a cultural movement that often addresses social and political issues.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Studio 1
House dance is a style of dance that originated in the early 1980s in the underground clubs of Detroit, New York and Chicago. It is closely associated with the House music genre. The dance style is characterized by fluid and continuous movements that are often executed on the off-beat, with a focus on footwork following the beat and floating movements of the body. House dance has evolved over the years and has been influenced by various other dance styles such as African, Latin, and Jazz. Today, it is a popular dance style worldwide and is an important component of the so called “urban” styles.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Großer Saal
HipHop is a versatile dance style that has developed in the USA since the 1970s. It is characterized by fast, rhythmic movements that are closely linked to the music. The style integrates various elements such as popping, locking, breaking and krumping and is therefore very diverse in its execution. HipHop is not just dance, but also a cultural movement that often addresses social and political issues.
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Studio 1
Afro-House is a dance style that originated in Africa. It derives from Kuduro, an Angolan dance style that evolved during a period of war, making it a rather 'hard' dance style. In addition to elements of Kuduro, Afro-House also has a softer, more cheerful side, inspired by other styles like Pantsula. Pantsula is a dance style that was developed in South Africa and discovered by Angolan youth during their travels. It was these young people who further developed the mixed dance style into the form we now know as Afro-House.
Künstler*innehaus Mousonturm, LOKAL
Eintritt frei!
Panel Discussion mit Link & Khoudia
MC: Danny Son
“Random Circles 2024” is a project by KuTaMu e.V. in cooperation with Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm as part of the Rhine-Main Dance Platform. Funded by the Crespo Foundation. In cooperation with the Junge Theaterwerkstatt am Zoo. KuTaMu e.V. is funded for this project by the Youth and Social Welfare Office and the Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main. The Dance Platform Rhine-Main, a project of Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm and Hessisches Staatsballett, is made possible by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain and supported by the Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art and the Foundation Alliance [Aventis Foundation, Crespo Foundation, Hans Erich and Marie Elfriede Dotter Foundation, Dr. Marschner Foundation, ODDO BHF Foundation, Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main].
