Rennie Harris Returns to the New Vic with LUV: AMERICAN-STYLE, Now thru 5/17
By: BWW News Desk May. 08, 2015
In LUV: American-Style, Dr. Harris' laws of hip hop -- individuality, creativity and innovation -- rule as the energetic young RHAW crew rocks out using Campbell locking, popping & boogaloo, B-Boying and hip hop to vividly tell the story of a teenage boy searching for his purpose. Seen as a daydreamer by friends and family, he feels pressured to grow up, get a job and be responsible for his actions, and then suddenly finds himself wrongly incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Inspired by and performed to legendary classic rock songs including "Flash" by Queen, and "Colour My World" and "Free" by Chicago, this production is dedicated to Dr. Harris's eldest son, Brandyn, who is one of the performers in the show.
"When you see hip hop done to rock music you know you're watching something different. It just looks different because of the music," says Dr. Harris about the show.
Inspired by the overwhelming interest from local teens and young adults who hoped to join his internationally renowned company Rennie Harris Puremovement, Philadelphia native Dr. Rennie Harris founded RHAW to serve urban youth in the City of Brotherly Love. RHAW cultivates hip hop culture and preserves its legacy by demonstrating discipline and focus through performance, dance education, outreach programming and mentorship. An accomplished dance company that teaches its members professionalism, show production, street dance history and technique in various styles, RHAW is the next generation of Puremovement.
LUV: American-Style is directed by Dr. Rennie Harris and features dancers Jenay Anolin, Davion Brown, Joshua Culbreath, Katia Cruz, Richard Evans, Brandyn S. Harris, Mai Le Ho Johnson, Rodney Mason, Joshua Polk, Andrew Ramsey, Neha Sharma, Samantha Shepherd, Shafeek Westbrook and Raphael Xavier. The company is managed and directed by Rodney Hill. Raphael Xavier also serves as artistic director and Crystal Frazier serves as assistant artistic director while Amith Chandrashakar is the technical supervisor, lighting designer and production manager.
Watch a trailer of Rennie Harris RHAW's LUV: American-Style on the New Victory website.
Performance Schedule: 10 performances
Friday 5/8 7pm
Saturday 5/9 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 5/10 12pm, 5pm
Friday 5/15 7pm
Saturday 5/16 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 5/17 12pm, 5pm
LUV: American-Style has a running time of 60 minutes with no intermission, and is recommended for everyone ages 7 and up.
Tickets for LUV: American-Style at The New Victory Theater (209 West 42nd Street) are $10, $13, $18 or $25 for Members based on seat locations, with full price tickets starting at $15. Purchase tickets online or by phone at 646-223-3010. The New Victory box office (209 West 42nd Street) is open Sunday and Monday from 11am-5pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 12pm-7pm. For more information, visit the New Victory website.
About Dr. Rennie Harris - Dr. Rennie Harris started teaching hip hop at the age of 15 with the Smithsonian Institute and continues to teach worldwide. In 2001, for Rome & Jewels, Dr. Harris received three Bessie Awards, two Black Theater Alvin Ailey Awards, a Herb Alpert Award nomination and a Lawrence Olivier Award nomination. He was honored by the Kennedy Center as a Master of African-American Choreography, received a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship for recognition of his work as a choreographer, was awarded a 2007 United States Artist Fellowship, and was presented with honorary doctorates from Columbia College and Bates College. At the turn of the century, Harris was voted one of the most influential people in the last one hundred years of Philadelphia history. In 2011, Puremovement was chosen to serve as a cultural ambassador for President Obama's DanceMotion USA campaign in the Middle East.
About The New Victory Theater - The New Victory Theater introduces extraordinary performing artists from around the world to extraordinary audiences in New York City, bringing kids to the arts and arts to kids. Created in 1995 for young New Yorkers, their families and schoolmates, The New Victory Theater presents a diverse season of international companies at low ticket prices year after year. Through the theater's award-winning education programs, The New Victory continues to provide access to schools and communities of New York City who seek to experience and engage with the work on our stages, often for the very first time. The theater's contributions to the cultural landscape of the city were celebrated by The Drama Desk with a Special Award for "providing enchanting, sophisticated children's theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people." Most recently, the New Victory Usher Corps received the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for using engagement in the arts and the humanities to increase academic achievement, graduation rates and college enrollment.
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