On Saturday, August 14th, East West Players (EWP) will kick off its 45th season with One Night Only: Hip Hop and Hot. Directed by Marilyn Tokuda with musical direction by Nathan Wang, this one night only benefit performance offers the fun and excitement of a night of watching some of Southern California's best dance crews and will feature the four pillars of hip hop-DJ'ing, MC'ing, Graffiti, and Breaking.
"We are excited to have so much diverse talent performing at Hip Hop and Hot," says Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang. "The evening promises to be a spectacular night of dancing, music, art, and a great learning experience for all generations."In addition to performances by dance crew Velvet Nation, vocalist Sue Jin, and beatbox crew Fresh Beats Inc!, HIP HOP AND HOT will also have performances by: all-female dance crew The Syrenz, featuring Ms. Von (aka Sara Von Gillern) who was one of the top ten contestants on So You Think You Can Dance--Season 3; dance crew from UCLA NSU Modern, the first competitive Nikkei dance group among Southern California's collegiate dance talent; b-girl crew World Famous, whose style ranges from hip-hop, house, freestyle, and break dancing; and vocalist Randy Guiaya of EWP's Three Filipino Tenors. The Masters of Ceremonies will be the Basco Family (Dante, Darion, Derek, Dion, and Arianna), long-time friends of the theatre. Having been part of the hip hop community for a long time, the evening offers a great opportunity to have the Basco family introduce theatre audiences to hip hop. DJ Phatrick, graffiti artist SANO, and Takayo Fischer, Emily Kuroda, June Kyoko Lu, and Jeanne Sakata of EWP's production of the NISEI WIDOWS CLUB round out the evening's entertainment.Videos