BREAKIN' CONVENTION Returns To Sadler's Wells In May

A celebration of hip hop culture, the world-renowned festival Breakin' Convention returns to Sadler's Wells in Angel over the first weekend in May. Friday heralds Fierce Friday, a brand new Breakin' Convention event headlined by The Ruggeds and Mounia Nassangar at Sadler's Wells Theatre which will open the festival in style and will be hosted by BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Fee Mak.

Founded, created and programmed by hip hop innovator Jonzi D, Breakin' Convention is the world's biggest festival of hip hop dance theatre, held annually at Sadler's Wells since 2004. Over its twenty-one years, it has become a global platform celebrating hip hop culture through dance, performance, and artistic expression. Featuring both UK and International Artists, the festival honours hip hop's roots while pushing creative boundaries, proving that the culture remains as relevant and multi-faceted as ever.

Across the weekend, Breakin' Convention showcases an extensive range of UK hip hop talent throughout the festival, as well as international acts from France, The Netherlands, and beyond. Taking over the entirety of Sadler's Wells in Angel, audiences are encouraged to join from 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. As always, there will be live DJ sessions from award winning mix masters, dance workshops, live graffiti, cyphers, freestyle sessions, and soul food to enjoy, as well as the performances in the theatre. Fierce Friday, as well as the weekend's programming, welcomes audiences aged 12 and over, with parental discretion advised for younger attendees.

Breakin' Convention's festival programme displays a full range of hip hop dance styles including breaking, popping, krumping, threading, funk and waacking. Across the weekend, audiences will be able to see performances from some of the world's leading acts, including Mounia Nassangar (France), The Ruggeds (Netherlands), Saïdo Lehlouh (France), Birdgang (UK), Simeon ‘Kardinal' Campbell (UK), Chandenie Gobardhan (Netherlands), Keron Proverbs (UK), Lauren Scott (UK), Max Revell (UK), with more exciting names to be announced. 

In 2025, as well as the first iteration of Fierce Friday, Breakin' Convention will also host a family-friendly weekend event at the brand new theatre Sadler's Wells East in Stratford. The free event Breakin' Convention Family Jam will throw open the doors to future breakers and poppers on Friday 25 – Saturday 26 April, and will include performances in the community dance space in the foyer aka The Dance Floor, food, community showcases, workshops, sample sessions, and DJs. Also new to Sadler's Wells East in 2025 is Academy Breakin' Convention, the new full-time further education programme for 16 to 19-year-olds which offers training in all aspects of hip hop – the first of its kind. Find out more information here Home - Academy Breakin' Convention (academybreakinconvention.com).

This year's Breakin' Convention Festival at Sadler's Wells Theatre is aimed at audiences aged 12+. For more information about the history of hip hop, and a guide to Breakin' Convention, visit Our Hip Hop Guide — Breakin' Convention.

Breakin' Convention 2025 – Fierce Friday

On Fierce Friday, joining Breakin' Convention for one night only is international waacking icon and model Mounia Nassangar, with her latest incredible work S.T.U.C.K. Featuring a cast of female dancers, Nassangar seeks to find an answer to mental and physical blockages, turning constraint into freedom using waacking – a dance of urgency and expression, born of oppression.

Alongside Nassangar on Fierce Friday, and then appearing across the weekend, The Ruggeds, currently one of the most successful b-boy crews in the world, return to BC by popular demand to celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a brand new show, featuring live music and Olympic-standard breaking.

Breakin' Convention 2025 – Saturday & Sunday

Alongside The Ruggeds, performing on the Saturday and Sunday of Breakin' Convention is French choreographer Saïdo Lehlouh. Lehlouh is known for his work throughout the 2000s with the breaking group Bad Trip Crew, and now brings a bold, defiant piece to Breakin' Convention. Danced as a collection of solos by a group of breakers who never leave the space, but also never dance in unison, the piece highlights individuality and solitude, and the importance of community.

Movement architects and leaders in UK hip hop Birdgang also join the line up at this year's Breakin' Convention. A dance company as well as an education hub, Birdgang was created in 2005 with a mission to rewrite stereotypes and the status quo. Birdgang was co-founded by Ivan Michael Blackstock, Ukweli Roach, and Simeon Qsyea.

An alumni of Birdgang, Simeon ‘Kardinal' Campbell brings his work SADBOI to Breakin' Convention. Sim is a CODA (child of deaf adults) and SADBOI features embedded BSL, to welcome and speak directly to D/deaf audiences, celebrating the movement at the heart of D/deaf expression. Sim is a longstanding member of BirdGang, and SADBOI was developed through the company's unique HATCHWORK residency scheme in 2022 and 2024. SADBOI will be performed during the hour interval in the Lilian Baylis Studio.

Returning to Breakin' Convention is Chandenie Gobardhan. Born and raised in The Hague, The Netherlands, Chandenie began training in Indian dance at a young age and has performed works by artists such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Blenard Azizaj and Ryan Djojokarso. In a dance style that spans Bharatnatyam, buhto and popping, Gobardhan has an innovative approach to movement which uses traditions from the East and from the West.

Also returning is the UK's Keron Proverbs. Keron started his journey as a dancer in 2008, in a south London youth club in Clapham Junction. Known as a creator of dance collectives including Emotionz, Collective Ent and weGrowTogether, Keron has also worked with the likes of Stormzy, Kanye West, FKA Twigs, Misha B, and Chaka Khan.

Jonzi D is a Sadler's Wells Associate Artist

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