This past Saturday, a handful of BiCo students gathered in the Swan Multipurpose Room for the second dance workshop conducted by Brian “Bizzy” Linder, a renowned hip-hop choreographer and professional dancer who has worked with artists such as Will.I.Am, Flo-Rida, and Alicia Keys. The workshop was organized by Bounce, the Bi-Co Hip-Hop Dance Group, though the event was open to students of all dancing abilities.
“Bizzy and I first met at a dance workshop he taught in New Jersey my freshman year of college,” said Jin Yoon HC ‘16, a member of Bounce. “On the bus ride back, we talked a lot, exchanged numbers, and he said that whenever I wanted him to teach a class to contact him.”
Bizzy had also led a workshop on October 2nd during which students learned a dance to “Versace” by Drake. Before starting to dance on Saturday, Bizzy led students through a brief stretching and ab workout session to the bass-heavy beats of The Finnaticz’s “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun!” Students spent the remainder of the workshop learning the first 30 seconds to a dance Bizzy had previously choreographed to Will.I.Am’s recent chart-topper “It’s My Birthday.”
After watching students attempt one especially difficult sequence of footwork, Bizzy paused the music.
“You all are thinking too much, anyone remember the analogy I made here last time?” he asked, a few students chuckling in response. “Choreography is like chicken: you need to season it with your own personality and style. I want to see more seasoning!”
For this workshop, Bizzy also brought along three guests with whom he recently collaborated on the short fashion film Art Revolution, set to premiere in Philadelphia on November 22.
N¥ce and Hømm, co-founders of the Philadelphia-based Art and Fashion brand Jeantrix, talked about their love for the arts and the story behind their company’s launch in 2004.
“We were both really into painting jeans, and so that’s where we got the idea for our name—jeans doing tricks,” explained N¥ce, whose denim jackets were recently featured in the music video for Jessie J’s pop anthem “Bang Bang.”
Director of Art Revolution William Thomas, who goes by “Classic Reinvention,” spoke of the timely premiere of this film in the face of recent budget cuts to many arts programs in Philadelphia schools.
“Youth are acting out violently because they don’t have anything else to do,” said Classic, who recently got mugged at gunpoint by a young man while taking public transportation in Philadelphia. “A few years from now, things are going to get a lot better. If we come together, we can pass our knowledge on and better educate the children.”
Art Revolution is set in an alternate modern world where all forms of art are banned, and many outraged artists come together to take a stand.
“It’s all about letting people know that the passion for the arts is still alive,” Classic said at the end of his introduction, gesturing to the students. “I want to bring the love to you guys.”
In addition to promoting Art Revolution, the guests spoke of the rewards of hard work mixed with passion.
“My film school was Netflix and Google,” said Classic, who is organizing a campaign of short films for local schools. “Every day after work I would go home, watch three films and try to mimic what I saw.”
Bizzy is currently planning the development of his own production company, called Bizzy Visions Entertainment, (B.V.E.). But last Saturday, the endlessly positive and charismatic dancer was all at Haverford.
“‘Can’ was a word before ‘can’t’ was,” Bizzy noted at another pause in the music. “ ‘N’t’ is the add-on of pessimism!”
“Bizzy’s enthusiasm was contagious and made both classes extremely fun,” added Lauren Correia,” HC ‘17. “It was great to have hip-hop brought to Haverford.”
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