On Feb. 2, a historic convergence of street dance practitioners took over KQED’s event space, The Commons, for a night of boogaloo, robotting, strutting, turfing and more.
The night featured original pioneers of Bay Area street dance, who defined urban youth culture before hip-hop had a name, as well as the next generation adding their own stylistic innovations.
Hosted by Rightnowish’s Pendarvis Harshaw with additional MCing by Eric K. Arnold, the night included performances by Traci Bartlow, Lonnie “PopTart” Green, Davin Ray “Davvybo” Packnett, Ronski and Show Banga, Iron Lotus, and Davey D on the ones and twos — as well as audience participation galore, including a “Jay Payton Line” at the end.
Watch it all unfold above (the action starts at 18:45) as part of our year-long exploration of Bay Area hip-hop, That’s My Word, and keep your eye out for future KQED Live events. — Gabe Meline
