Foundation 2004 Type of play(s) hip-hop theatre | Date(s) every year in May | |
 | ||
Location(s) Sadler's Wells Theatre,
London, UK | ||
Breakin’ Convention is an international hip-hop theatre festival based in London, England that was founded in 2004 and is produced annually by Sadler's Wells Theatre. It has been under the artistic direction of playwright and dancer Jonzi D since its inception. Since May 2008 Breakin’ Convention has expanded its activity beyond the three-day festival to include tours across the UK, developing new theatre work with local hip-hop artists, and to produce year-round professional development courses for UK-based hip-hop choreographers, artists, and dance/theatre companies.
Festival origin
Early in 2003 Jonzi D and recently appointed chief executive of Sadler's Wells, Alistair Spalding, proposed the idea of a hip hop festival that took over the entire venue celebrating hip hop culture with an emphasis on dance. Appointing Jonzi D as an associate at the theatre and founding Still Brock Productions (later: Jonzi D Productions) to focus on education and professional development of hip hop dance in the UK, the festival brought over early pioneers of the culture including The Electric Boogaloos, Tommy The Clown and Vagabond Crew, and introducing future award-winning companies such as ZooNation and Boy Blue Entertainment.
Breakin' Convention is supported by Arts Council England.