Jack of All Trades battle brings the livestreamed energy of streetdance to the DanceHouse digital stage

Powered by Danse Danse, the show gives the wider public a rare look into an underground event on November 15

SPONSORED POST BY DANCEHOUSE

Photo by Do Phan Hoi

The art of the battle is one honed on streets all over the world, but it’s brand new for DanceHouse.

On November 15 at 4 pm, the Vancouver company streams a supercharged streetdance competition put on by Jack of All Trades, live from Montreal and powered by Danse Danse.

Viewed by small audiences, usually gathered in a circle around the performers, battles create an adrenalized atmosphere of exchange and confrontation. Hosted by an MC, powered by a DJ, and adjudicated by a jury, the series of competitions feature solo dance, improvised according to strict guidelines.

The excitement, intimacy, and genre-pushing qualities of this form make the battle work exceptionally well digitally.

Jack of All Trades is a Montreal-based international streetdance platform run by streetdance icon Handy “MonstaPop” Yacinthe.

The JOAT show is a rare opportunity for the general public to watch an authentic battle, a format usually limited to underground, insider events. It’s also a chance for wider dance audiences to see the power and creativity of popping and other styles. In its strictest sense, the popping style is characterized by sudden tensing and releasing of the muscles to the rhythm of musical beats, mainly funk and g-funk.

In the high-level battle on November 15, eight dancers from across Canada will compete while an international jury watches the action virtually.

The show fits well into DanceHouse’s wider mandate to connect Vancouver audiences and the local arts community to the wider world of dance. Founded in 2008, the company is devoted to pushing the boundaries of what contemporary dance is. The JOAT battle is just one in an array of programming that challenge preconceptions that dance is somehow elitist or inaccessible.

For this season, DanceHouse has pivoted to a new digital series that reaches out to broader audiences, including an upcoming livestreaming of Nederlands Dans Theater’s new work, Dare to Say, from November 6 to 8.

Find tickets and more information on the JOAT Battle here, and watch the trailer below to get a sense of the energy.