When Jon Boogz was street dancing on Venice Beach, he never dreamed that one day he would choreograph for dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Nor could Charles “Lil Buck” Riley have predicted that a performance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma would go viral and expose the world to what happens when street dance meets classical music.
This melding of unexpected art forms has taken these two young dancers on an unexpected journey from performing on the streets of Southern California to the world stage. One of their highly-regarded collaborations “Color of Reality” uses fine art and dance to tackle the issue of unarmed African-Americans dying at the hands of police. Through their organization Movement Art Is (MAI), the two address issues that divide and destroy with the goal of healing age-old wounds through movement. Their latest production “Love Heals All Wounds” infuses popping and jookin with spoken word, original music, and imagery to shed light on police brutality and mass incarceration. Jon Boogz and Lil Buck join host Frank Stasio to talk about their early days as struggling dancers and how they have elevated an artform given to them by the streets. NC State LIVE presents “Love Heals All Wounds” Raleigh on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. on the campus of North Carolina State University in the Talley Student Union.
Color of Reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq1tm5TqYsg
The Making of Color of Reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFLELM8k1TE
