Circles – Cypher Culture Panel discussions

Cypher Culture presents a series of community roundtables to address pressing issues affecting our community.

Session 1
Topic: Street Dance in Naarm/Melbourne
Fri Feb 28, 6-8pm
Curator: Dr Jason Ng
Panelists: TBC

Topic 2
Sun 6 Apr, 1-3pm
Curator: TBC
Panelists: TBC

Topic 3
Fri May 16, 6-8pm
Curator: TBC
Panelists: TBC

Topic 4
Fri Jun 6, 6-8pm
Curator: TBC
Panelists: TBC

Context

Street dance is a collective of forms that originate from Black and Latinx communities in the United States and in other countries of the world. These forms include Hip hop, Breaking, Dancehall, Popping, House, Locking, Vogue, Litefeet, Krump and Waacking, with new forms being included as they manifest. Each with their own unique origins, timelines and hubs whether in the clubs or in public space. 

As each form within street dance locates itself within the Australian landscape at different times, we have witnessed its growth in Australia since the late 1970s and early 1980s. It has been a critical space for people of diverse cultural backgrounds to come together and develop modes of artistic expression and socio-cultural exchange. Given that street dance has typically been a place where multiculturalism is realised in grounded everyday ways, it is surprising that many street dance scenes have been met with scrutiny within the arts sector. This has historically been derived from a cultural distance within Australian society and its government to Black musical and creative forms which develop popularity in a dominantly white Anglo-Celtic society, requiring scenes to adapt and advocate for their legitimacy through the very systems that have often overlooked them. 

Today, Australia’s local street dance scenes are entangled in ‘a global movement, interconnected through large street dance events, social media, as well as shared cultural practices and values’. Their collectivism can also be seen as a response in its need for cultural understanding and safety for its people and communities within, and its resonation of ideals and lived experiences which has ties to resistance and liberation for those who are experiencing states of vulnerability, marginalisation or oppression.