H2K International Urban Dance Festival Returns to Rio

By Beatriz Miranda – Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Through Sunday (June 18th), Rio de Janeiro hosts the international festival of urban dances Rio H2K, the biggest of the category in Latin America. Taking place at Cidade das Artes, in Barra da Tijuca, the event gathers dance companies and choreographers from countries like United States, Germany, South Korea and Angola.

Approximately ten workshops will take place at Cidade das Artes every day, from 10AM to 8PM, it is possible to learn vogue, stilletto, contemporary dance, dance hall, among many other genres.

Renowned dancers from the hip hop scene, who have worked with artists like Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna, will be present in the event.

Two of the big attractions at the event are the American dancer Lil Buck, who have performed with Madonna, and the French company Zahrbat, that mixes contemporary dance, hip hop and electronic music.

In this edition, Brazilian traditional rhythms’ dancers will participate for the first time. Today, Thursday June 15th, Rodrigo Marques ministers a samba workshop at 4PM, in “Palco Solar; in the same venue, at 5:45 PM, Pamela Carvalho will teach jongo dance. Afro Latin rhythms like zouk, and other Afro Brazilian dances, like coco de roda, can also be found in the workshops.

“We want to break barriers. Street dance can dialogue with ballet, with tap dance. Then, we point to new directions and break the prejudices,” says Miguel Colker, son of Brazilian renowned choreographer Deborah Colker and founder of Rio H2K.

Besides the workshops, a party will take place at Cidade das Artes on Saturday (June 17th), at 10PM. The festival also includes debates with dancers Dashuan Wesley, Bboy Junior and Andre Bidu, and activities for children, like graffiti, rhyme games and break dance classes, at Centro de Movimento Deborah Colker, in Glória.

What: Rio H2K 2017
When: June 13th – June 18th – see venue to check time details
Where: Cidade das Artes (main venue) – Av. das Américas, 5300 – Barra da Tijuca – Tel: (21) 2587-2402
Entrance: R$250 – R$300 (includes the workshops, panels, shows and, for the second price option, the camping)

More: Angola news in English, every day from The Rio Times.