Chosen Dance Company

Chosen Dance Company
Chosen Dance Company Logo created by Zerflin Chosen Dance Company Logo created by Zerflin
Background information
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	2001–Present
Website	ChosenDance.com
Members
Jon Bulack (Poppin' Jon) Dave Dorsaima Mark Boston (SmartMark) Justin Valentin Elaina Valentine (Chillie) Amanda Washington Virgil Gadson (lil o) Shanika Williams Wookie Lee
Past members
Husain Zahir Marcus Tucker Amra Ricketts (Flitz) Tim Zimnoch Andreas Johnson (Dre) Zoia Cisneros Lois Green Tiffany Staley

Chosen Dance Company is a Hip hop dance company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

Chosen Dance Company was founded in 2001, and has promoted its mission through concert works and in presentations at schools, beginning with the Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia.

Mission Statement

To create and present dance works using Hip-Hop as the foundation of movement, without the use of explicit content, providing entertainment from this exciting dance genre that is suitable for all audiences.

2006

In 2006, The Prince Music Theater presented the company's first theater-length performance piece, From tha Hip. It was inspired by the immigrant life of Founder/Artistic Director, Clyde Evans Jr. and the influence that Hip hop had on his integration into American society by giving him a way to belong. It used the vocabulary of hip-hop movement to tell the story in an artistic and engaging way, and used the original live music and performing abilities of the rap/rock group Subliminal Orphans to provide a uniquely exciting performance.

2007

In March 2007, the company's website was updated and relaunched by Zerflin as a portal not only for their members, but also as a place to show off their work though videos and photography.

In May and June 2007, Look Ma'…No Feet premiered at The Wilma Theater for the prestigious DanceBOOM Festival called Men Dancing, which gave a new approach to the use of Hip-Hop to tell a story.

2008

In 2008, the company announced the debut of its repertory work Hip-Hop with a Conscience. This collection of works combines the many familiar facets of Hip-Hop into an evening of enlightenment, from the poetry to the traditional movement of Popping, Locking, Breakin', Hip Hop, and House that are utilized throughout the show to challenge the viewer's thinking about the hip-hop culture of today.^{[citation needed]}

The company's commercial work includes an NFL Super Bowl XL spot.

In June 2008, Chosen Dance Company members (Jon, lil o', and SmartMark), accompanied Repstyles Crew members (Rukkus, and Blao) and Riot from Face Da Phlave, have come together to represent Philadelphia on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew (Season 2)” as Phresh Select. Each of the members of Phresh Select have taught in Philadelphia schools, and are dedicated using hip-hop as a medium to communicate tolerance and respect.

References

1. Chosen Dance Company Site. http://www.chosendance.com/about.asp. 23 June 2008.
2. First hand interview with Artistic Director and Founder Clyde Evans
3. Chosen Dance Company Myspace Page. http://www.myspace.com/chosendance. 23 June 2008.