East London Dance Presents 10th Anniversary of COLLABO Tonight

2016 marks the tenth anniversary of Collabo, as East London Dance once again hands over programming duties for this thrilling hip hop showcase to maverick choreographer and Avant Garde Dance Artistic Director, Tony Adigun.

Tonight 10, tomorrow 11 and Saturday 12 November, Collabo will once again take over Stratford Circus Arts Centre as Adigun brings together some of the UK's leading hip hop artists to create unique dance collaborations, in an explosive programme of original performances. (National press performance: Friday 11 November)

Collabo was founded in 2006 by Hackney-born Adigun out of a desire to shake up the dance world by promoting new and unexpected partnerships between hip hop artists and crews. Over the past decade, it has played a key role in expanding the repertoire and spearheading a movement towards greater collaboration within hip hop.

This unique weekend of dance will see choreographers and performers push their skills to the limit, as new pairings of some of the UK's brightest hip hop talents take to the stage with their innovative dance hybrids.

To celebrate this milestone year, Adigun will invite back some of the most popular performers from the decade-long history of Collabo, including Sky's Got to Dance 2013 winner, Lukas McFarlane, Program 68 and krump collective Rugged Estate. On Thursday evening, the programme will feature a special selection of past Collabo highlights from Avant Garde Dance, all handpicked by Adigun to celebrate the company's 15th anniversary.

This year's collaboration (collabo) highlights include: East London hip hop dance collective Slum Civilians and BBC's The Voice choreographer Emer Walsh who return with their classic 2013 collabo Blue Jeans. Just Us Dance Theatre (previously commissioned by Richard Alston Dance Company amongst others) will perform a brand new collabo with New Movementz (producers of the UK's biggest under 18s Dance Battle). Up-and-coming choreographers Tyrone Isaac-Stuart (Blue Boy Entertainment) and Saskia Horton (ZooNation Dance Company) will also team up.

As in previous years, Adigun will challenge a clutch of artists to create their own unique dance interpretation to a hand-picked music track. As this celebratory programme is both retrospective and forward-looking, 2016's interpretation track is a flashback to a classic Collabo 2011 remix from producer and DJ Mikey J.

Championship-winning Unity UK (ITV's Britain's Got Talent, Sky's Got to Dance) will return to present their jaw-dropping 2011 interpretation.

For the first time in Collabo's history, Adigun and East London Dance are inviting dance fans everywhere to join the challenge online by creating and uploading their own dance interpretation to the music track, with the winner to perform live at Collabo.

Tony Adigun, founder of Collabo: "Many incredible artists have been part of Collabo over the past decade. We've originated never-before-seen collaborations, and hope we've excited and inspired audiences along the way. I am thrilled to announce this three-night celebration of the past, present and future of dance here in East London".

Polly Risbridger, Director of East London Dance: "Reflecting on East London Dance's ten year 'Collabo' with Tony Adigun has highlighted to me how influential his vision for this event has been in shaping the evolution of hip hop dance culture. The collaboration, experimentation and exchange of ideas and skills inherent in Collabo have helped develop a new, more theatrical approach to the artform which sits proudly alongside the battling form."

Collabo line-up

Avant Garde Dance

Emer Walsh & Slum Civilians

Just Us Dance & New Movementz

Lukas McFarlane

Program 68

Rugged Estate

Saskia Horton & Tyrone Isaac-Stuart

Unity UK

The programme for each night will vary. More acts and full programme line-up for the three nights to be confirmed. Visit eastlondondance.org/events/collabo-2016 for the latest updates.

Listings:

Collabo

Venue: Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Theatre Square, E15 1BX
Performances: 10, 11 & 12 November at 7:30pm
National press night: Friday 11 November at 7:30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 concessions

Box office: 020 8279 1080 / stratford-circus.com or in-person at Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Theatre Square, E15 1BX