For Immediate Release
27 January 2015
Contact: Jodi Joseph
Director of Communications
413.664.4481 x8113
jjoseph@massmoca.org
Storyboard P and the Warriorz
“The Basquiat of Street Dance”
NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS — Storyboard P, “a man whose dancing seems to belong less to the limitations of the human body and more to the magic of special effects,” (The Guardian, UK) brings his crew of smooth-moving Brooklyn street dancers to North Adams for an unforgettable night of raw and visceral performance. Storyboard P and the Warriorz perform in our intimate club at MASS MoCA on Saturday, February 28, at 8pm.
Kinetic, fluid, and utterly mesmerizing, Storyboard P elevates street dancing to a form of high art with his explosive energy, smooth yet spasmodic style, and perpetually in-the-moment stage presence. Storyboard, only 23, is the world’s reigning star of flex, a narrative style of street dance characterized by gravity-defying footwork and intricate body contortion reminiscent of stop-motion animation. The New Yorker raves, “although Storyboard can twist, curve, and crumple his body with a calligrapher’s control, he likes to disrupt fluid motion with tremors and twitches, so that he appears to flicker, like a figure in a zoetrope.”
The “Storyboard” of his stage name references flex’s unique ability to tell stories through movement that mimics the frames of a film, and “P” references his previous performance moniker, “Professoar,” an alias alluding to the white lab coat he performed in at the time, as well as his ability to seemingly fly above the floor as he dances. He typically improvises his performances, preferring to be inspired by the music in the moment. Combined with his flamboyant, eccentric taste in clothing, his shows are always spontaneous. For his MASS MoCA show, he brings his dance crew, the Warriorz.
Born Saalim Muslim in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights, Storyboard P grew up dancing. He briefly received formal ballet training as a child at the Harlem School of the Arts, but cites the people he observed on the streets of New York City as his main source of inspiration. He began competing in dance battles at age 13, and won the title of “King of the Streets” at the first BattleFest flex tournament in 2007. Storyboard P was a notable participant in Jay-Z’s video for Picasso Baby, a performance art piece inspired by Marina Abramović. He performs regularly all over New York City, especially in Brooklyn, and online videos of his dancing have been viewed over ten million times.
Storyboard P and the Warriorz perform in MASS MoCA’s Club B-10 on Saturday, February 28, at 8pm. Dinner and snacks are available from Lickety Split before and during the show. A full bar serves Berkshire Brewing Company beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Tickets are $5 for members, $8 for students, $12 in advance, $18 day of, and $24 preferred. Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open 11am – 5pm Wednesdays through Mondays; closed Tuesdays through Spring 2015. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased on-line at massmoca.org. All events are held rain or shine.
Sponsorship
This performance is sponsored by the Porches Inn at MASS MoCA.
Images
High-resolution images of MASS MoCA’s Spring 2015 events are available through this link: http://bit.ly/1ByVwVx.
About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.
MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is open seasonally beginning spring 2015. Gallery admission is $18 for adults, $16 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.