Casa Captivating
Exclusive Interviews
Hip hop dance company Culture Shock Los Angeles, arrives at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens on April 26 for a special, site-specific performance of “Which-A-Way,” an original narrative dance piece. Casa Romantica (CR) interviewed Culture Shock LA’s (CS) Executive Director Allison Tanaka and Artistic Director Sonia Park to tap the pulse of hip hop dance today and how their company’s narrative works have dispelled myths about the genre.
CR: Tell us about Culture Shock and how it grew to have a home in Los Angeles.
CS: Culture Shock was founded by Angie Bunch in 1993, with a dance company based in San Diego. As dancers from the original company began to move to different parts of the country and world, they created branches in their new respective cities, which led to Culture Shock Los Angeles’ launch in 1994.
CR: How did the name “Culture Shock” come about?
CS: At one of the early practice sessions, the dancers looked around and someone commented, “What a culture shock,” seeing such a diverse representation of ages, ethnicity, and backgrounds in the room. The name stuck and is a recognition of how the organization appreciates and celebrates the ways in which dance is a unifying force that brings people together.
CR: What are the most common assumptions and/or potential misconceptions you’ve heard from people about hip hop dance or urban dance performance?
CS: Throughout the company’s history, we’ve worked to dispel stereotypes associated with the Hip Hop genre. We most often hear critics assume that our work will lack substance or artistic value. It’s been rewarding to have folks tell us that we’ve opened their minds, broadened their perspectives, or that they “get it” after watching our performances or seeing our programs in action.
CR: How do you use dance to tell stories?
CS: Dance styles are steeped in culture and history. Hip hop is a mixture of several styles, each of which evolved as a form of self-expression or representation, and those representations help us tell stories. “Breaking” and “whacking,” for instance, are two hip hop dance styles that have their roots in eras of rebellion and counterculture celebrations of life. When we use those styles in pieces, we also evoke those feelings.
CR: Why is having a narrative important to you?
CS: Dance and music speak to us emotionally, and without emotional investment, there is no story.
CR: What is one of the most exciting moments in “Which-A-Way?” What can we expect?
CS: One of the most exciting moments in “Which-a-Way” is when the main character confronts their inner fear at the climax of the story. The conflict takes place in a crew vs crew battle, a common structure of competition found in street style dance battles. In a battle, crews exchange sets of freestyle or choreography and a winner is chosen by judges or the crowd. In our performance, we capture the creativity, humor, and hype of a crew battle and present it here at Casa Romantica.
CR: Why are you excited to perform at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens?
CS: Hip Hop and urban dance forms reflect unique cultures and histories; similarly, Casa Romantica is a beautiful venue with its own important historical context. The setting will be unlike any in which we’ve previously performed and we are excited to be a part of an evening that juxtaposes the contemporary styles of Hip Hop with the classical beauty of Casa Romantica’s grounds.
Culture Shock Los Angeles performs at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens on Friday, April 26, 2019 at 7 PM. Tickets are $30 ($25 Casa members).
Culture Shock Los Angeles is part of the Casa Kinetic series.
