Dance2HelpHaiti Fundraiser demonstrates hip hop's sense of community

I said it before in my report and I'll say it again - Dance2HelpHaiti was an event that should be remembered for being turned around the in the shortest time - and it showed the community that hip hop holds.

Off their own backs (with the support of Sadler's Wells), Zoonation and Impact Dance set up a fundraising day for the victims of Haiti earthquake, and hundreds of people turned up.
So many turned up, in fact, that the total amount raised stands at £2,458 (if you include those who donated online).

What's more, the choreographers involved, namely Kate Prince, Simeon Qsyea and Kenrick Sandy, took time out of choreographing for next week's So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) to be there at such short notice.

Choreographers, when commissioned for big jobs such as SYTYCD, won't usually have a lot of time on their hands, considering the time they need to travel, teach and rehearse. Yet after a few phone calls appointments had been moved around and all were able to make the time to do the fundraiser.

It made me think back to the Mr Wiggles Pioneers lectures where Wiggles and Billy Bizzness talked about this sense of 'community' in hip hop - well last Sunday was just that! Which is why I decided to ask: did Dance2HelpHaiti show the unity of hip hop dance today?

"The fact that we had hundreds of people pass through today shows what it's all about," said Hakeem to us afterwards. "It shows you can fall back on the community. There is a community, they (you) can tap into it, it shows that people do care about other people."

Check out Kate Prince and Hakeem talking about the unity of hip hop (from 2min, 54sec):


Further credit must be given to the dancer from Unity (and that's not a pun on the topic of this blog) who even reached out to our writer, Archie, who was watching as I took a class, and asked her how she was. It's stuff like that that brightens a person's day and shows how accepting people in hip hop are.

After leaving were were discussing this and she said to me "Even stuff like today brings people together and shows community - asking a complete stranger how they are."

I said "That's not just being polite. That's hip hop."

If your hip hop or street dance teacher isn't teaching you about the hip hop community or its history, find a new class.

Read the Dance2HelpHaiti report here.

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