Urbanite, a production of Power n Soul, will bring over 250 dancers to Canopy this Saturday.
Urbanite is a showcase of dance troupes from around the world performing in a range of urban styles. “There is no definitive style at Urbanite,” said Douglas Layne, the owner of Power n Soul. “The base of all the styles is what you might think of as street or hip-hop. But you’ll see dance of all kinds: bhangra, bellydancing, tap, Latin, breakdancing, and more.”
Saturday’s show will include eighteen dance troupes, including two local teams from the University of Illinois, several teams from Chicago, and teams from Illinois State, Purdue, University of Michigan, Detroit, and Mexico City.
Although Urbanite has taken place all over the world, its origin is closely connected to Champaign-Urbana. The first Urbanite took place eighteen years ago at Canopy. Since then, Urbanites have been produced in Chicago, Portugal, and China. Power n Soul began taking over the production of Urbanite in 2004, and, since that time, the scope of the event has continued to expand.
Unlike many similar events, Urbanite is not a competition. “With Urbanite,” said Layne, “it’s more about community and exposing different groups to one another. Urbanite separates itself from other dance shows because of the sense of connection at the event. The dancers are there to learn from one another.”
Urbanite fits into Power n Soul’s mission of producing events with style, class, power and soul. “There are layers to what we do,” said Layne. “We like to think that with all of our events, you can enjoy them on the surface, but there’s always something deeper happening. As a company, we like to be current to what’s happening now, but we also want to have substance. We want our events to have a gravitational force and be something that people want to be part of.”
One of Urbanite’s layers is that the event fosters collaboration among dancers, many of whom know each other from past Urbanites and other dance competitions. Ashley Taylor, Layne’s assistant, recalled how past Urbanites have begun with a backstage pre-party for the dancers. “It’s a way to hype each other up,” she said. “The atmosphere they create is just so exciting. It sets the attitude for the entire night.”
Once Urbanite is in full swing, the performers become part of the audience, cheering on other dance teams. And Taylor and Layne recall that on many occasions, dancers from multiple teams choreograph and film group routines between the day’s early morning tech rehearsal and the evening’s show.
“It’s amazing that they stay there when it will be such a long day,” said Layne. “But that shows the connections that many of the dancers have built over time. It really is a family atmosphere, and that makes the day very easy for us.”
Among others, Saturday’s Urbanite features 2XS Mexico.
“They’re very drama-oriented,” said Taylor. “You can expect a theatrical performance with an underlying Latin flair in their choreography.”
Jiggnation will be coming down from Chicago.
“They’re very diverse, colorful, and in your face,” said Layne. “They’re very technically trained dancers.”
Fizaa is a local dance team from the University of Illinois whose style is based in Bollywood and bhangra.
“They’re very well known and compete nationally,” said Layne. “They’re very theatrical and very energetic.”
Urbanite always features a headliner, although this year’s headliner has yet to be announced. “All of our headliners support Urbanite’s community atmosphere,” said Layne. “They all see how connected Urbanite is. We’ve never had a headliner that didn’t step off the stage to take pictures of the other teams. None of them ever want to be sheltered from the other dancers.”
If you’re curious to see what Urbanite is all about, don’t hesitate to get your tickets — Urbanites in the past have completely sold out. Tickets are $13 in advance and $17 at the door. DJs will begin and end the showcase.
For Layne, seeing Urbanite in the intimate space of Canopy is worth it.
“The performances are far more potent in a small town. We’ve produced Urbanite in huge markets, including Chicago. It’s mind blowing in all kinds of spaces. But the fact that you get to see it here in a small community is more potent and more eye opening. People are often shocked that such a big event is happening here in Champaign. I like that someone can walk into a space like Canopy and see that dance like this is happening.”
Urbanite takes place on Saturday, December 5th. Doors open at 9 p.m. The show starts at 10 p.m. Find more details of the event here.