WORKSHOPS

The Versa-Style Workshop
The Versa-Style Workshop offers an immersive introduction to a range of street dance styles that inspire the company’s professional performance repertoire. Styles explored may include Popping, Locking, Hip Hop, House, and other foundational street dance forms. Depending on the session, workshops may focus on a single style or explore multiple styles within one class. Participants will engage with core movement principles such as groove, rhythm, musicality, and foundational vocabulary, while learning how these elements translate into both freestyle and choreography. Cultural and historical context is woven throughout the workshop to deepen understanding of the styles and their origins, while offering insight into the movement language seen in Versa-Style’s stage work. Designed to be accessible, informative, and physically engaging, the workshop welcomes dancers of varying experience levels. One style explored per class/Q&A may be included upon request.
Running time: 60-90 minutes per style.

LECTURE/DEMONSTRATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Versa-Style offers lecture/demonstration and professional development sessions for students, professional movement artists, and educators alike. Each session will be catered to the attendee demographic as needed. These sessions integrate both movement and discussion to explore the intersectionality between the arts, culture, and education using the lens of street dance. These sections can also create space to engage in discussions on how the arts and street dance culture can impact our communities and influence the sociopolitical climate of our modern world.
Running time: 60-90 minutes.

STREET DANCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Street dance is a unique, inclusive dance culture that is seldom seen in other spaces outside of our own. Versa-Style Street Dance Company collaborates with presenters and leaders of local street dance communities and studios to host workshops, open dance sessions, and facilitate community dialogue with the hopes of bridging the gap between these two groups. These engagement activities encourage patronage from local dancers to the presenting venue as well as open up the door for future collaborations including community showcases, competitions, festivals, and more.

TRIBUTE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

For engagement featuring Tribute: Guardians of Street Dance, Versa-Style Street Dance Company can offer lec-dems, workshops and artist talks specific to West Coast Hip Hop and street dance styles that originated in the Los Angeles area. These activities are available to enhance the experience, themes and street dance forms explored in the performance.

West Coast Street Dance Fundamentals
Students will learn the fundamentals of street dance forms originating in California, including Locking, Popping, Waacking, and Krump. Each workshop will explore the foundation of each respective style, including understanding the rhythm and timing of movements in relation to each style of music, the foundational grooves and vocabulary, and combining these fundamentals to develop a foundation for choreography and/or freestyle. The cultural and historical context for which each style was developed will be discussed to give students a deeper understanding of these street dance forms.
Running time: 60-75 minutes per style (one style explored per class/Q&A may or may not be included upon request).

West Coast Street Dance History Lecture/Demonstration
Versa-Style offers lecture/demonstration sessions for students, professional movement artists, and educators alike. This discussion focuses specifically on the lineage of street dance forms across the West Coast covering topics such as style development, pioneers, cultural practices of specific styles, and the impact these styles made on the dance community at large. Movement can be integrated into the lecture upon request. Lecture/Demonstration sessions can also create space to engage in discussions on how the arts and street dance culture can impact our communities and influence the sociopolitical climate of our modern world.
Running time: 60-90 minutes.

SCHOOLTIME MATINEE

Origins of Hip Hop
Origins of Hip Hop consists of high–energy, unadulterated street dance movement that will explore and push the boundaries of the ORIGINS and ROOTS of street vernacular dances such as Locking, Popping, Hip Hop and Waacking. The schooltime show includes lecture/demonstrations throughout the show that explore the historical context of street dance forms and audience participation sections where students are encouraged to get up out of their seats and dance with the company.
Running time: 60 minutes with Q&A, no intermission.
Grade range: K-12

PRE AND POST PERFORMANCE DISCUSSIONS

Available upon request.

For tailored engagement activities offered by Versa-Style Street Dance Company email: info@ciaartists.com.