London Battle will take over Somerset House’s iconic outdoor courtyard for a day packed with showcases, workshops, cyphers, live DJs and a big outdoor party.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop culture and with Breaking set to be the highlight of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dance Umbrella and Somerset House are bringing together some of the most exciting talent from the four corners of London to go head-to head across a diverse range of styles.
Curated by choreographer Jade Hackett, who has performed with some of the UK’s leading hip hop dance theatre companies including Boy Blue and ZooNation, you will help the judges to decide which part of our global city brings the best dance flavour – north, south, east or west.
Watch London Battle
The Final: South vs East
Team Introductions
Audience Participation
Round Robin: Teams +
North vs South
East vs West
South vs West
East vs North
East vs South
West vs North
Round Robin: Captains +
Marvel (South) vs J-Funk (East)
Marvel (South) vs Reckless Lee (West)
J-Funk (East) vs Reckless Lee (West)
Showcases +
Gully South Block (GSB)
The Queens
Lauren Scott
Boy Blue Entertainment
Schedule
Location: Somerset House’s Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court
1 – 3.30pm: Workshops
All abilities welcome!
Turbo (aka Issac Baptise) – House style
Tiago Santos – Waacking
Olu Alatise – Afrobeats
Kloe Dean – Hip Hop
3.30 – 4.30pm: Showcases
A series of performances from some of London’s most exciting dance talent.
Gully South Block (GSB)
The Queens
Lauren Scott
Boy Blue
4.30 – 5.30pm: Battle
Four teams hailing from the four corners of London meet in the middle to slog it out for the London crown. Who will be the best? You help decide!
NORTH
Dat Boi Troy (aka Troy Banton) – Captain
Rory Clarke
b-girl Stefani (aka Anna Ponomarenko)
SOUTH
Marvel (aka Nicholas Marvel) – Captain
b-girl Roxy (aka Roxanne Milliner)
Chaldon Williams
EAST
Jordan ‘JFunk’ Franklin – Captain
Evion Hackett
Toby “Shush” Jackman
WEST
Reckless-Lee (aka Lee Crowley) – Captain
Elise Antonia
b-boy Infante
5.30 – 6.30pm: Party
Once the winners are crowned there will be a celebration of Hip Hop bringing all the elements of the day together in one big party.
DJs featured across the day include: Midnight Train Collective and Josh Constanzo. Our MC for the day is Ashley J.
Timings are subject to change.
Evion Hackett, Angelica Brewster and Jade Hackett; credit Camilla Greenwell
About Jade Hackett +
Credit Camilla Greenwell
Jade Hackett is an experienced choreographer, dancer and actor whose dance theatre productions have included: The Pied Piper, Boy Blue Entertainment, Theatre Royal Stratford East 2006 (playing Da Brat); Blaze, the international tour, Berlin and Dubai tour; Into the Hoodz, ZooNation Dance Company, London and UK tour in 2016 (playing Zapunzel); The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, ZooNation Dance Company, Roundhouse 2016-2017 (playing Queen of Hearts and Cheshire Cat); Some Like it Hip Hop, ZooNation Dance Company, The Peacock Theatre 2019 (playing Kerry).
Her theatre work has included: Hex, National Theatre; associate choreographer for Get Up Stand Up: The Bob Marley West End Musical; Sylvia: The Old Vic; Nine Night, written by Natasha Gordon, Trafalgar Studios, 2019 (playing Aunty Maggie and Lorraine); Black Boys at Apollo Theatre.
Jade has also appeared in several commercial projects including: StreetDance 3D: The Movie, opposing crew; 2010 Adidas advertising campaigns; ASOS collaboration clothing line; London Olympics and Baku European Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies in 2012 and 2015.
About the battlers +
North
Leading the team from the north is Troy Banton aka Dat Boi Troy from the Indahouse family. A house dance specialist, Troy also trained in classical ballet with the Russian ballet school, and in African Caribbean dance forms with Irie Dance Company. He’ll be joined by 19 year-old Rory Clarke, an exciting newcomer who regularly performs with ZooNation and Far From the Norm alongside the talented Anna Ponomarenko aka b-girl Stefani who this year took the silver medal at the European Breaking Championships.
South
The team from the south will be led by Nicholas Marvel (aka Marvel) who is a representative of Monsterz Crew UK. He is known for his signature animatronic popping style and inventive isolations. He’ll be accompanied by Team GB member and Red Bull BC One champion Roxanne Milliner (b-girl Roxy), as well as Chaldon Williams (aka Sev Raven), a choreographer, artist mentor and creator of the Tribe Wayz collective.
East
Representing east London is Jordan ‘JFunk’ Franklin, who has been performing as a member of one of the UK’s most celebrated hip hop dance theatre companies, Boy Blue, for over 10 years. He’ll be joined by dynamic dance artist and international champion Evion Hackett and creative performer Toby “Shush” Jackman.
West
Battling for the title from west London is breaking expert Lee Crowley, also known as Reckless-Lee, who is a member of the award-winning BirdGang Dance Company. He’ll be joined by fellow BirdGang crew member and multi-skilled performer, dancer and teacher Elise Antonia, and Benjamin Banishahi aka Shahi.
Credits +
A Dance Umbrella and Somerset House co-production.
Venue & Access +
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