Funkedified at Ford Amphitheatre

Pushing the boundaries of street dance vocabulary, Funkedified challenges stereotypes and invites the audience to view hip-hop through a new lens. This multimedia work celebrates the funk music and street dance of the 1970s and is set against the landscape of a video montage of African American communities of that era. Inspired by the political turmoil and atmosphere of Rennie Harris' childhood, Funkedified is performed by dancers from Rennie Harris Puremovement; The Hood Lockers, one of the most seminal locking groups since Don Campbell and The Campbell Lock Dancers; and dancers from LA's own Versa-Style Dance Company. A live funk band pays homage to the music of such funk legends such as James Brown, George Clinton and Roger Troutman. Bringing social dance to the concert stage at Hollywood's Ford Theatres, Rennie Harris and his company Rennie Harris Puremovement are world-renowned for creating a cohesive dance style that finds a cogent voice in the theatre. Considered one of the pioneers of street dance theatre, alongside Princess Grace Kelly and Dr. Julius Erving, Harris was voted one of the most influential people in the last one hundred years of Philadelphia history. An award-winning choreographer, Rennie Harris toured the Middle East as one of four Ambassadors for the United States for President Barak Obama's cultural exchange program Dance Motion USA.