Sat 7/31 @ noon
Dancer/choreographer Samuel McIntosh is advocate for street-style dancing in Cleveland. In his decade as a dancer, he’s widened his stylistic repertoire and competed in events in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Montreal. He’s performed at the Cleveland Dance Festival, Karamu and Severance Hall. He also has a degree in arts administration from Baldwin Wallace University, which gives him the skills to grow his art form’s reach in northeast Ohio.
One of the ways he’s doing that is with his 10K Movement project whose mission is “to preserve, present and cultivate authentic Hip Hop and Street Dance culture in the Greater Cleveland area and the world.” (The name refers to McIntosh’s belief that it takes 10,000 hours to hone one’s chosen skill). And one of the ways the 10K Movement is doing THAT is with its upcoming Lords of the Land Street Dance Festival, which will take over Public Square on Saturday July 31.
There’ll be live music and dance, food trucks and local vendors, and the Lord of the Land Championship Finals, whose preliminaries took place the previous day. (The preliminaries and workshops, taking place at Buck Out Cleveland at 1242 E. 49th Street, 5-3N, 3rd floor, are open to the public to watch for $15 admission). On Public Square, you’ll get to see all the various types of street dance demonstrated by people who have mastered them. All four elements of hip hop culture will be on display: MCing, DJing, dancing and graffiti art. And the Saturday event is entirely free.
The official start time of the performances is 1pm; the first dance performance is at 2:30. The winners will be announced at 6:15, followed by more music and dancing until 8pm. For a schedule with detailed information about what is taking place when go to 10kmovement.org/lotl.