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Live & Direct | Hip Hop Development Week

Live & Direct | Hip Hop Development Week

Monday 10 – Friday 14 March

Image credit: Nevil Jose

Running from Monday 10 – Friday 14 March, Live & Direct, Dance Base’s Hip Hop Dance Development Week, aims to support Hip Hop dance artists to explore, develop and present a new dance theatre work, with hands on support and mentorship from experienced Hip Hop dance artist and current Artistic Director of Dance Base, Tony Mills.

The chosen Artists in Residence for this week are Nevil Jose, Dorine Mwesiga and Lucia Jamous aka Motherfunk Dimestop.

Live & Direct will take place at Dance Base in Edinburgh and will provide a supportive space for artists to take creative risks, test ideas and expand their artistic practice. At the end of the week the artists will take part in a live performance in the Dance Base theatre, hosted by Tony Mills, to showcase the work they have been developing and discuss it with a live audience.

This week is about nurturing and showcasing the incredible talent of Scotland’s Hip Hop dance community, and creating a space for this performance work to be explored, shared, discussed, and celebrated.

Live & Direct has been made possible thanks to Targeted Funds from Creative Scotland.

 

Live & Direct Hip Hop Dance Showcase  | Friday 14 March | 16:00 – 17:00 | £FREE | BOOK HERE

Join our Live & Direct Artists on Friday 14 March for a live performance in the Dance Base theatre where they will each share the work that they have been developing in the studio through the week! Each performance will be followed by a vibrant discussion with the audience to help the artists gain valuable feedback on their work.

Dorine Mwesiga

Image credit Chris Tscerri.
About the work she hopes to explore during the week, Dorine says:
‘I am interested in this residency to push my boundaries, knowledge and comfort zone in order to see where my version of Hip Hop theatre could go and to be part of its development in Scotland. As much as I will embrace the history and foundations of Hip Hop, I will also investigate blending my practices of Punking/ Whacking, traditional African dance styles and Hip Hop to make the vocabulary authentic to me. I am excited to play and challenge my storytelling. As a Punking dancer who uses storytelling, poses and sharp arm movements, I’m interested in how Hip Hop’s storytelling traditions—rooted in rhythm, lyricism, and improvisation—can redefine theatrical conventions.’

Dorine Mwesiga bio

Dorine Mugisha  Mwesiga is a movement artist, retreat leader and creative interested in themes of identity, belonging, and confidence through movement. Of Tanzanian heritage, born in France and living between the UK and Tanzania she speaks four languages. She grew up training in hip-hop and street styles, later embracing Whacking/Punking, a dance style emphasizing storytelling, posing, and sharp arm movements. She is keen on reconnecting with hiphop foundations and Krump for its rich, raw and powerful storytelling.
Dorine is passionate about more representation of diverse bodies and stories on stage. With a background in Law & Sociology, over a decade of project management in the youth charity sector, and certification in Health and Wellbeing Coaching, Dorine brings a rich blend of cultural, wellness, and community insights to her work.

Lucia Jamous aka Motherfunk

About the work she would like to explore this week, she says:
I love the idea of the place we all go to as creatives that is a trance like state where nothing else matters but the moment at hand and everything else outside of that pauses. Some call it the zone… I want to explore more about the positive impact that can have on our lives and mental health, dance is a healer to a lot of people and a way of screaming your feelings without making a sound.
That being said, there’s such a huge spectrum of how creatives process feelings and this place we call the “zone” doesn’t always feel accessible on demand, being an artist comes with a lot of its own struggles from fearing failure to imposter syndrome, it can be hard to let go and express without the thought of being judged or ignored. I’d love to showcase what that’s like through movement inspired by popping from the unmatched feeling of dancing freely to the dark space of an artist behind the art.

Lucia Jamous biography

My name is Lucia, but as a dancer I am better known by my stage name, Motherfunk Dimestop.

I am a Glasgow based dancer and I specialise in Popping. I teach Popping all over Scotland. I practice with my mentors and my students with our local Scottish Popping community, the Dimestop (2013).

I travel nationally and internationally both competing and judging in battles representing the Dimestop and my crew AIM. I also host and organise my own battles for the wider dance community in the UK. Through my work I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with companies like Breakin’ Convention, Nike, SNKRS, Footasylum and Redbull – making content for social media and taking part in paid commercial sponsorships.

I perform pieces I’ve choreographed with my all-woman popping company AIM for both commercial and artistic events. I am passionate about passing on knowledge of this dance and its cultural origin to the current / next generation of dancers in Scotland and I aim to inspire women who feel intimidated or scared to step in to a style like popping. I work with numerous young people teaching them dance, coaching them in competitions, and cultivating their growing movement practices.

Nevil Jose

Nevil says about the work he is planning to explore during the week:
This piece seeks to confront these unspoken battles—pain, love, struggle, and confusion—while shedding light on the emotional weight carried by men in culturally restrictive environments. Through movement and storytelling, it challenges societal norms, questions outdated beliefs, and advocates for vulnerability as a form of strength. By creating a space for reflection and connection, this work aims to inspire men to embrace their emotions, confront internal struggles, and find freedom in authenticity. It is a call to redefine masculinity and build a culture where openness is not a weakness but a path to healing.

Nevil Jose biography

Originally from India, Nevil, aka SOULO, is a street dancer and choreographer who has been part of Scotland’s dance community since 2019. He co-founded TMRW Crew with a group of dancers in 2020 in Edinburgh. The crew, formed by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, aims to rekindle the city’s freestyle community.

Known for his Hip Hop freestyle skills, SOULO blends styles like Popping, Breaking, and Krump with influences from Bharatanatyam and Contemporary dance. He has performed in theatre productions with Dance Base, Breakin’ Convention, and Dance House, showcasing his creativity and passion for storytelling through movement.

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