A celebration of 50 years of Hip Hop!
In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip hop, UNK Dance and Opera Workshop are hosting a university and community-wide Hip Hop Symposium on November 11th, 2023 which includes a day of workshops, performances and talkbacks, all culminating in a Community Jam/Hip Hop Battle!
Workshops including masterclasses in dance, emceeing, DJing and graffiti art: the four components of Hip Hop culture. Masterclasses occur on the Miriam Drake stage, Recital Hall, Dance Studio and sidewalks outside of the Fine Arts Building.
Performances including One Act Opera, Signor Deluso, Staged Arias and the world premiere of Laver La Terre, a commissioned piece choreographed by Teena Marie Custer. The performances take place in the Recital Hall of the Fine Arts Building. Catch these performances via livestream using the links below.
Saturday, November 11 @ 7:30pm | Sunday, November 12 @ 3:00pm
Community Jam/Hip Hop Battle takes place on the Miriam Drake stage in the Fine Arts Building. Hosted by the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership, contestants will show their moves 1 v 1 All Style Battle. Featuring DJ Stealth-1; Hosted by Teena Marie; Judges: Vivian Kim, Vijay Olander, Aaron Derell.
Additionally, Custer will present a Pre-performance talk 30 minutes before the performance, structured around her process and long history in the field. Sponsored by the Artists & Lecturers series.
All activities take place in the Fine Arts Building on the UNK Campus.
Events
Schedule
| Time | Event | Location |
| 12:30pm | Check In Begins / Welcome / Building Tours | Lobby of the Fine Arts Building |
| 1:30 – 2:30pm | Masterclass Session 1 | Drake, Dance Studio, Recital Hall |
| 2:45 – 3:45pm | Masterclass Session 2 | Drake, Dance Studio, Recital Hall |
| 4:00 – 5:00pm | Masterclass Session 3 | Drake, Dance Studio, Recital Hall |
| 5:00 – 7:00pm | Dinner Break | Choral Room, FAB |
| 7:00pm | Pre performance Lecture | Teena Marie | Recital Hall |
| 7:30pm | Performance | Signor Deluso, Staged Arias, Laver la Terre | Recital Hall |
| 9:00pm | Doors Open for HIP HOP BATTLE | Miriam Drake Theatre |
| 9:30pm | HIP HOP BATTLE | Miriam Drake Theatre |
Guests
Teena Marie Custer
Situated firmly in the canon of diasporic forms, Teena Marie Custer offers the University of Nebraska at Kearney a unique way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most well-known dance forms in the last decades: hip hop. A B-Girl operating out of Pittsburgh, Custer’s biography speaks for itself; she is a force in the field, bringing an arsenal of training, education, choreography, and performance to her work in the genre.
RON "STEALTH -1" CHUNN JR.
Ron “Stealth-1” Chunn Jr. is a b-boy and DJ originally from Columbus, Ohio. “Stealth” is a member of Get Down Gang from Pittsburgh, which has opened for KRS-1, Talib Kweli, Rakim, and Pete Rock. GDG was also featured on Public Enemy’s video “Though Shall Not Be Moved.” Stealth has held DJ residencies at Cobra, Trace Brewing, New Amsterdam, and Ava Lounge in Pittsburgh, and has DJ’d street dance jams such as “Get Rooted” in Nashville and “Battlezone” in Pittsburgh. He holds bachelor degrees in five different fields of study, and two Master’s degrees, the last of which was a master’s in Philosophy obtained at University of Western Ontario in 2019.
