French hip-hop group at SM Aura’s Samsung Hall

MANILA, Philippines - The award-winning French hip-hip group, the Pockemon Crew, returned to the Philippines with Silence, on tourne! And… Action! last night at the Samsung Hall at SM Aura Premier.

In the joint project of Alliance Francaise de Manille (AFM), SM Aura Premier, with the support of the Embassy of France, the group explored two worlds they love in the special performance: Cinema and the origins of the hip-hop movement.

Silence, on tourne! And…Action! was a glimpse of the Hip-Hop World Champion’s home city, Lyon, where cinema was devised by the Lumière Brothers at the end of 19th century. The black-and-white cinema adorned by the vibrant dance inspires the per-formance. Through sets and costumes inspired by classical film studios, the dancers brought the audience in a dance and musical journey with spectacular physical prowess. The show managed to convey the unifying power that made the success of American musical choreography during the time of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Vincente Minnelli. It featured a series of acts accompanied by a soundtrack and a lighting stage design reminiscent of Broadway and the golden age of Hollywood musical films. As a tribute to cinema and the journey towards modern times, the new creation looked back to the origins of hip-hop in New York in the ’40s.

The story of Pockemon Crew began from 1996 to 1997, when the dancers were training at the plaza of the Lyon Opera. They had performed as a professional group of break dancers for 15 years. Since then, they have won several hip-hop competitions at national and international levels: French Champion in Hip-Hop Dance in 2003 and 2008, European Champion in 2004 and 2012 and World Champion in 2003 and 2006. Pockemon Crew is a resident dance company at the Opera of Lyon. It is on tour in Southeast Asia.