Two-part documentary by Jean-Alexander Ntivyihabwa + Jamo Franz, ARTE / ZDF 2021, 104 min., in German

With breathtaking dance scenes and important eyewitnesses such as Gabin Nussier and Niels „Storm“ Robitzky, this two-part film tells the story of the global triumph of so-called street dance. From the Cake Walk and Josephine Baker to the Lindy Hop, the Shuffle by James Brown and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk – in the first part, the cultural roots of these dances, whose beginnings reach back to the era of the first slave ships and the plantation economy and changed the dance world forever, are explained.

The second part of the documentary tells of the international triumph of Hip-Hop, which reached Europe in the mid-1980s. In addition to London, Paris becomes the European center of Danses Urbaines. They are dancers from ex-colonies that bring their dances into the Paris metropolis where one of the first European forms of street dance was created: Jazz Rock.

After the film screening, a discussion will take place with Dirk Korell (Hip-Hop expert from France). Moderation Katharina Strehl (ARTE) Foto ZDF / Pexels / Keenan Constance