What started in an alleyway in the international district is now one of the Southwest’s highest-attended beatbox/dance battle shows.
From its ramshackle roots, Breakin’ Hearts, in its ninth year, has found a more-permanent location at 508 Warehouse, and attendance has averaged about 1,000, co-founder Cyrus Gould said.
“We started in a venue where you had to enter through an alley, and it was in a shady neighborhood,” he said.
The event is now classier, Gould said, featuring a performance, contest and workshops to entertain people with diverse interests. As in the past, the event will host a B-boy and B-girl battle (breaking dancing for those unfamiliar with the lingo) and a beatbox battle.
Justin Hood, 508 Warehouse’s program coordinator, said he was an avid hip hop fan and performer and used to attend Breakin’ Hearts. He said he will perform with a poet, turntables and a partial band to show how hip hop can navigate musical spectrums.
“It’s kind of my dream team of artists on one stage in one of the greatest nights of hip hop in Albuquerque,” Hood said. “We’re going to have violin samples, with piano, live bass, live drums.
… It’s kind of like a hip hop orchestra.”
Unlike the orchestra, though, the Breakin’ Hearts crowd is a diverse group, including senior citizens and children. The event offers all-ages activities, such as workshops on aerosol art, using turntables, “poppin’” (type of dance) and MC-ing. Workshops are free.
Gould said the event also allows vendors to sell handmade products. He said merchandise must be family-friendly, and vendors are prohibited from selling concessions.
Gould said each year he emphasizes hip hop culture’s roots to attendees, and this year he will do so by performing Wushu Kung-Fu. He said the event mixes hip hop’s roots and future.
“We’ve had African dance, capoeira and Aztec dancers,” he said. “This year we’ve got a Kung-Fu performance … Kung-Fu is one of the origins of break-dancing.”
Gould said this year’s Breakin’ Hearts will have a professional dance floor and bleachers. He said there is a two-story mural made by about 12 artists who have worked on it every Saturday since January.
“On the side of the building … there was a huge mural of topless women and the American flag,” Gould said. “So, I have been envisioning covering that crap with a positive message.”
*Breakin’ Hearts
Warehouse 508
508 First St. N.W.
Saturday
Workshops start at 4 p.m.
Show starts at 6 p.m.
Buy tickets at LA Underground
2000 Central Ave. S.E.*
$10 in advance
$15 at the door
Children and Senior citizens get in free
All ages show
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DIFFERENT BOX:
Performers at Breakin’ Hearts
Mr. Kali
Def Rare
Xian
Path 1
Miss G
Justin Hood
DJ Ohm
Lumpz 1
Zoology
