Tony Mills, artistic director at Dance Base, on the gradual acceptance of hip hop as a serious art form
Tony Mills, the artistic director at Scotland’s national centre for dance, on the mountain that hip hop has had to climb to be taken as seriously by the establishment as other dance forms.
For much of my career, I have seen hip hop on stage treated as a novelty: something to add wow factor, attract young audiences, or coax boys into dance. Venues and festivals are always seeking ways to remain relevant, and hip hop has often been used as a tool for engagement rather than recognised as an art form in its own right.
I once read a review describing ballet dancers as “athletes of the gods”. Rightly so, but the phrase also reveals the mountain hip hop and other non‑Western forms have to climb to be seen as equally intelligent, complex and meaningful.
In the UK, ballet and contemporary companies still receive more consistent funding, yet when hip hop artists are given long‑term support, they create work that truly moves audiences.
Recent funding rounds show slow but real progress. Southpaw Company, Just Us Dance Theatre and Tech Styles Dance have achieved national portfolio status. In Scotland, Project X (supporting artists of African and Caribbean heritage) secured multi‑year funding, and Glasgow’s THREE60 became the first hip hop company to receive Creative Scotland touring support since 2021. France is far ahead, with hip hop and club‑style artists in major leadership roles at national choreographic centres.
Such support elevates artists to new heights. In the UK, Boy Blue’s long‑term partnership with the Barbican is a prime example, enabling acclaimed performances at Factory International and the Edinburgh International Festival, and a career earning both directors MBEs.
Hip hop began claiming space in UK theatres in the 1990s, led by pioneers Jonzi D, Benji Reid and Robert Hylton. Their work was bold, Black and unfamiliar to audiences at the time, but urgent. In 2004, Jonzi D founded Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells, a defining moment that annually showcases the global breadth and virtuosity of hip hop dance theatre, establishing a successful partnership between the establishment and hip hop.
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Today, UK artists like Botis Seva and his company Far From the Norm tour internationally, performing at The Joyce Theater in New York and Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. Ivan Blackstock’s Traplord fused hip hop, trap and operatic drama, creating waves across the sector.
These works resonate because artists are trusted to experiment, given real support and access to new technologies, and theatres benefit because the shows sell and attract new audiences. There could always be more funding, but today genuine support is making a difference.
Hip hop itself is evolving. Breaking, once male‑dominated, is embracing practices that reflect the diversity of its community. London’s Rain Crew leads conversations around safer spaces and supportive environments. Glasgow’s Female Funk Fruition are making their mark with performances at Breakin’ Convention at Tramway and new Creative Scotland funding.
The Edinburgh Fringe has also played a significant role. In 2006, ZooNation performed at Underbelly and soon found themselves on London’s West End. Kate Prince has since become a defining voice in hip hop musical theatre, most recently collaborating with Sting on Message in a Bottle, seen on Broadway. Other companies have taken similar leaps: Rannel’s 2009 show Fhlip Fhlop was franchised in Germany and led to BBC work, while Avant Garde’s 2017 Fringe run propelled Fagin’s Twist to Asia.
This year at Dance Base, a branch of our festival programme explores “hip hop… but not as you know it”: work that reframes hip hop aesthetics and rituals to create new languages. Our attempt at shifting perceptions of hip hop on stage. Compagnia Bellanda’s Il canto dell’assiolo intertwines breaking’s torque, freezes and footwork with fluid weight‑sharing. It offers a different kind of wow factor. One with more depth, less novelty and just as much hip hop.
Find out more at www.dancebase.co.uk
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