the essential
As part of the Fusion Concept qualifications, the most influential hip-hop dance battle in the world takes place on May 19 in the legendary hall of the Halle aux Grains. Mina, one of the participants, hopes to reach the international final at the Zénith in Paris in September.
A day not to be missed for all breakdance lovers. Sunday May 19, the Halle aux Grains will resound with the intensity of the Fusion Concept battles, one of the most influential freestyle hip-hop dance festivals in the world. “A Toulouse event set up, with the support of the City and three hip-hop structures: Dance Flow Agency, the Toulouse cultural association (Brigade Fantôme) and Flow O’Graphie, recalls François Gustave, organizer at Dance Flow Agency These battles represent all of France in view of the international final at the Zénith in Paris in September.
Among the 1,300 participants, several Toulouse residents, including Mina Slimani, 35, immersed in hip-hop for ten years. “For several years, I was an engineer in the food industry and then after a retraining, I became a choreographer and dancer.” According to Mina, hip-hop is doing quite well in Toulouse. And ensures that women hold a central place in this urban discipline.
“Women are now well integrated. We manage to perform against men and that is a great challenge,” assures the young woman. Mina has always been attracted to the style of funk and disco music associated with locking and waacking dances, the James Brown version of the 70s: “I fell in love with these two choreographic expressions. Locking is a type of funk dance invented by Don Campbell in the early 1970s in Los Angeles, often linked to hip-hop culture and waacking, a captivating and fascinating street dance in the African-American style that originated in gay clubs in the United States.
Hip-hop finally represented at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Rigor and regularity are on the program. For her part, Mina trains regularly before the competition: two to three per week. “The battles are often in pairs with improvised free style passages. We learn over time to manage our stress,” concludes the young woman who speaks in schools, proud that for the first time, hip-hop is represented at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A real step forward and a mark of recognition according to her.
