Between Tiny Cities Arrives at Contact Theatre

By Steve Cooke

One for lovers of dance in all its forms, the uninitiated who would like a new experience and young people who are new to the live theatre experience.

A synthesis of break dancing from two hip hop cultures, Cambodia and Australia.

An Electrifying Dance Battle Between Tiny Cities takes over Contact Theatre Manchester during its UK premiere tour.

Between Tiny Cities will land in the UK for the first time this year and tour the country before bringing the dazzling dance dialogue to Manchester.

The internationally renowned show also will visit venues across the UK, including Belfast International Festival and Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

The company will offer a masterclass at Contact exploring the foundational elements of breaking, the history of the form and the choreographic tools and techniques used to create contemporary hip hop performances.

Between Tiny Cities is a highly successful, cross-cultural independent work based around Aaron Lim from Australia and Erak Mith from Cambodia. The work premiered at Dance Massive 2017 and has since toured to more than 20 venues nationally from Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne; to remote NT communities from Yirrkala and Groote Eyelandt to Tennant Creek; and through Asia & Europe including Tanz im August Berlin, imPulsTanz Vienna, Noorderzon Festival in Holland, George Town Festival in Malaysia, and Hong Kong Festival.

In Between Tiny Cities, dancers Erak Mith from Phnom Penh and Aaron Lim from Darwin, use the rituals, movement styles and language of their shared hip-hop culture to reveal the dramatically different worlds that surround them and uncover the choreographic links that unite them.

Choreographed by internationally-renowned Sydney hip-hop dance artist Nick Power and accompanied by the beats and sound design of Jack Prest, the work blends the raw, wild energy of b*boy battles with skilful improvisation and choreography, offering a cross-cultural perspective on style, culture and locality.

The project is the result of a dance exchange between Darwin’s D*City Rockers and Cambodia’s Tiny Toones youth program. The two crews have travelled, trained, battled and performed together for four years and Between Tiny Cities is the culmination of their collaboration.