Illstyle & Peace Productions

Illstyle & Peace Productions is a multicultural mixed gender dance company whose work focuses on the movement and spirit of old school hip-hop with a variety of performance disciplines. Based in Philadelphia, PA, the company was founded in 2002 by Brandon Albright, also known as "Peace" of Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Forrest Webb of the Illstyle Rockers, a hip hop dance crew based in Akron, Ohio. Their work fuses the moves and spirit of hip hop with various other styles of dance and delivers a positive message of individual expression to worldwide audiences young and old.

The company delivers a positive message of individual expression to worldwide audiences young and old. Their current work, Same Spirit Different Movement, was described by the New York Times as "a hip-hop revue with killer dancing." The piece celebrates the art and movement of hip-hop and includes a funky blend of locking, breaking, popping, tap and house dancing, vocal percussions, DJing, and modern and traditional dance forms. An emphasis is placed on hip-hop's similar steps to those found in ballet, modern and traditional dance forms, the company adds urban style to these steps creating a Same Spirit Different Movement. The piece is available for touring in 07/08 and 08/09.

Some of the past performances of Same Spirit Different Movement have included the Open Look Festival (St Petersburg, Russia); The XIII Annual Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival (Bytom, Poland); Rialto Center for the Arts (Atlanta, GA); Dance Place (Washington, DC); Centerstage (Reston, VA); Dancing in the Streets (New York City, NY); Brock University (St Catharines, Ontario); Capitol Centre (North Bay, Ontario); Brampton Performing Arts Center (Brampton, Ontario); Lake Placid Center for the Arts (Lake Placid, NY); The Ordway Performing Arts Center (St Paul, MN); The Egg Center for the Performing Arts (Albany, NY); Wolf Trap Foundation (Vienna, VA); Annenberg Center (Philadelphia, PA); Akron Civic Theater (Akron, OH); Jacob’s Pillow (MA); Celebrate Brooklyn (NY); Ann Arbor Summer Festival (MI); San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Festival (CA); Dance Theater Workshop (NYC); City Parks Foundation (NYC)

Illstyle & Peace Productions are on the PennPAT roster which offers support (up to 50%) for touring engagements beginning June 1, 2006 to presenters in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia. The next deadlines for presenters to apply for funding are the following:

- October 15, 2007 for an engagement taking place between February 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009

- February 15, 2008 for an engagement taking place between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010

The PennPAT Presenter Travel Grants also provide grants to U.S. presenters who are interested in booking a PennPAT roster artist, and would first like to see a live performance by that artist. Funds may be used to attend a full public performance by a PennPAT roster artist, at home or on tour; or, if the presenter is from outside Pennsylvania, to attend a showcase by a particular roster artist at the PennPAT Showcases at the annual PA Presenters Networking Meeting.

"Spectacular display of acrobatic spins, dives, flips and squat kicks"

- Wilma Salisbury, The Plain Dealer

“Equally impressive was the vocal prowess of Anointed S, an award winning beatboxer..., whose vocal skills made him sound like he had swallowed a recording studio. His vocal barrage of beats, clicks, pops, and deep bass notes delivered in song bedazzled."

-Steve Sucato, Dance Magazine

"Daredevil moves that delighted the crowd"

-Wilma Salisbury, The Plain Dealer