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Featuring DJ’s Lee Clarke and Kingsley Ibeneche April 6th, 5:30-8:00pm at First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Tickets: $15 There is so much to learn from house music and culture. In the early days, house clubs were peace promoting, rejuvenating and inspiration hubs for all walks of life.
Jack has always been at the center. Whether in the bumping lyrics of the music or ecstatic movements of joy and liberation, Jack is the soul and vibration of house. Sunday Jack is a new party brought to you by Urban Movement Arts featuring Sunday Jack’s resident DJs and party coordinators, Lee Clarke and Kingsley Ibeneche. We aspire for this party to be a monthly event. We are inspired by the loft culture of the 70s through 90s that nourished the development of house culture, particularly on the east coast. We are reflecting the inspired artists that sought refuge, platforms and communion for expression whether through discourse, fashion, sound or movement. Growth, release and community were at the forefront. Sunday Jack prioritizes these elements over what characterizes more mainstream club and bar environments. The event also aims to make a departure from competition driven street dance culture, taking it back to the vibes when any moves and approaches were fair play on the dance floor. (Check You Body At The Door is an important historical record of the ruleless and boundless nature of house culture at its root). All of this is to say, everyone should be dancing at this event and if there are too many ciphers held up for too long, they are getting broken up. We want to see people dancing for themselves and with one another, not at one another(This is Sunday Jack’s rule aimed at reaching back to what Archie describes in the documentary)! This event aims to serve music lovers and dancers. Come get your Sunday Jack! If you are just learning about Jack, read below Lyrics from: Rhythm Controll - My House (vocal by Chuck Roberts) “IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS JACK, AND JACK HAD A GROOVE, And from this groove came the groove of all grooves, And while one day viciously throwing down on his box, Jack boldly declared, “Let there be HOUSE!” and house music was born. “I am, you see, I am the creator, and this is my house! And, in my house there is ONLY house music. But, I am not so selfish because once you enter my house it then becomes OUR house and OUR house music!” And, you see, no one man owns house because house music is a universal language, spoken and understood by all. You see, house is a feeling that no one can understand really unless you’re deep into the vibe of house. House is an uncontrollable desire to jack your body. And, as I told you before, this is our house and our house music. And in every house, you understand, there is a keeper. And, in this house, the keeper is Jack. Now some of you who might wonder, “Who is Jack, and what is it that Jack does?” Jack is the one who gives you the power to jack your body! Jack is the one who gives you the power to do the snake. Jack is the one who gives you the key to the wiggly worm. Jack is the one who learns you how to walk your body. Jack is the one that can bring nations and nations of all Jackers together under one house. You may be black, you may be white; you may be Jew or Gentile. It don’t make a difference in OUR House. And this is fresh.” Lyrics from: Rhythm Controll - My House (vocal by Chuck Roberts) Catch a beat records 1987 Also famously used on MR. FINGERS – CAN U FEEL IT 1988 re-release of the 1986 original Traxx Records (Larry Heard AKA Mr. Fingers & Fingers Inc.) Dance Battle and Jam featuring Live Music April 13th 5:00-9:00pm at First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Battle Registration Opens Monday, April 7th battle registration now opeN Registration instructions Please purchase the option that you want. Then, please complete the registration form, indicating the categories that you are competing in. Philliest Diss 1 Category Registration Philliest Diss 2 Category Registration Philliest Diss 3 Category Registration Battle Registration Prices
Registration Opens April 7th (Limited Spots Available) First Category $25 Each Additional Category $5 Battle Registration Opens on April 7th (limited spots available; first to register get the spots) $300 in prizes contributed by an anonymous donor to Say Yes Philly! Say Yes Philly in partnership with Urban Movement Arts and Philly Music Factory presents the second annual Philliest Diss Dance Battle and Noize Freak Party. Noize Freak is a live music and dance party started in 2022. Last year the Noize Freak concept evolved into a dance battle. The Philliest Diss pays homage to Philly’s street dance battle culture while also acknowledging the city's prominent history of street dance theater and experimentation. Philly has always been a street dance city that pushes the form beyond norms, particularly when reflecting street dance theater luminaries of the 90s and early 2000s (RHPM, ODT, illStyle, Chosen, Montazh, Zenone and more). The Philleist Diss both acknowledges tradition while reaching for new forms of expression. The most fundamental element or experimentation is setting the dance battle to a live band that is completely committed to spontaneous improvisation instead of a DJ. This is the event's exploration of the relationship between Black Improvised Music and Black Vernacular Dance traditions. The dance battles are not centered on a hierarchy of dance forms or styles, but rather dancers’ abilities to adapt and spontaneously improvise in authentic and impactful ways alongside the musicians. The event welcomes oscillation between familiar and the unknown, often on a tightrope. There are three categories for competition: Traditional One on One bracketed competition, Unidentified Dance Phenomena (UDP) Showcase & Cosmic Slop 3000 Showcase. And when competition is not going down, we invite local music improvisers to come play for the party. Philliest Diss Band Steve Perry @stperrydiddle Lee Clarke @leeclarkeonline Paul Giess @pgtpt Rodrigo Pichardo @rodditorium Tim Ragsdale @timonbass_ Kingsley Ibeneche @kingsleyibeneche General Criteria and Competition Category Descriptions General Criteria All dancers are judged on the quality and complexity of rhythm, tone, intention, control, character, expression and narrative in relation to music. Traditional One on One Brackets ($100 prize 1st place; $50 prize 2nd Place) There are a maximum of 32 spots available. One on One brackets focus on the general criteria for judging. Judges will look for the most authentic, potent and compelling relationship with the band’s spontaneous improvisation. The band will explore a wide range of styles and concepts across each round. However, in each individual round the band will play the same palate and motifs to both competitors. Unidentified Dance Phenomena ($75 prize to the winner) The musicians are encouraged to avoid stylistic motifs via unconventional time signatures, harmony and soundscapes. Accordingly, dancers are encouraged to break molds, pursuing hybridization or completely unidentifiable modes of expression. Responsiveness and relationship to the music are key. This competition is a showcase model. Each dancer will be given a unique spontaneous composition to dance to. There are only 8 spots available for this category. Cosmic Slop 3000 ($75 prize to the winner) This category is inspired by the innovations of Parliament Funkadelic, celebrating the group's surrealist and futuristic blend of genre and challenging norms in music, fashion and artistic philosophy. This dance showcase category welcomes animators, elementalists, characters, robots, distortionists and any other technique of surrealism to compete. The band will spontaneously compose otherworldly music to inspire dancers to shapeshift into otherworldly beings. The general criteria applies while including evaluation of the most impactful transformation. This competition is a showcase model. Each dancer will be given a unique spontaneous composition to dance to. There are only 8 spots available for this category. Sunday, March 30th First Unitarian Church Doors: 4:30 Adult Competitions 5-8pm Light refreshments and Pizza will be served. Come for the party, come for the hang, come for the entertainment and fun! TO REGISTER: $25 to battle Complete the registration fee through the link below, then fill out the form to select your battle categories Flyer update: Youth Battles are CANCELLED Doors will open at 4:30pm  |
ContributorsKayla Bobalek Archives
July 2025
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Locations
812 Chestnut StSearch 'Urban Movement Arts @ 812 Chestnut' on Google Maps
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2100 Chestnut St. 2nd Flr
*entrance is on 21st! between Rione Pizza & Monde Market*
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