UMA Celebrates Philly Street Dance Heroes

Clyde Evans, founder and director of Chosen Dance Company

Often reverence is given to the pioneering icons that were in the limelight in cities like New York or L.A. at the genesis of dance movements. In the funk styles, we remember the Original Lockers or the Electric Boogaloos. In New York, we sing the praises of Ken Swift and Caleaf Sellers. The praise given to these legends is legit. They deserve it. However, while singing the praises of famous pioneers from the most famous cities, we often fail to acknowledge hometown heroes.

One of the most important Philly heroes is Clyde Evans, an original member of RHPM and founder of Chosen Dance Company. Clyde is immensely important for the standard that he brought to his approach to the dance and the mentorship that he offered to a vast array of millennial street dancers in Philly.

Clyde is one of the trailblazers that set the bar for Philly dancers being able to hold down multiple dance styles. Clyde is proficient in everything. Most dancers tend to gravitate to a particular form. Particularly in the 90s and early 2000s, dancers that popped didn't also break. People were specialists. Almost all of the alumni of RHPM from the original class got busy across multiple forms. Clyde epitomizes versatility, particularly in his capacity to break and do the groove/stand up based forms. And out of all of Philly Gen X dancers, he is the most technical. Clyde knows how to bring the funk while being squeaky clean. And he lives to perform. He is an expert at communicating the traditional styles to a broad audience while honoring their integrity. Discipline and craftsmanship is at the heart of his practice. And he passed down these qualities to the next generation.

Many leading figures in Philly street dance can trace some line back to Clyde. For example, the amazing Mark Boston and Virgil Gadson were central figures in Chosen dance company. Some other major figures that passed through Chosen include Shanika, Justin, David, Dre and Jon. This is only naming a few. And for dancers that weren't in Chosen, there was still a very likely chance that they would have received some sort of support from Clyde at some point along the way. For me, one notable memory that I have is catching a ride to the house dance conference at Club Shelter in NY once or twice with Clyde. He gave immense support to my generation of Philly dancers.

I think of Clyde as the king of the lecture demonstration. In my opinion, most dancers in Philly got their lecture demonstration, swag from Clyde. For those of you that do not know what a lec dem is, for street dancers it is an educational performance in which the performers talk about the history of dances and offer demonstrations. Clyde perfected this form of performance and education. Along the way, anyone in his proximity gained a priceless skill: the understanding of how to speak eloquently and instructively about street dance. Clyde's meticulous attention to history, culture and vocabulary set a standard for everyone in my generation. Clyde, along with pushing us to be dope dancers, has taught us the importance of knowledge.

There are many features in Clyde's legacy that I can continue to share. But I will conclude by reflecting on Clyde's impact on street dance professionalism in Philly. Clyde's mentorship and sharing of opportunity has presented me and many of my peers with a broad perspective of what is possible with our art. Clyde works across multiple platforms and institutions, ranging from mainstream media, theater to academia. His model of professionalism set a very positive example for my generation. As I mentioned above, one notable person that I've always admired that was a part of Chosen is Mark Boston of Phresh. Clyde's branch extends to Mark's and from there Mark has paved the way for so many younger millennials and Gen Z dancers to pursue fruitful careers. Keep in mind that this contemporary configuration of American Street Dance is still rather younger, not extending past the 70s. Clyde and other members of his generation are extremely important for bringing dignity and respect to what we do. For me, Clyde modeled the power and importance of our work as dancers. I confidently and proudly say that Philly dance would not be what it is today without the influence of Clyde Evans. Thank you, Clyde.

​Folks, this is my first Philly Street Dance Hero entry. I am truly looking forward to sharing more about the people that I've always looked up to. There's much more to come. Stay Tuned.