Rennie Harris named 鈥楲iving Legend鈥 by Dance Magazine
Hip-hop icon receives prestigious award from one of the most-read publications in dance
Lorenzo 鈥淩ennie鈥 Harris, an artist-in-residence in the Theatre and Dance Department at the 抖阴传媒在线, has earned Dance Magazine鈥檚 鈥淟iving Legends鈥 award for 2017.
Rennie Harris in action. Photo by Bob Emmott. At the top of the page, Harris coaches dancers in his company, Rennie Harris Puremovement. Photo courtesy of RHPM.
Dance Magazine names only four awardees each year, and honorees include such notable dancers as Fred Astaire, Pina Bausch and Misty Copeland.
The 鈥淟iving Legends鈥 award is reserved for artists who have made a permanent impact in the field of dance, the magazine states. Harris is widely considered to be the pioneer of 鈥渟treet dance鈥 theater, being one of the first choreographers to bring hip-hop into the ballet studio.
Harris was also one of four ambassadors for the United States as a part of President Obama鈥檚 cross-cultural exchange program, Dance Motion USA.
Although he鈥檚 just earned another accolade, Harris is continuing business as usual in his classroom. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about it,鈥 says Harris.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 fully grasped the meaning yet. Life still feels the same.鈥
His humility is not surprising. From teaching dance workshops at universities and the Smithsonian Institute as a teenager, to perpetuating the early hip-hop dance movement in Philadelphia during the 鈥80s with his first company, the Scanner Boys, Harris says he didn鈥檛 deserve the title 鈥減rofessional choreographer鈥 until he turned 40.
Harris views hip-hop as 鈥渢he most important original expression of a new generation鈥 and has remained dedicated to capturing the essence and spirit of the genre in his work.
Fostering community is a central part of Harris鈥檚 mission, and he believes being 鈥渃ulturally bilingual鈥 is a crucial factor in accepting and learning about the diversity of others.
鈥淵ou say African-American, Irish-American, Japanese-American and more,鈥 Harris exclaims. Regardless of language, every culture in America has a voice, he says, and adding that he hopes to teach others how to listen.
If a picture conveys a thousand words, this video clip of Harris speaks for itself:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaqPveN4yiY]
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