The San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest draws a huge crowd to the Palace of Fine Arts

Photo: Keith B Dixon

The Rapper Nas once rapped that “Hip Hop is dead” well maybe Nas has never been to the San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest.  For last 13th years local Mission District Chorographer Micaya, and a dovoted team of supporters, have been producing the San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest. Maybe Nas was premature becasue the did not have a problem packing in the crowd or attracting dance talent from around the world, so apparently Hip Hop is still alive and going strong.

The Hip Hop DanceFest is an exhibition of dance artistry and talent from around the global.  The event features some the of the best Hip Hop dance troops from as far as South Korea and Norway as well as local talent from San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.  The event featured two programs A and B, which showcased the dancers and their styles ranging from tap, jazz with a Hip Hop flare, locking and popping, and many other styles and was the perfect venue for this event.  

Most all of the dancers, who were mostly teenagers and young adults, performed well and energized the crowd. One performer electrified the crowd with his impersonation of Michael Jackson and his 45-degree angle lean that he executed flawlessly.  But the real highlight of the night was a group of the dancers called “ILL- Abilities.”  According their website and Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli the “ILL-Abilities” Crew is:

“The opposite of disability: adaptation of power, strength, and creativity.  Anything one puts their mind to will be done. Creating advantages from disadvantages: A physical or mental “handicap” that one adapted themselves to, to pursue living a full, normal life”

The crew included Tommy "Tommy Guns" Ly (USA) “who was in early 2004, Tommy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, the most common type of malignant bone cancer and consequently had his right leg amputated.” Sergio "Checho" Carvajal (Chile) – “Sergio was born with a major malformation of his lower body.” Jacob "Kujo" Lyons (USA) – “Jacob was born completely deaf in his right ear and lost up to 75% of hearing in his left ear due to an ear infection at a young age.  Kujo uses a hearing aid and lip reads.” And, Luca "Lazylegz" Patuelli (Canada)  - Luca suffers from the rare muscular disorder Arthrogryposis that affects his mobility.”

“ILL-Abilities” performance was an inspiration and testament to the events commitment to Hip Hop dancers of all kind.  Micaya and her team did a fabulous of putting on a show that not only entertained the audience but notched one more groove into the a movement to get Hip Hop dance recognized as a true art form. 

Look for Micaya's interview with this week. See ILL-Abilities in action

"Citadel Warfare" in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Courtesy of You Tube and krazykujo,

Related articles: The 11th Annual Hip Hop DanceFest returns to the Palace of Fine Arts Theater
By: Keith B Dixon