Photo by MCT

A new artistic movement is sweeping the nation and Butler University is about to dance its way in, literally.

“Street art,” or “urban art,”  is a  catch-all phrase for practices like graffiti, parkour and hip-hop dancing, These terms are becoming institutionally accepted across the United States and around the globe.

At Butler, urban art is gaining a foothold with the new Urban Arts Crew, a campus club run by Steven Han, a sophomore pharmacy major.

The purpose of the club is to get Butler students into the hip- hop culture.

“It’s this huge, yet tightly knit and largely underground world that I feel hasn’t really gotten to Butler yet,” Han said.

The group will mainly focus on urban dance.

Butler is joining the ranks of international venues in terms of the urban art movement.  From Los Angeles to Berlin, cities all across the globe are raising awareness for this underground practice.

Art venues across the world seem to mimic Han’s desire for urban art.

Speaking specifically about dance, he said his desire is for “people to realize that hip-hop dance is an art form that is as legitimate as any other form of expression that has ever existed and is equally as difficult.”

Han said the Urban Arts Crew is for Butler students interested in hip-hop culture and urban dance forms, such as breakdancing, popping, locking and choreography.

“In this group it is all about style, expression, passion, and community – all while having fun,” Han said. “No experience or obligations are required, only interest and an open mind.”

Many students on campus have heard of the new club despite its infancy.

Senior arts administration major Stephanny Tauber expressed interest in joining the group in order to learn more about hip-hop culture.

Tauber said has experience with the show choir on campus and with the Kathakali movement theater that is a large part of the theater department this semester.

Sarah Risley, a freshman elementary education major,   said she was extremely interested in going to one of the group’s performances, but was not planning to join,

“I’m not a dancer,” Risley said.

The performance emphasis of the group seems for now to be enticing outgoing students and those with performance experience.

An open mind is all it takes to  appreciate this kind of
art.

No previous dance experience  is necessary, just come ready to see something new, different and edgy.

To learn more about the Urban Arts Crew, check out the flyers up around campus, or contact Steven Han at shan1@butler.edu.