Expanding and elaborating on its presentation of hip-hop artists in February 2014, The Dance�Center of Columbia College Chicago, partnering with the college’s School of Fine and Performing Arts and Radio�Department, continues its 40th season with “B-Real: A Look Inside Urban Movements,” a convergence of local,�national and international hip hop music and house dance music workshops, performances and conversations February17�March 1.”‘B-Real’ is a constellation or workshops, classes, performances and conversations orbiting around The Dance Center’s�2013�14 40th season presentations of Compagnie K�fig, a hip-hop ensemble from France with a cast of Brazilian dancers,�and Philadelphia breaker Raphael Xavier,” said Dance Center Executive Director Phil Reynolds. “The two-week series of�events will provide Chicago artists and audiences multifaceted opportunities to explore and engage in Black dance forms.”The schedule of events is as follows:Monday, February 17, 6:30�8:30 p.m., Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. DanceMakers session featuring Mourad Merzouki, artistic director of Compagnie K�fig; The Dance Center’s new�DanceMakers series features leading contemporary dance artists offering insight into their choreographic process.
Preregistration�is required at colum.edu/Dance_Center/performances/dancemakers/Tuesday, February 18, 6�11 p.m., Stage Two, 618 S. Michigan Ave. A “One-on-One B-Boy Battle” with dancers from Compagnie K�figFriday, February 21, Stage Two, 618 S.
Michigan Ave.� 12 noon �2 p.m.: “B-Boys B-Men: Moving With/In Our Masculinities,” a panel conversation featuring Compagnie�K�fig Artistic Director Mourad Merzouki; Philadelphia hip-hop artist Raphael Xavier; and Moncell “ill Kozby” Durden of�Rennie Harris Puremovement and Mop-Top Crew, moderated by Dance Center Chair Onye Ozuzu�� 2�3 p.m.: Breakin’ Workshop with Raphael Xavier�� 3�4 p.m.: Funk & Ol’ School Hip Hop Workshop with Moncell “ill Kozby” DurdenSaturday, February 22, 10 a.m.�6 p.m., Stage Two, 618 S. Michigan Ave. Symposium: “Dance Music Evolution: The History of House Music in Chicago,” sponsored by the Modern Dance MusicResearch and Archiving Foundation in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago’s Radio Department and the Honey�Pot Performance Group.
The symposium is curated by DJ Charles Matlock, archivist Lauren G. Lowery and scholar and�dance performance artist Meida McNeal, with panelists and other events to be announced shortly. Monday, February 24, 6�10 p.m., 1104 S.
Wabash Ave. Rap Battle with Raphael XavierSaturday, March 1, 3�5 p.m., The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
AMPLIFY, a teen-oriented open-stage dance gathering with Raphael XavierAll events are free and open to the public. Call 312-869-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter