麻豆影院

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 麻豆影院, has earned Dance Magazine鈥檚 鈥淟iving Legends鈥� award for 2017.

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:

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