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Music

Chicago Footwork Dance Crew The Era Announces Stage Show, 'IN THE WURKZ'

Photo by Wills Glasspiegel

Esteemed footwork dance crew, The Era, has put together its first ever stage show and is preparing to debut it in South Chicago on August 27. Along with dancing, IN THE WURKZ incorporates poetry and film, weaving the different formats together to tell a story about the city and its history of footwork from the perspective of a dancer.

The crew was founded in 2014 and is affiliated with the production collective Teklife; its members include battle dancers P-Top, Steelo, Litebulb, Chief Manny, and Dempsey.

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"We created IN THE WURKZ as a way to give a voice to dancers [and] to showcase daily footwork experiences and stories we all grew up doing, showing our world through the eyes of a footworker," said Litebulb in an interview with The FADER.

"Everything isn't literal, but throughout the show you'll see things that represent us coming from practicing in alleys to an actual art gallery," added Chief Manny. "This will not be your typical stage show."

In THUMP's documentary on The Era, the crew explained how their moves work in a synergetic relationship with footwork tracks, telling their stories through dance. Footwork elder statesman RP Boo's music video for "Bang'n on King Dr" is set at the 2015 edition of the Bud Billiken Parade, an annual event that has been formative throughout the history of footwork culture.

The IN THE WURKZ performance will take place on August 27 at Hamilton Park, in Englewood on the Southside of Chicago, free and open to the public.

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