In may/june i travelled to Toronto to present a part of my PhD research at the IASPM Canada 150: Music and Belonging Conference (Schedule: click here), which was connected with the network of POP Moves. The conference took place at the University of Toronto, and i had a scholarship from the German Sport University Cologne to travel there. It was a great experience; i met many scholars doing interesting research in music, dance or hip-hop. There is a lot going on in Canada and USA!
After the conference i met with organisers and dancers from the canadien hip-hop scene to get an insight to structures and dance practice. I had a great time with the girls from the bgirl movement Keep Rocking You, hosted by Dr. Mary Fogarty, bgirl, organizer, and professor in dance and hip-hop at York University. I had the chance to hang out and session with Mary and the bboys from the Albino Zebras, which represent the older generation bboys in Toronto. They throw the most incredible and creative moves you´ve seen!
Next stop was Montreal, were i met up with Roya the Destroya and several local bboys and bgirls like BGirl Lynx from Legendary Crew. If i already represent the "older" generation of BGirls in Germany, well, she is 10 years ahead of me! Lynx is definitely a head of the Montreal scene and a big inspiration!
My travel to Canada was great and gives me a lot of motivation for my academic research, dancing, and community work. I will definitely visit again!