Salaam ‘O’ Salaam! Hip Hop & Breakin’ Lab

Saturday, August 19 – Kala Sangam

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Salaam 'O' Salaam offered young people a chance to learn some hip hop moves, courtesy of Bobak Champion and his pioneering dance project to engage Muslim boys and men.

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The troupe are at the vanguard of UK-based Muslim breakers.

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After working together to form a dance crew, they took to the streets and communities of Bradford and beyond, offering live street performances, visits, workshops and dance activities, bringing communities together through the power of dance.

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BSAF wanted to bring the breakin’ lab to the 2023 festival, creating a safe and welcoming space for Muslims to express themselves freely.

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The project tackles questions like: what does a Muslim dance crew look like? What stories could we choose to tell through our movement? And how can this form of dance be used  in a creative way to explore identity and heritage?

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The crew has already organised many activities to enrich the Breakin' and Hip Hop scene in Bradford through local labs and jams. Workshops have also taken place in venues such as the Bradford Immigration and Asylum Support and Advice Network. Additionally to this session at BSAF 2023, our partners Kala Sangam have hosted drop-in sessions, where people from different communities participated in open-access classes.

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The crew are now developing and expanding, bringing together the UK’s first national Muslim break-dance crew.

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Parts of this article were first published by Amal