The second appointment with hip hop dance at the 2005 Festival Oriente Occidente is quite unique. Dancing at the Teatro alla Cartiera and in the historic center of Rovereto is the Malagasy group Up the Rap. Directly from Madagascar, a testament to the rapid spread from the New York Bronx to Europe, Tokyo to Africa, of the hip hop movement and its progressive globalization, this group, borrowing its name from the Up the Rap Festival (which has contributed since 1990 to spreading hip hop in the African country), arrives in Italy for the first time with their latest creation Rah? Ay. Among the few professional dancers on the island, the members of Up the Rap are true stars not only in their country: their numerous tours abroad and appearances in Europe, especially in France where they have been regular guests since 2001, attest to their acclaim.
Rah? Ay is their fourth production, created in 2003. The title means "What belongs to us" and inevitably refers to their land and origins. The stylistic hallmark of the group, founded in 1997 by brothers Rudi and Angeluc Rehava in Antananarivo, is a curious blend of hip hop, traditional Malagasy dances, jazz, and contemporary dance. Strictly barefoot, "You don't have to wear Nike shoes to dance well," says 28-year-old Rudi, often dressed in light-colored attire far from the colorful look required of street b-boys. The six dancers of the group discover and bring out their culture in breakdance, starting from the traditional dances and music of the southern part of the island, the birthplace of the two founders. Athleticism and delicacy blend with the typical warrior temperament of African male dances, flowing into a gestural vocabulary that is more artistic than martial, yet marked by great energy.
Rah? Ay tells their origins, their society, the link between yesterday and today, and their projection towards a dreamed future without denying their own past. Up the Rap's choreographic evolutions are born from traditional beko songs and a musical collage composed personally by Rudi and Angeluc, assisted by arranger Nini and performed with traditional instruments such as the valiha, a kind of indigenous zither. Immersed in their time, the dancers of Up the Rap create in Rah? Ay a condensed portrayal of Malagasy life, a sensual universe that astonishes and entertains. But above all, they graft onto the pure pleasure of dancing—which far surpasses the boundaries of hip hop—that Art with a capital A which has no roots in the street. Yet these six Malagasy dancers still want to go back to the streets. As we will see during their performances in the streets of downtown Rovereto. This indispensable and direct exchange with the occasional audience on the street encourages, supports, invites to challenge, and unleashes the surprising vitality of their island.
