Laura Faure vividly recalls the evening when she witnessed a genius turn an idea into reality.
The year was 1998 and Rennie Harris was in Maine for a series of shows. Faure, director of the Bates Dance Festival, attended one of the performances and went to visit Harris afterward.
Seeing him seated in front of his computer, Faure asked Harris if he was working on a new project.
“I’m working on this new version of ‘West Side Story,'” Harris told her. “Ever since I saw ‘West Side Story’ as a kid, I always wanted to do my own version of it, only in hip-hop. I think it would be better.”
It was one of those seminal moments for Faure – a flash of clarity where everything unfolds before you. Harris, the genius, had an astonishing idea for a new show and Faure instantly realized how she could help him.
“I had this intuition that something really huge could happen,” said Faure. “It was totally by accident.”
With just a couple of weeks remaining to apply for a piece of the pie from a large appropriation for the arts, the pair huddled and quickly developed a proposal. Through the help of Faure and the Bates Dance Festival, Harris received a $35,000 grant that helped fund his acclaimed “Rome & Jewels,” his updated version of “Romeo and Juliet” and “West Side Story.” It became the longest running hip-hop production ever commissioned.
Harris’ long relationship with Bates College and the renowned dance festival continues this month when his hip-hop company Puremovement returns to Maine to debut his latest production, “Facing Mekka.” The work was co-commissioned by the Bates Dance Festival.
As one of the headline performances for the 22nd annual arts feast, “Facing Mekka” will be presented on four consecutive nights at Schaeffer Theatre beginning Thursday, July 22. The shows are family friendly.
Called a pioneer in the field of hip-hop dance, Harris is at the head of the pack in the continually evolving art form. He has worked with numerous hip-hop music stars and has taught classes and put on workshops across the globe “What Rennie is all about is trying to give a public face to a different face of hip-hop,” said Faure. “To him it’s not all about violence, money and women. That’s what’s in the marketplace. Rennie wants to counteract that with a message of peace.”
Lorenzo (Rennie) Harris was born in north Philadelphia in what Faure called “a rough environment.” He started dancing at age 8 and started teaching the street origins of dance as a young teenager.
Being a living art that is constantly changing, hip-hop dance was created on the streets of the inner city. Harris was part of that lead movement.
“He never studied choreography,” said Faure. “Hip-hop dancers are club dancers. They don’t study and go to the studio.”
A colleague of Faure first told her about Harris’ work in the hip-hop community. After watching a videotape of one of his performances, Faure said, “It blew my mind. I immediately invited him to come to Bates to teach.”
The seed for “Facing Mekka” was also initially planted during a past Bates Dance Festival. The themes of Islam and globalization are presented through an array of art forms – dance, music, rhythm and images.
He pieces together several different styles of dance from around the world to help show all the variations and a way to bridge those differences in an abstract way.
A reviewer in the Village Voice wrote, “The message goes beyond the sensational dazzle of head spins and dives. It encompasses the wish to be identified and to identify oneself as an individual.”
“It is a message of healing through the arts,” said Faure. “How we can heal through the arts and dance.”
A cast of 17 includes both dancers and musicians. Unlike some of his earlier work that echoed hip-hop’s male dominance, several female dancers have lead roles in the production.
Harris performs a solo in the production’s finale, called “Lorenzo’s Oil.” (Lorenzo is Harris’ first name).
“People know him here,” said Faure. “He’s performed here for several years. His dances here are phenomenal.”
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