Breakin' Convention 2020, Sadler's Wells

Sadler’s Wells has been celebrating all things hip-hop for almost two decades now, and its Breakin’ Convention has become the unmissable weekend date for street dance fans.

The coming edition of Sadler’s Wells Breakin’ Convention marks the festival’s 17th anniversary with a rich line-up of national and international acts illustrating the many varieties of hip-hop theatre.

There will be b-boys and b-girls, poppers and lockers… you name it, they’ll be there!

Breakin’ Convention 2020 is curated by the UK hip-hop theatre legend, Sadler’s Wells associate artist and Breakin’ Convention artistic director, Jonzi D.

Among the international acts selected for this year’s festival are the acclaimed Jinjo Crew from South Korea.


From France there comes Géométrie Variable, a hip-hop company that explores the popping technique of tutting with a style resembling the inner mechanics of a timepiece. Also from France, Compagnie Niya present Gueules Noires, a tribute to the migrant workers who live in the deprived outskirts of Paris.

The Netherlands's b-boy crew Hustlekidz give their Corpo Máquina its very first UK outing; and in another first for the UK D1 come all the way from Peru with their unique blend of hip hop, breaking, krump, contemporary and traditional Peruvian dance.

UK acts include Spoken Movement, led by artistic director Kwame Asafo-Adjei, whose style Jonzi D describes as using ‘popping and krump vocabulary in narratives that trace his Ghanaian roots.’

Also from the UK is the all-female collective of poppers, A.I.M

As well as the performances on the main Sadler’s Wells stage, the whole building, including the Lilian Baylis Studio, will be colonised by this festival of hip-hop, with dance workshops, graffiti, DJs and freestyle sessions.