New Kids, Old Block: Footwork Youth Festival Celebrates the Chicago Artform with Footwork Legends and the Next Generation

by Annie LeDuc (Communications Intern)

This weekend, generations will come together to create and celebrate Chicago dance, art, and culture at the Footwork Youth Festival. Curated by The Era, a Chicago-based Footwork crew, the festival is an opportunity for kids and teenagers to interact with all aspects of Footwork, including battling, filming and video production, fashion design, education, and DJing. Youth will learn from and collaborate with previous generations of Footworkers in a final dance battle and performance at the end of the night. 

While the dance industry tends to focus on adults, The Era directs a spotlight on the kids and teenagers of the Chicago Footwork scene. For Jamal “Litebulb” Oliver, co-founder of The Era Footwork Crew and 2015 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, this is intentional and a key part of his work with the crew and the Footwork community. It is an opportunity to give youth the experiences he and previous generations of Footworkers could not find, like earning pay for performances, hosting battles, and developing professional skills. The Footwork Youth Festival, along with other programs curated by The Era, helps to build a culture that focuses on kids and provides both financial and mentorship opportunities for youth to grow their passions and skills in the arts. 

The youth participants will learn from the best of previous Footwork generations. Since its creation in the 90s by a group of kids, Footwork has evolved through each generation of dancers. The kids today come from the sixth and seventh generations while The Era comes from the fourth generation. Crew members include Litebulb, Brandon K. Calhoun aka “Chief Manny” (2022 Art on the Mart artist), Jemal “P-Top” De La Cruz (2022 Dance/USA Artist Fellow and DCASE Esteemed Artist), Sterling “Steelo” Lofton (2020 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist), and Syd Falls Syd. Rather than allowing the distance between the ages grow, The Era is building a bridge between generations of Chicago Footworkers in hopes of serving both sides. By partnering the more experienced Footworkers with the budding and eager dancers, the youth will learn technique, improv skills, and history right from the source. For the kids and teens, meeting and hearing from the older generations provides perspective of what is possible in Footwork and beyond, like music, design, and leadership. The Era teaches youth that all parts are necessary for the creation of Chicago Footwork, and the artform can inspire success in whichever path they choose. The legends are reassured that Footwork is moving in the right direction, informed by their history and driven by fresh, young minds.

Jamal “Litebulb” has performed with leading artists like Chance the Rapper and DJ Rashad, received recognition as a dancer of the year in Dance Magazine, choreographer of the year by NewCity Magazine, and major arts grants from University of Chicago/Arts and Public Life. The Era received a 2019/20 National Dance Project major grant from NEFA (New England Foundation for the Arts). In 2017, Jamal co-founded Open the Circle, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing financial resources to low-income communities through the arts. After several years and many youth programs created in tandem with The Era, the next generation has taught Litebulb a thing or two. “Patience, patience, patience,” he says. “It takes patience to guide the kids to where they can be inspired on their own.” Through his journey as an artist, activist, and new parent, Jamal is reminded that adults maintain the same identity they started with as a kid, simply informed with more lessons, experiences, and relationships. The Footwork Youth Festival will give both the kids and the legends an opportunity to learn from one another and continue to grow Chicago Footwork for the next generation.

The Footwork Youth Festival is an interactive three-hour event on Sunday, December 4, 2022. The event will be hosted at 6114 N Hamlin Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 (Irving Park). Doors open at 5:30 PM and the final dance battle and performance will begin at 8:30 PM. Registration is free for all. Reserve a spot here. 

Images courtesy of The Era