Welcome to the Rennie Harris American Street Dance Archive (RHASDA), a project of Rennie Harris Puremovement – the longest running Street Dance theater company in American history.
About RHASDA
The American Street Dance Archive (RHASDA) is a leading collaborative digital archive committed to preserving, documenting, and sharing the rich histories of Hip-Hop and Street dance. Created by and for a global community of practitioners—including legends, pioneers, scholars, educators, cultural leaders, and emerging artists—RHASDA serves as a living resource that honors the people, places, movements, and creative practices that have shaped these traditions over time. Through community-centered archival work, storytelling, research, and cultural documentation, RHASDA traces the roots, evolution, and ongoing influence of Street dance forms while ensuring that the voices and experiences of those who built and continue to sustain the culture remain at the center. Our mission is to increase the visibility and accessibility of these histories, strengthen academic and public records through authentic partnerships, and celebrate the lasting legacy, innovation, and global impact of Hip-Hop and Street dance culture.
Summer Events
The four elements of Hip-hop are Deejay, Emcee, Graffiti, and Dance. The fifth element – Knowledge – grounds the other four, as an intrinsic value to the dissemination and preservation of the culture. While innovation at home and abroad is vital, it can also result in appropriation, misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Visit the 5E Knowledge / Rennie Harris Library for first person, oral and embodied narratives which are VITAL to public understanding of the enduring American art forms of Hip-hop and Street Dance.
MC / DJ / GRAFFITI / BREAKIN
The Mother of rap sits down w/ Jazzie Belle to discuss the inception of hip hop and how she became the 1st female mc to rock the mic w/ the funky four + 1. She also tells us about their iconic performance on SNL and what it was like being
Filmed at Street Science in 2009, Kool Herc discusses his thoughts on the current state of b-boying and hip-hop, thoroughly intimidates us and drops some eye-opening surprises.
I had the honor of speaking with a legend of our culture: Darryl CORNBREAD McCray. This exclusive interview reveals his early graffiti in 1965 in Philadelphia and highlights the significant moments of his journey that led him to paint his name on the Jackson 5's jet, dozens of police cars,
Hear from one of the leading ladies of breaking. Rokafella has a serious story to tell.
WE'RE ON THE GRAM
Furthering our effort to honor often overlooked Hip-hop practitioners across styles, we’d like to celebrate the queer icons that have shaped the various evolutions of our culture over the decades. Check out our archive for performances, interviews, and more with these beyond talented legends!
Brukup (also spelled bruk up) is a style that emerged in the 1990s from dancehalls in Jamaica, largely led by George “Bruk Up” Adams. Adams developed the style after dealing with a disabling bone disease from childhood, redefining what dancing looked like in the venues he performed at. Brukup is largely influenced by breaking, raving, and butoh. Since its initial landing in mid-1990s NYC Caribbean neighborhoods, the style has evolved constantly, merging and influencing flexing and freeform, with its most similar counterpart being bonebreaking.
Ghost, the leader of the Warriors dance crew focuses on the emotions and self-expression of the style, advising his fellow practitioners to do the same: “Your style is your mind, who you are, speaking on the dancefloor. It’s a living documentation of how you think, manifested in dance.”
Check out NickBlackEagle, the Next Level Squad, and more practitioners performing bonebreaking and brukup on stages and streets across the world by exploring our archive!
Hi! My name is Charles Burt. I use He/Him pronouns and I am from Jersey City, New Jersey. I am a rising senior history major at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am the President of the Philadelphia chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honors Society. I am also President of SJU College Democrats and a Student Program Coordinator for the Office of Campus Ministry. I am so excited to work with RHASDA because I love all things history. Through this position, I am able to learn so much about the history and influence of dance and music!
Check out the Women of Hip-hop subject area in our 5E Archive! We have photos, performances, articles, interviews, and more with pioneers of every aspect of Hip-hop culture. Find out more about your favorite practitioners in the culture!
Lately I’ve been thinking about Dave the Renegade — honestly, I’m reminded of him all the time. It’s hard not to be, since we both loved funk, electro‑funk, disco, and early hip‑hop — basically all I still listen to today. If you knew Dave, you knew he was dat‑cat who never held his tongue. His confidence was unlike anyone I’ve ever met; he was a fire starter in everything he did.
He got his start with the legendary Wynnefield popping crew Short Circuit, where he was known as Disco Dave. Short Circuit included Disco Pete (founder/leader), Tuesday, The Count, Rodney, and Darryl “Boogaloo” Wright. In the early‑to‑mid ’80s he joined the Scanner Boys and became “Dave the Renegade,” a name that fit him perfectly. There were plenty of nights we rumbling cats because Dave smashed a cat in his jaw for talking reckless about us. Renegade stayed true to that spirit right up until he passed.
Without him, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be here — I’ll tell that story soon. Tomorrow he would have turned 60, and I know he would’ve wanted to celebrate big. I can hear him now, plotting what he’d do, how he’d do it, and ending it with one of his classic lines: “Believe it, buddy.” Love you, miss you — you’re always with me. Dave The Renegade Philly Legend! StandUp illadelph! #illadelph #illadelphia #hiphopparty #hiphop #phillyhiphop therealraphaelxavier crikitdidit duaneleeholland 2bcrystylz rhpm.1992 americanstreetdancearchive
Check out some of the materials under our two new 5E Archive’s subject areas: Black Contemporary Dance and Indigeneity & Street Dance!
Both of these topics aim to not only honor their respective dancers, choreographers, and thinkers but to also examine the disruption of colonialism, socioeconomic discrimination, racism, and established dance institutions by both the Black and Indigenous communities of Turtle Island (North America) through their distinct & interconnected histories of oppression as well as their embrace and evolution of Hip hop, Street dance, and the wide umbrella of Modern dance.
Check the link in the bio to find out more!
When we celebrate new talents, we have to remember to give some love for the styles of the 20th century that Hip hop and Street dance took inspiration from.
First is an homage to Hellzapoppin’s (1941) iconic Lindy Hop scene performed by the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart, Rex Stewart, Elmer Fane, Jap Jones, and Cee Pee Johnson. The picture shows Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers at the infamously segregated Cotton Club (credit to Daniel Cowin for the photo), where they performed often in the late 1930s.
Second, we’d like to honor the legend that is Katherine Dunham by remembering Carnival of Rhythm (1941), a film entirely dedicated to her unique choreography that always stood by and uplifted Indigenous, African, Afro-Brazilian, and African American dance styles that continue to be overlooked and appropriated to this day. This photo, a still from the colorized version of the film, cannot fully encapsulate the energy, vivacity, talent, and light that Dunham brought to her magnificent performances.
Check out the full performances on the 5E Archive at the link in our bio!
