Arturo Miles
Nothing's off-limits to Arturo Miles, whose inventive hip-hop style is joyously all over the map.
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Hip-hop dance is a slippery fish. Unlike ballet, with a strict repertoire of steps on which the form is based, hip-hop includes so many dance styles and cultures that it’s constantly evolving. Aiding its evolution is 34-year-old Arturo Miles, a local dancer who incorporates jazz, ballet and other dance forms into his unique interpretation of hip-hop movement.
“Arturo is a visionary,” says Colleen McClellan Ueland, founder and former director of local dance group the Collective, of which Miles is an original member. “When you watch him dance, it’s coming so truly just from him, beautifully singular in his style.”
Miles stands out in any performance not only for his 6-foot frame, but because of the transparent parade of emotions that pass across his features as he moves. He can be mesmerizingly panther-like, just shy of slow motion, or lightening-quick with rapid-fire footwork. Miles’s version of hip-hop dance is as wide-open as his intoxicating smile.
Born in Mexico City and raised in Missouri, Miles studied ballet, tap and jazz as a kid. After a hiatus at the University of North Dakota (where he studied dance and visual art), Miles moved to Minneapolis and returned to dancing through classes with local Afro-Caribbean dance guru Morris Johnson. He also studied hip-hop at downtown Minneapolis’s Zenon Dance School, where he caught the eye of Ueland, who invited him to join the Collective (known then as Hip-Hop Co-Op).
Miles continues to feel right at home with the Collective, which is dedicated to collaborative creation of new works grounded in but not limited to hip-hop. When not performing he teaches hip-hop to kids at Zenon, and serves as a guest curator at Patrick’s Cabaret, a Minneapolis institution dedicated to fostering experimental self-expression.
In the end, though, Miles’ passion is dancing. When asked to describe how he feels when dancing he says, “At that moment in time, nothing else matters.” +
See Arturo Miles with the Collective in the Flint Hills Children’s Festival
May 27–June 1, Ordway Music Center grounds
345 Washington St., St. Paul
651.282.3000; ordway.org
May 27–June 1, Ordway Music Center grounds
345 Washington St., St. Paul
651.282.3000; ordway.org
SHORT LIST
Hip-hop dance classes @ zenon dance school
Zenon Dance School in Minneapolis regularly offers hip-hop classes for kids and adults. Visit zenondance.org or call 612.338.1101 for seasonal schedules.
Zenon Dance School in Minneapolis regularly offers hip-hop classes for kids and adults. Visit zenondance.org or call 612.338.1101 for seasonal schedules.
Local hip-hop dance nights
Witness or participate in hip-hop in bars and restaurants around town. The following host frequent hip-hop dance nights:
Witness or participate in hip-hop in bars and restaurants around town. The following host frequent hip-hop dance nights:
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