Philly Kerplop’s philosophy is that the performing arts provide the most value to families when content thoughtfully combines fantasy and reality, entertainment and intellectual stimulation. Philly Kerplop is a dance and music performance ensemble started by Vince Johnson that makes performance for all ages, challenging the notion that amusement and headiness cannot work in tandem. Philly Kerplop draws on theater traditions in which the fourth wall is almost always broken and the line between order and spontaneity, fantasy and reality, is forgotten. Johnson’s concept for Kerplop is informed by early 20th century popular forms like vaudeville and slapstick; these performance styles celebrate an interdependence between feats of the body and live music. Similarly, with origins in hip hop dance, Johnson maintains a nostalgia for older African Diasporic traditions that feature a non-hierarchical relationship between dancer and musician. Philly Kerplop builds their content with dancers and musicians working simultaneously in the studio, each in service of the other. This playfulness between sound and physicality inspires a more curious, understanding, and creative public.
WHO WE ARE
Dancers & Musicians
Vince Johnson - Artistic Director
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Francois Zayas - Musical Director
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The Crew
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Vince Johnson is a Philadelphia based artist and educator. Hip hop dance and martial arts have been his primary disciplines of practice since childhood. As an adulthood, he has also studied physical theater, clown and percussion. Collaboration with visual artists and musicians is a staple in his work and thereby a continuing source of education. He is alumnus of Rennie Harris Puremovement and has worked in various art sectors. Johnson’s artistic work represents a similar range from popular entertainment to experimental theater. For over a decade, he created events for young audiences while also producing work designed for specific sub-cultures, academia, and contemporary art platforms. He is founder and director of Movemakers Philly and Urban Movement Arts, teaching kids and adults, respectively, hip hop dance styles, North American and Hispanic dance folklore, movement culture, tai chi and yoga. Both organizations function as community resource centers for a broad range performing artists and dance practitioners. Johnson’s performance group, Philly Kerplop, is a professional dance and music ensemble that performs original material for family audiences.
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Francois Zayas is a composer, arranger and percussionist. Born in Cuba, Zayas graduated from the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA) in 1998. He taught there, while still a student and after graduation and was a member of the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba. During this time he collaborated on different projects with bands of diverse backgrounds, including Jazz, Hip Hop, and Rock. From 1994 to his establishment in the USA in 2006, he made several international tours with different groups. In the last ten years he has collaborated with many musicians, choreographers, and educators, sometimes with his own arrangements or original compositions, at other times as an instrumentalist.
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Philly Kerplop's crew of performers and production team is made up of a rotating cast. Contributors include:
Dancers: Jay Jao, Vince Johnson, Stephen Loftin, Steve Lunger, Peter Rodrigues, Danzel Thompson-Stout, Jerry Valme and Mark Wong. Musicians: Anthony DeCarlo (Guitar), Chico Huff (Base) and François Zayas (percussion) Assistant Director: Lily Kind Lighting Design/Technical Director: Camille Brown |