How USC helped propel hip-hop innovation

A communitywide cypher USC Kaufman faculty d. Sabela grimes (left) and Tiffany Bong encourage students to connect to local communities through hip-hop dance. At USC Kaufman, hip-hop is so foundational to the core curriculum that all Bachelor of Fine Arts students take hip-hop dance classes for four years — not just those focusing their studies on hip-hop. And the school’s minor in hip-hop, street and social dance forms is open to all undergraduates, regardless of dance experience. “At USC Kaufman, we believe everyone has something to contribute to the evolution of hip-hop as an art form,” says Julia Ritter, dean of USC Kaufman. Many of the hip-hop dance styles that students learn — breaking, locking, popping, house, whacking and krumping — were literally conceived on street corners. They morphed as they gained global popularity and were polished for consumption in dance studios far removed from the communities of color where they originated. When USC Kaufman faculty were designing the hip-hop curriculum in 2014 — a year before the school opened its doors to students — their guiding question was, “How can we honor, uplift and celebrate Black culture, which is at the core of hip-hop?” says d. Sabela grimes, associate...