RHPM

In 1983 Rennie Harris began the next phase of his career by touring with some of the most seminal rap artist in the world.   Unaware he landed a  contract for  the first official rap tour in American history The Fresh Festival -he opened for rap legends and pioneers Run DMC and Jam Master Jay, The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, UTFO, Newcleus, and LL Cool J to name a few.  Later he’d open and perform with artist such as African Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, Dougie Fress, Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five, Kool Moe Dee and the Treacherous Three, Salt N Pepper, Roxanne Shante, Madonna, Cathy Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, Harry Belafonte, Will Smith, Zakir Hussein and more. By 1987/88 Rennie Harris made his way back to Philadelphia pa.   Not missing a beat, Harris jumped right back into the spotlight as he danced and choreographed for local artist in Philadelphia.   Less than a few years in Harris was fully integrated into the Philadelphia street dance scene.   Harris-now twenty-seven was just beginning to feel grounded again in his home town when he received a phone call from a Mr. Michael Pedritti the director of a premier theater in Philadelphia called Movement Theater International.  Mr. Pedretti said he had been watching Rennie for a while and thought he would be perfect for his festival.  He was aware of Rennie’s childhood popping crew The Scanner Boys and that he wanted Rennie to choregraph forty-five minutes of work but there was one stipulation he could not use the Scanner Boys.   Rennie became highly suspicious when Mr. Pedretti offered to give him half the money upfront.  Rennie had never been booked a year in advance before, and this made Rennie suspicious.  Attempting to call his bluff Rennie told Mr. Pedretti he may not show up if he gave him half the money upfront-and that there was just a shoot-out in front of his apartment, and he may be dead a year from now.  Later Rennie admitted what prompted the dramatic response was he thought his friends were pranking him.   In the end Rennie Harris  was commissioned fifteen hundred dollars to create forty-five minutes of choreography for Movement Theater Now festival in 1991.  Upon receiving half payment ($750) a year in advance Rennie hit the clubs of Philadelphia to search for dancers for his new project.  When it was all said and done Rennie Harris recruited his founding members; Abdule Iote, Steffan Walker, Clyde Evans Jr., James Colter, Anisa Morgan, Chaquita A. Anderson, Joni Helton, and Kim Wilson.  Harris created works like Endangered Species and Students of the Asphalt Jungle that later propelled his career.  With a successful premiere in 1992 Rennie Harris founded his company. By the way the last piece of that night was performed by the Scanner Boys the name of that piece was called “Puremovement” hence the name Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM).  

As its leading Street dance theater company in the US Rennie Harris Puremovement is dedicated to preserving and disseminating Hip-hop aesthetics and Street dance culture through workshops, classes, history, lecture demonstrations, long-term residencies, mentoring programs, and public performances. With his roots in the inner-city, Harris presents a unique story, one that is riveting, intimate, and honest. He says it was Hip-hop that taught him honesty, humility, and purity. Rennie Harris Puremovement’s mission is to re-educate the masses about Hip hop culture and Street Dance through its artistic work. Harris’s work embodies the diverse and rich African-Diasporic traditions of the past, simultaneously evolving a new voice through dance. Harris is committed to showing  audiences a sincere view of the essence and spirit of Street dance rather than the commercially exploited stereotype portrayed by the media. 

The company’s most well-known evening-length work is Rome & Jewels, which was choreographed, originally written and directed by Harris in collaboration with dramaturg Ozzie Jones, D. Sabela Grimes, Rodney Mason, Raphael Xavier, composer/sound designer Darin Ross and lighting designer Pamela Hobson. Originally Rome & Jewels used Shakespeare’s text and colloquial language. During  the workshopping process of Rome and Jewels, the lead cast of dancers –  Ozzie Jones, Raphael Xavier, Rodney Mason, and D. Sabella Grimes  – improvised their own poetry and writings into the script-earning them the title of co-authors. Rome & Jewels is the longest touring hip-hop dance theater work in American history with 3 Bessie Awards, 4 Black Theater Alvin Ailey Awards, Herb Alpert Award and a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award (UK). Rome & Jewels has performed to sold-out audiences, nationally and internationally. More important than the critics’ response has been the outpouring of support from every community where it played. It became a highly successful outreach tool for the company. Fusing classical text with slang and mixing Hip-hop music with rock, modern, and classical sounds, the work touched many cultures and communities. In addition to  Rome  & Jewels, Harris has a catalog of works that span more than 30 years with evening length works such as: Falling Crumbs From the Cake (1990), Legends of Hip Hop (1998), Rome & Jewels (1999), Facing Mekka (2003), Something To Do With Love (2006) 100NAKEDLOCKS (2009), HEAVEN (2011 ), Luv: American Style  (2015), Nuttin But A Word (2016), Rennie Harris Funkedafied (2017), Rennie Harris LIFTED (2017), Caravan: A Revolution On The Road (2018) in collaboration with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and his latest evening length work Lazarus was set on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (2018)-this was the first time he has set an evening work on a company other than his own.       

Rennie Harris Puremovement and their infectious brand of movement have toured the globe, including France, Switzerland, South Africa, West Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Scotland, Japan, China, Kazakhstan, Congo, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Finland, and Monaco. His company has performed for the Queen of England, the Princess of Monaco, and were Ambassadors for the United States of America as part of President Obama’s cultural exchange program, Dance Motion USA, and toured Egypt, Jordan Palestine, Israel and surrounding countries. Currently, Rennie Harris Puremovement are remounting Rome & Jewels and will introduce this American classic to new audiences nationally and internationally.   Look out for tour of Rome & Jewels in 2022 as it crosses the country, starting in Philadelphia, New York, Lewiston Maine, Vermont, Boston and making its way west.  In addition-Rennie Harris will premiering two new works American Street Dancer and Losing My Religion. Marking Rennie Harris’ return to stage Losing My Religion will feature his tour de force solo Endangered Species.