Original Bomber Crew

Skateboards shoot past while a collage of police sirens, voice samples from churches, and splintery noise screams in the background. A group of performers with masked faces and bare torsos bustle about in the dark. Fire could break out. The Original Bomber Crew has its roots in the expressive hip-hop and breakdance culture of the north-eastern Brazilian city of Teresina. The title of their explosive “Broken Dance” derives from the slang term tReta for urban struggles and problems, such as police assaults, street violence, and gang criminality. Formed in 2005 on the outskirts of Teresina, the collective responds to this everyday reality with a “performative invasion” – its furious and fast-paced action repeatedly steers towards collisions and outbursts of aggression. The gestures of the unruly, sweaty bodies mirror the chaos of entanglements that marks a dysfunctional society and corrupt state full of social inequalities, racism, and conflicting values.