Move aside krumping and sayonara dougie. A new dance is coming to down – Chicago’s footwork.

Church halls will soon be filled with legs blurring with the effort to keep up with the super-fast, super-syncopated beats that have evolved hand-in-hand with the athletic footworkin’ dance moves.

Or so LiteBulb, one of Chicago’s best dancers, hopes. He’s coming over with a crew including AG, DJ Manny and Spinn, and is confident of his power to proselytize. Much of the hard work is done as, thanks to Planet Mu Records, we’re already familiar with the music from artists like DJs Roc and Rashad. Now it’s about learning to do more than just a vigorous head nod.

SHOOK: How long have you been a part of Chicago’s footwork scene?

LiteBulb: I’ve been a part of the scene since 2006. A good five years.

SHOOK: How did you get into it?

LiteBulb: I started out dancin’ in dance groups, and as time passed I joined my family – my battle clique – Terra Squad. Then I joined Legends [Clique], and here
we are.

SHOOK: Have you danced anywhere else apart from in Chicago?

LiteBulb: I danced in New York, Minnesota, where else… I think that’s it! Oh, and Champaign, Illinois.

SHOOK: How do you think your styles will go down in the UK?

LiteBulb: My dance style is really animated, so it’s made for people to get drawn into it. I aim to grab the attention of the audience – that’s my main focus. To get people to understand the moment I do it. That’s what footworkin’ is, what juke [the music] is. That’s everything. I think they’ll respond to that. I’m a make sure they understand it.

DJ Manny

SHOOK: Planet Mu has put out music by artists like DJ Nate and Chrissy Murderbot over here – did you ever think that footwork would be popular anywhere else than Chicago?

LiteBulb: I never would’ve imagined that. I never knew they even thought about it over there. It’s a whole different country – and it’s hard for people to understand footwork even in America! There’s a lot of mainstream dances like cat daddyin’ and krumpin’ – cat daddyin’ ain’t even a dance movement, just a dance you do to one song, and people understand that more than footwork here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QrlUn7mT0M

You see “juke” in videos and it’s got cat daddyin’ and krump and people doin’ flips and stuff, and that ain’t Chicago. That ain’t footwork. You can’t strip the culture from the music, but you can always broaden it and bring it other places. I know that rave music from Europe and juke both go back to Chicago house music, so there’s that common interest that helps people get into it.

SHOOK: And do you think your dance moves will catch on, too?

LiteBulb: It’s gonna blow they minds, when they see how you really supposed to dance to this music. So of course it’s gonna catch on, because of how explosive and animated it is. It makes you wanna learn it. That’s how I was brought to it – I saw somebody doin’ it and wanted to learn to do it myself.

SHOOK: What are your signature moves?

LiteBulb: My signature moves consist of Ghost, Erks, Skates, and when you combine those they turn into moves. You combine basic moves and turn ‘em into combos. So I wouldn’t say signature moves… they don’t have names – they all come from combos of the basics. Dribbles, Erks, Crossovers…

SHOOK: Tell me about your best dance battle – what was your finishing move? Is there a particular routine you draw for?

LiteBulb: The classic one was a group battle at the Panic Room just a couple weeks ago… that was my best yet I think. It’s like a classic now. I grabbed the audience and controlled the floor. I did this breakdown, I don’t even know where it came from… this combo that looked like I was breaking a bridge or pullin’ something down over my head… it was sick – I don’t even know how to describe it. Try and fathom that!

LiteBulb and the rest of the crew are performing at this year’s Breakin’ Convention at London’s Sadler’s Wells on 30 April and 2 May, where the crew will also host a panel discussion.

AG, LiteBulb, DJ Manny, & Spinn are also touring as part of Planet Mu’s UK and European showcase:

28/04/2011: Leeds, The Wardrobe

29/04/2011: London, The Big Chill Bar – Chrissy Murderbot album launch

29/04/2011: London, Village Underground

30/04/2011 – 02/05/2011: London, Breakin’ Convention at Sadlers Wells

07/05/2011: London, Corsica Studios (as Part of the Planet Mu Party featuring Solar Bears, Boxcutter, Heterotic, Rudi Zygadlo and Tropics, Oriol  and Planet Mu DJ’s)

13/05/2011: Camber Sands, Butlins, Bangface Weekender