Holding more than 50 international breaking titles as soloists and a crew, childhood best friends The Ruggeds have been making noise in the breaking scene for over 15 years, travelling the world for performances and battles. Highly skilled, athletic and known for their pursuit of new and unusual moves, they epitomise the spirit and energy of breaking.
You have family and you have friends. But what if your friends are your family? The Ruggeds have become their own kind of family, not held together by DNA, but by trust and shared experiences. In their upcoming production Between Us you are invited into their home to find out what makes them tick. They unravel the ties that bind them together, between each other, and between the audience. With a mix of music, acrobatics, physical theatre, humour, and dance, you’ll be submerged in their world of imagination.
Between Us is the second theatre production of The Ruggeds. Their unique dynamism has seen them collaborate with the likes of Rita Ora, Justin Bieber, Afrojack and Martin Garrix, and won them world-wide recognition at numerous international battles and championships.
Between us’ will be making its UK debut in September. What can we expect to see?
During Between Us, you’ll really get to know The Ruggeds. It’s like visiting our house and random situations happen. It flows very organically and it has our own sense of humour to it.
How important are chosen family structures in terms of the safety and development of hip hop communities?
I mean choosing in general defines a path you are going to take. If you want to develop, you should make certain decisions, aim for a goal, set a bar, just like the founders in hip hop. They just got good from doing their skill day in day out, and they shared it with the people that could appreciate. This is what thrives us to get better at it. We chose each other for this reason.
What are your feelings towards breakin’ being recognised as a sport?
Breaking is as much of a sport as it is to a dancing style. It’s probably the most physical style there is. Like, if you wanna win these competitions your stamina and body have to be in top shape. So yeah, people also should recognize it as a sport.
How do you think the 2024 Olympic Games will shape future audience ideas around hip hop culture?
I feel like it’s gonna give breaking more opportunities. In terms of sponsorships, how the UK government will support the culture. What will change and is changing is that there will be less crews because it’s a solo competition. So, people are more focused on themselves, and I think it’s gonna change the way they move. You can already see it now. 15 years ago you could almost tell from which country or crew someone was from by the way the break. Today people just see which moves win competitions and do the same. Sad but true.
What are your feeling about breaking being placed in an institutional context?
To me that should be all good as long as it’s fairly paid for. It’s still a crazy skill and a form of art.
What is your hope for the 2024 Olympics and beyond?
I just hope that it’s gonna open doors for the people that want to make a living out of competing. And that it inspires a whole new generation to start breaking — just like it’s doing with skating.
Breakin’ Convention Presents showcases breaking world champions The Ruggeds from Wednesday 15th — Saturday 18th September at the Peacock Theatre with the UK première of Between Us. Buy tickets here.
Valerie Ebuwa
Latest posts by Valerie Ebuwa (see all)
- REVIEW | THE POWER (OF) THE FRAGILE : A MOVING DANCE PERFORMANCE EXPLORING FRAGILITY, DREAMS, AND BOUNDARIES — July 5, 2023
- REVIEW | CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE AT BREAKIN’ CONVENTION DAY 2 — May 9, 2023
- REVIEW | BREAKIN’ CONVENTION 2022…A MUCH NEEDED INJECTION OF ENERGY, POSITIVITY AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF THEATRE — May 13, 2022