Yokohama has long been known as a hotbed for Japanese hip-hop culture, so it's a fitting venue for this week-long celebration of breakdance, body-popping, footwork, capoeira and other forms of street dance. The lineup includes the Japan debut of Compagnie Käfig, a troupe whose members hail from the favelas of Brazil, plus a vast posse of hip-hop dancers from Japan and South Korea. Look out too for TheatriKA'I, a competition that showcases the emerging art of 'hip-hop dance theatre'. The official website is all in Japanese, so here's a quick rundown of what to expect.
July 30
Yokohama Dance Delight (2.30pm start; tickets ¥3,500 adv, ¥4,000 on the door): Local dance crews face off in an all-day contest, with special appearances by previous national champs Electric Trouble and Symbol-ism
July 31
Lil'Wild Yokohama (12.30pm start; tickets ¥2,500): Street dance contest for school kids
TheatriKA'I (2.30pm start; tickets ¥2,000 adv, ¥2,500 on the door): Inspired by the UK's Breakin' Convention festival, dancers present 15-minute dance theatre performances, with judges including Breakin' main man Jonzi D. The winner will appear in the following weekend's Hip-Hop Gala
August 2-3
Upper Field (7pm start; tickets ¥3,500-5,000): Song-and-dance gala featuring Avex signee Daichi Miura, avant-garde theatre troupe Vanilla Grotesque, Cirque du Soleil-esque company Tokyo Blue and many more
August 5
Hip Hop Gala (7pm start; tickets ¥2,000-5,000): First of three performances starring Brazil's Compagnie Käfig, with support from Korean b-boys Last for One and Gambler Crew
August 6
UK B-Boy Championships (12.30pm start; tickets ¥2,500 adv, ¥3,000 on the door): Preliminaries for the Japan heats of the world street dance contest, the finals for which are held in London in October
Hip Hop Gala (1.30pm/6pm start; tickets ¥2,000-5,000): As above. Compagnie Käfig will perform their piece 'Correria' in the 6pm show
August 7
Hip Hop Gala (1pm start; tickets ¥2,000-5,000): As above
UK B-Boy Championships (2pm start; held at Club Citta; tickets ¥3,500 adv, ¥4,000 on the door): Finals for the Japan heats