International Soul Society Festival Dates Announced
February 23, 2011FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:INTERNATIONAL SOUL SOCIETY FESTIVAL DATES ANNOUNCEDWASHINGTON, DC- Get your dance on at the 3rd annual International Soul Society Festival 2011 from April 10th-17th, with the main event being at the newest cultural arts center in Rosslyn, VA, the Artisphere. The International Soul Society Festival will be the largest urban arts event that DC has seen yet. The festival will merge the local arts community by way of urban dance competitions with international break dancing crews, poppers, lockers, hip hop and house dancers, graffiti artists, open mic and showcase for MC’s, local party and battle DJs to add the appreciation for music and turntablism with music styles like funk, breaks, hip-hop, house, dub-step and drum and bass. The international presence that has been finalized this year ranges from Finland, Korea, Denmark, Germany, France, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego and the DC metropolitan area.
The International Soul Society Festival kicks off in the spring with a variety of free weekly events. On Thursday, April 14, an emcee and hip-hop showcase called, The Original Tru Skool Classics (Reunion Show)will be held at Lounge of 3 at 1013 U Street NW, Washington DC from 7 pm to 2 am, hosted by Enoch the 7th Prophet, DJ Earth 1ne and DJ Underdog. Local emcees and hip-hop artists that are on the line up for this show include, Born Infinite & Auga “Shambhala,” Korean beat boxer /winner of Kollaboration DC: Chip Han, Assassins Productions 2Tone of Los Angeles and Scotty76 of Germany.
This year the Festival has expanded with their partnerships as Urban Artistry and Beat Refinery will be hosting the Official 2011 DMC in DC DJ Battle presented by Rane and Serato Scratch Live on Friday April 15at U Street Music Hall, 1115A U Street NW, Washington DC from 6 pm to 10 pm (all ages). It’s been a while since the DC metropolitan area has seen this classic showcase battle for turntablists to show off their skills and their own individuality on the decks using the art of vinyl. This competition now allows SERATO practitioners to participate and the 2011 DMC DC Champ will win a trip to NYC for the main event and a choice of either SL 4 for Serato Scratch Live or TTM 56s Mixer courtesy of the sponsors.
The International Soul Society’s main events are located at the ARTISPHERE 1101Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA. On Saturday, April 16 & 17, there will be three dance competitions in the Ballroom, Freestyle Session Capitol Qualifier 3 vs. 3 for BBoy and BGirl Crews, judge by Abstrak (NYC), Vortex (DC, MD, VA) and CrosOne (LA). A Mighty 4 Capital Qualifier 1 vs. 1 for the poppers, judged by Steen Koerner (Denmark), Thomas “Special FX” Herodt (Denmark), and Lonnie “Poptart” Green (SF). For all-style dancers there will be an UndergroundSoul Cypher Capital Qualifier with Judges Junious “House” Brickhouse, Fausan “VSAN” and Rashaad Pearson. This portion of the festival will be the only one that will have a cost. For all competitions in the Ballroom, the price is$20 for general admission and$35 for VIP (includes upper tier admission, coat check and a swag bag from our sponsors). The tickets will be available to purchase online via the Artisphere website at tickets.artisphere.com. This event is open to all ages. Both days will have live graffiti art outside in the front of ARTISPHERE created by Scotty76 & the Sticky Bandits.
For the first time ever, International Soul Society Festival debuts the Education & Culture Film Festival in the Dome Theater, April 16th, 2 pm – 5:30 pm to April 17th 2pm to 9pm. This is a free event and will feature documentaries on urban dance, music and arts culture from across the globe. Screenings include Scotty’s World, Street Level, Hungry Heal the Hood, and The Day Before Hip Hop. More to be announced.
International Soul Society Festival 2011are proud to be sponsored by the following: Urban Artistry, DMC, Pro-Seeds Project, Dance Metro DC, DC Place, The Pink Line Project, Freestyle Session, Mighty 4, Underground Soul Cypher, Beat Refinery, Kollaboration DC, Regroup TV, EK Design, Tribal Dawn, Quarter Hip Hop, CypherStyles.com, District Design Group, Reverb Nation, AirBornDesigns.com, Eighteenth Street Lounge, Dance Bethesda, Artisphere, U Street Music Hall, The Couch Sessions, Sticky Bandits, Artistik World, DMV Dance Network U Street Music Hall, DITA and TGRI. For more information please visit: www.internationalsoulsociety.com
About International Soul Society Festival:International Soul Society Festival was founded by a society of soulful creatives in the Washington, DC Metro Area and their affiliates both locally and abroad. Initially sponsored by a small grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County the event grew to serve over 600 local, national and international guests in the first two years alone. Bringing artists together from Memphis, Seoul, New York, Sofia, Stuttgart, San Francisco, Cape Town, Phoenix, Helsinki, Atlanta, Copenhagen, Montreal, Philadelphia, London, Baltimore, Stockholm and everywhere in between this unique festival creates an opportunity for cultural ambassadors from many backgrounds to find a mutual respect for one another through the competition, performance and education of urban dance, music and arts culture.
For all press and marketing inquiries for ISSF 2011, please contact Dee Sanae dee.sanae@internationalsoulsociety.com or 202.596.8278