INTERVIEW - Kloe Dean

A SOUTH London dancer and choreographer who is one of the rising stars of the hip hop world will be showcasing her latest work at this year's Breakin' Convention.

Catford-based Kloe Dean will bring her all-women dance collective Myself UK Dance Company to the Sadlers Wells-based festival this weekend to perform her latest composition, Red.

The 26-year-old who set up the group when she was just 18 said she's really looking forward to the event which celebrates the best in hip hop, body popping, street and breakdance.

Performed by the 10-strong group on the main Sadlers Wells stage, the abstract piece will feature a mix of popping and locking and aims to show how women stick together in times of need.

The themes in the dance are very much reflective of the ethos of the company - to promote empowerment, ambition, individuality and self worth and to represent women in the hip hop world in a positive light.

"I want to break the stereotypes of this largely male dominated area," Kloe tells me. "There are some great women dancers and groups but there aren't enough and a lot of them are run by men anyway.

"It's quite hard to be taken seriously in hip hop as a woman. So I want to change all that and inspire women and girls of all ages to get involved.

"This piece will look at women and how powerful they can be. The narrative is all about the journey in which the dancers support one another - how women can work really well independently and as individuals but how powerful we could be if we work together."

Kloe herself got into dance when she was a teenager although she admits it was more by chance than design.

"I'd always liked singing and acting but it was when I was 15 and going to my local youth club in Lewisham where it all happened," she says.

"I wanted to be a singer but they started doing dance classes and one day I went along and got hooked.

"I just felt comfortable dancing. I hear music and it inspires me and tells me what to do. I can have an idea of a story or moves but the music has to go with the idea. I can't create movement that doesn't have any feelings in it.

"I started doing shows and then was asked to audition for dance group Boy Blue Entertainment.

"It just went from there."

But it was on the back of a relationship break up that she decided to branch out on her own.

"I was in a relationship that went wrong and it broke my heart," she recalls.

"However I realised that I needed to be strong and so I decided to set this company up to empower myself and other women and show how strong we can be.

"It made me push myself and although it's been pretty challenging I love it."

And from there Kloe and Myself UK Dance Company have gone from strength to strength and she says she has plenty of goals and ambitions for the future.

"I want to develop myself as a choreographer though I'd love to do more singing and acting," she says warmly.

"I would also like a dance space in London for hip hop dancers - to create a dance space in London, that would be amazing."

But for now she's concentrating on Breakin' Convention, a festival that she has been performing at since 2009.

"It's brilliant and I've been blessed to have performed on both stages," she says. "The 10 girls in the piece are utterly amazing - it's a very strong piece and I know it will be epic."

Kloe Dean's Myself UK Dance Company is at Breakin' Convention on Saturday, April 30. Visit www.breakinconvention.com/ for full listings.