A hip hop circus mash-up! Records scratch. B-boys dance. A freestyle cypher begins. Cypher Stories fuses elements of hip hop culture presented in a cabaret style: new ideas and short performances from a line up of exciting artists.
A live DJ accompanies the artists on stage providing a fresh soundtrack to acts ranging from Cyr wheel and juggling to aerial and street dance. Cypher Stories recalls the early days of hip hop with a fresh circus twist.
Simple Cypher curates and unites a crew of multi-disciplined performers to present an evening of new hip hop and circus talent. Previous editions have featured: DJ Dbo, Luke Lentes, Roxy Milliner, Shane Hampden, Tessa Blackman, Josh Brackenbury, Josh Frazer, Lee Putman, Dominic Barnes, Alex Aina & Michelle Ross.
After a series of successful performances at Jacksons Lane and Wandsworth Arts Fringe, Cypher Stories is currently in a stage of further development. Created with support from Swindon Dance, National Centre for Circus Arts and Jacksons Lane.
Photo and trailer credit: Jay Kasitz
Simple Cypher
Simple Cypher fuses Hip Hop and Circus to create new, uplifting experiences. Simple Cypher is a company built through the foundations of hip hop and circus, founded in 2016 by Kieran Warner and Chris Thomas. Style, originality and unity are key fundamentals of hip hop culture and have had a profound influence on their development as artists and the work they create.
Since forming, they’ve collaborated with a host of hip hop and circus artists and presented work to audiences at leading festivals and venues across the UK and Europe including Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Breakin’ Convention, Underbelly Southbank Festival, Birmingham International Dance Festival and Tête à Tête.