The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory

H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory was founded by hip-hop dance luminary, educator, choreographer and philanthropist Safi A. Thomas. It is a world renowned institution for professional hip-hop dance plus academics housed in NYC. H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory is founded upon 6 foundational pillars: Pedagogy, Repertory, Advocacy, Medical Research, Infrastructure, and Design, signified by the acronym, PYRAMID®. These pillars are designed under the premise that every artist is a human first. This artist cannot thrive at their greatest potential if their basic human needs are not being met consistently. In turn, each pillar was carefully chosen to address the needs of our culture and community in Hip-Hop, which are in many ways reflective of the needs of the overarching arts infrastructure in the United States: PEDAGOGY Our Pedagogy pillar represents a codified teaching methodology of Hip-Hop Dance, The BLADE Dance Technique® (S. Thomas, 1995), founded upon the principles of dance heuristics utilized in our pedagogical programming, which includes: H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory (Our Adult Apprenticeship Program) H+ | The BLADE Dance Preparatory School of NY (Our Youth Division) H+ | SOUL SCIENCE® (Intensives, Workshops, Seminars) REPERTORY Our repertory pillar is inclusive of our archive (over 120 works) within a 20 year span that is sustained by our repertory company. TOTEM® exists to do what art is meant to do: provoke, challenge, rile, so that you exit the aesthetic experience differently than how you entered; that you will walk off with something that has you questioning, has you curious, has you perplexed. H+ | TOTEM®, Theatre Of ThE Mind® (The Official Repertory Company and Production Company of H+) ADVOCACY All humans are valuable and have the right to live and be advocated for in this world. Each project aims to serve as a platform for healthy dialogue surrounding subjects that are often considered "off the grid" in our societal barometer of “appropriate discourse” thereby pushing the boundaries of human development and understanding. Our advocacy campaigns include: DaSex® (Initiative for dancers for safer sex and healthy dialogue.) Dreamer. Lover. Fighter. Dancer.® (Initiative celebrating dancers as mulit-layered human beings.) You Belong Here.® (Initiative inviting all to join in the community of Hip-Hop.) Dance Like You.® (Initiative inviting open expression in movement.) Think Smart. Love Free.® (Initiative addressing issues of gender, sex, sexuality, sexual freedom, and sexual agency as men and women.) Body By BLADE® (Initiative addressing the societal and cultural expectations of the female body image.) I Am Not A Dancer.® (Initiative addressing the stereotypes of professional dancers.) MEDICAL RESEARCH Our Medical Research pillar represents dancers’ access to health, longevity, and prowess through knowledge, study, and research, surrounding the different physical loads unique to each dance form. Our medical research centers include: H+ | Dance Center for Injury Prevention and Treatment® VITRIOLUM® (The BioMedical Research Facility) INFRASTRUCTURE Our Infrastructure pillar represents the greater overarching system necessary to allow dance to truly thrive and sustain in this society. Setting a foundation for basic organizational and physical operations that serve the holistic wellness of the dancer. Our infrastructural initiatives include: H+ | Dance Mart® (An Affordable Food Market for Dancers) H+ | PARK® Program (Performance And Recreation for Kids Program®) H+ | Performing Arts Center® {The Safi A. Thomas Arts Pavilion} LemnisKate Consolidated® (Architectural Design Firm) DESIGN Our Design pillar is representative of the aesthetic work done to authentically archive, signify relevancy, and make public, the pioneers, community members, landmarks, historical events, and work surrounding our foundational community of Hip-Hop Dance and the greater arts community. Our design companies include: AK47 Division® (High-End Design & Media) Tatterdeuxmalion® (The Costuming Division of TOTEM®)