Rennie Harris Puremovement American Dance Theater

Rennie Harris Puremovement American Dance Theater (RHPM) is the leading US street dance theater company, and for over thirty-five years has been dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop aesthetics and street dance culture through workshops, classes, history, lecture demonstrations, long-term residencies, mentoring programs, and public performances. With his roots in the inner-city, Harris and RHPM present unique stories that are riveting, intimate, and honest. RHPM’s mission is to re-educate the public about hip-hop culture and street dance through its artistic work, sharing the essence and spirit of street dance, rather than the commercially exploited stereotype portrayed by the media. 

Dr. Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris is a leading ambassador for hip-hop. Harris grew up entrenched in hip-hop culture in all its forms—music, dance, language. Throughout his career, he has embraced the culture and sought to honor its legacy, believing that hip-hop and street dance is the purest form of movement in that it honors both African and African American-Latino culture. Harris is well versed in the vernacular of what he calls hip-hop “proper,” as well as the various techniques of B-boy, house, GQ and other styles that have emerged spontaneously from the inner cities of America, like the North Philadelphia community in which he was raised.