Writer, dancer, and, although he doesn't like to admit it -- actor, Rudi Goblen has performed with The Roots, Mos Def, and De La Soul, just to name a few. The acclaimed B-Boy and his crew, the Flipside Kings, perform, compete, and judge events all over the world. You may recognize Goblen from Tarell McCraney's Borscht short, Bus.
Goblen is also part of D-Projects, Teo Castellanos's collective of local artists who create "provocative contemporary performances," and created their first piece Scratch & Burn. He has also tripped the lights fantastic with DV8 Physical Theater, Cirque de Soleil, Rosie Herrera's Dance Theater, Octavio Campos's Camposition Hybrid Theater, and interactive performance group Circ-X.
Goblen was recently awarded the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant (FAAR), funded by the Ford Foundation. He's currently teaching and touring around the world with his one-man shows, Insanity Isn't and Fair Welling, which were commissioned by the Miami Light Project and the Arsht Center for itje Here & Now series. He stopped dancing for a few minutes to answer a few of our questions. Read on to find out who he would bring back from the dead and why he still sees himself as a student.
New Times: Are you a Miami native?
case Miss South Carolina will be reading this). I moved to L.A. when I was three and
then to Miami when I was 11. With the exception of touring and living in other
cities for small periods of time, I've been in Miami since. And though I despise the
mass transit here with a passion, it's definitely home.
didn't? -- but I've always wanted to dance, sing, perform, don't know why really
though. I also wanted to be a gymnast and learn karate, but never got the chance to -- mother didn't have any money to spare -- so when I found b-boying later on in life,
it was perfect. My friends and I, who used to mess around with '90s hip-hop dances
and flipping, saw a video by A lighter Shade of Brown called "Hey DJ" that had people
b-boying in it. We taught ourselves shortly after, and here we are 17 years later.
there. Let's just say I'm a performer. I've been writing since I was in fifth grade and
dancing just as long. I believe these two things are what helped me when going into the
theater and performance art world. As an emcee you have to learn to control a crowd,
what they need, and when they need it, timing is everything, you have to keep them
engaged, you have to articulate. You need to be fully aware of what's going on at all times. If you stay
open, your mind, body, and spirit align. All these things are used in theater. I'm still
learning and just staying open. Like I said, I've been b-boying for 17 years now, and still
see myself as a student, so imagine how I feel, being that I've only been [acting] in the
theater world since 2004.
premiered here in Miami in 2006 for Miami Light Project's Here and Now series.
from the dead to dance with or for them.
through movement and thumping dub beats. By deconstructing the narrative
elements of American consumerism and wastefulness juxtaposed with world hunger
and poverty, "Fat Boy" tells its compelling story.
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