He glided across the stage as if on skates in time to the music, weaving around unseen objects and reversing direction on a whim. On Sunday night, Gammage Auditorium hosted Bill Shannon and his troupe of hip-hop dancers, the Step Fenz.
Thirty-one year old Shannon has gone beyond his disability, which requires him to use crutches to walk, to choreograph and perform his show, the Art of Weightlessness.
He has managed to incorporate his crutches into hip-hop dancing, sliding around the stage in the boneless grace of a dancer.
Shannon claims that his dance moves started as a child, as a way to keep up with other children when playing. He was never formally trained as a dancer, what he knows comes from clubs and moves he learned on the streets.
David Folger, one of the members of the Step Fenz, mesmerized the audience with his arial tricks, spinning around on his head and doing many tricks upside down.
"I never made a choice to dance hip-hop," said Shannon, "I was a skater and into punk rock, and I merged the two. The attitude of punk with the rhythm of hip-hop."
The quintet of dancers, danced for over an hour, alternating with solo performances and in groups. At the end, they danced freestyle, simply showing off and enjoying the dance.
