Memphis Jookin' with Lil Buck: Dance Workshop

Lil Buck is coming to the Centre!

Nia Centre is partnering with the Glenn Gould Foundation, The Promise of Music Symposium, to bring you an unforgettable dance workshop with world – renowed dancer and choreographer Lil Buck. Lil Buck is known internationally for the creation of the Memphis Jookin street dance style and has been instrumental in bringing this dance style to global stages.

Whether you’re a beginner finding your rhythm or an intermediate dancer, this workshop is your chance to learn the foundations, culture and flair of Memphis Jookin’ directly from the artist leading the movement

The workshop, facilitated by Lil Buck himself, is designed for beginner to intermediate-level dancers and will provide participants with an introduction to the key movements and techniques and rich cultural history of the Memphis Jookin.

About Lil Buck

Charles “Lil Buck” Riley is a movement artist who is known for being an ambassador for Memphis Jookin, a freestyle-based dance involving intricate footwork. Raised in Memphis, Buck was introduced to the urban street dance style around age 14. After moving up in the Jookin ranks, he studied ballet for two years. With those combined skills, he quickly made a niche for himself by adding his own style and imagination to create signature moves, which include gliding across space as if gravity didn’t exist. In 2011, Buck performed with Yo-Yo Ma to Ma’s rendition of Saint-Saëns’ The Swan. Film director Spike Jonze, who was in the audience, was so blown away by the performance that he recorded it on his phone and posted it on the internet. The video quickly went viral, with more than three million views on YouTube. Since then, Buck has performed with Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: One, Benjamin Millepied, Janelle Monae, and Madonna, to name a few. Buck’s dancing abilities and unique style have made him a fashion icon. In 2015, he danced alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov in Rag & Bone’s fall/winter campaign and has appeared in ads for brands such as Gap, Volvo, Kaporal Jeans, and Diesel Jeans. He also completed his second world tour with Madonna and designed a line of shoes and a shirt collection for Versace. Buck continues to defy gravity in Apple’s AirPods commercial, starred in Lexus’ 2017 Super Bowl commercial, and had a prominent cameo in Fox’s hit TV Show Empire. You can also see his moves as the Mouse King in Disney’s 2018 Christmas film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and in the new movie Emperor. A choreographer and dancer as well as an activist, Buck is behind MOVEMENT ART IS (M.A.I.), an organization focused on using movement artistry to inspire change in the world. He collaborated with dancer Jon Boogz and artist Alexa Meade on Color of Reality, a short film addressing gun violence that won CNN’s Great Big Story “Art as Impact” award and Toronto Short Festival’s best experimental film award and was nominated for World of Dance’s concept video of the year award. Buck also starred in the nature-inspired short film Honor Thy Mother, which addresses the need for humans to take better care of our planet. These short films have been turned into a touring stage show, Love Heals All Wounds.