IBE 2015 is was awesome!! For me this IBE was different from previous years, not just because of the change in organisation from IBE itself, but because I was more involved with organising. I helped Aruna with Heart Break Hotel and a project with Asia One, and with Bgirlsessions we made a Bgirl timeline.
With Asia One I organised a series of workshop, Q&A and hang out sessions to get a peak into her life. Asia One is super friendly, positive and hiphopminded in a progressive way. She uses Hiphop to help the community and looks for ways to fit Hiphop into the modern way. She values the social aspect of Hiphop and breaking highly, it’s that feeling of belonging together with learning a skill that makes people connect and inspired. The way she puts that above the competitive aspect gave me a lot of inspiration and a renewed connection to breaking. I felt more free, less competitive and more expressive. A great feeling that I hope to maintain and pass along more!
Next to Asia One, the whole weekend was packed with female hiphop artists who contribute to the scene in some kind of way. Really inspiring to be around these people and learn how they came to be, how they contribute and see the influence they have. Maybe it’s because Hiphop is so male dominated, a female inspired initiative has something extra. It brings balance and often a fresh perspective.
