Dancers and hip hop artists team up for EPA creative expression

It was a year ago that Menlo Park teenagers Olivia Bloom and Julia Nicholls, dancers who’ve known each other since they were little girls, formed Get Human Inc. “because so many of us are drowning in information, but not taking action or thinking deeply about making lasting change.”

Earlier this year they formed a partnership with Infamouz and J. Bugz (also known as JP and Marvin) whose “mission-driven, melodic hip hop educates and uplifts,” and together they are working on a Get Human fundraiser on July 16 at the Hillview Performing Arts Center to support music and arts in East Palo Alto.

“They’re amazing dancers,” said Infamouz. “I think they bring a kind of familiarity for anybody who would not be interested in our show.”

“This is the third time we’re putting on a show,” explained Julia, “but the first time it’s local. When we met Infamouz and J. Bugz we liked them and what they were doing. Together we can get our messages out to the world and merge our two communities together.”

For their part, Infamouz and J. Bugz view the show as expanding their career. “We’ve played clubs and done open mics, but there was no real focus other than being an artist,” said J. Bugz. “We’ve always been passionate about things we see first hand and realized we needed to be more the voice of our community and to uplift people.”

Olivia and Julia take classes at Captivating Dance, which is just a couple of doors down from Cafe Zoe where the two guys work. Additional dancers from that studio will take part in the show along with Raveon, who said: “We’re coming together for a larger purpose.”

Added Olivia: “This is the most concentrated and collaborative show we’ve ever done.”

Photo by Linda Hubbard (c) 2016