The London Times called Lorenzo ‘Rennie’ Harris “the Basquiat of the U.S. contemporary dance scene.”

Like the graffiti luminary, Harris expresses in movement what Basquiat captured in his paintings: an eclectic distillation of cultural influences and heritage, conveyed in a new language.

“One of things I am most often called is a visionary,” Harris once said. “… A visionary I am not. In my opinion, the language/culture of Hip Hop is the visionary and through it I have been able to see. I have been able to view the world in a way that no one had ever expected. Not even me.”

The Guggenheim fellow, a North Philadelphia native, started the Rennie Harris PureMovement dance company in 1992. Now it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary with performances across the country.

Harris is considered a pioneer in hip-hop dance culture. Considered unrefined street-dancing by many, Harris has been able to elevate the organic form into a performance equally suited to the big stage at the Kravis Center.

His high-impact dance company can translate the energy and spirit of the street into an electrifying visual of human shapes and movement. In the true spirit of hip-hop dance, Harris blends poetry, popping, locking, House, and B-boying into hip-hop dance theatre.

At the Kravis, the dancers will perform excerpts of past works as well as newer works in commemoration. Notable elements are “Something to do with Love Vol. I,” with music by Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone; and “Continuum” from 1997. These pieces were chosen to express the spirit and essence of the dance form, and its evolution over two decades.