Lil Buck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lil Buck
Born Charles Riley
1988/1989 (age 24–25)[1]
Memphis, Tennessee
Occupation Dancer

Charles "Lil Buck" Riley is a Los Angeles-based American dancer from Memphis, Tennessee who specializes in a style of street dance called jookin'. He gained popularity after director Spike Jonze used his cell phone to record an interpretive performance of "The Dying Swan" by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma.[2][3] Jonez uploaded the video to YouTube and as of February 2014, it had amassed 2.39 million views.[4]

Career

Lil Buck started jookin when he was 12 years old.[5] Before moving to Los Angeles, he studied ballet for two years while on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble in Memphis.[5][6]

In 2010, he co-choreographed and danced in the music video for the song "Tightrope" by Janelle Monáe. In 2011, ballet star and director Damian Woetzel paired Lil Buck with Yo-Yo Ma in a series of events including the performance of the Swan which became a YouTube sensation, and the culminating performance at the 2011 U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture.[7] [8][9] He was the artist in residence at Woetzel's 2011 Vail International Dance Festival[10] [1] and he danced for Madonna during her Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show after winning the "Dance for Madonna Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Competition".[8][11][12] Later that year, he joined her on the MDNA Tour as one of 22 dancers.[11][13][14]

In 2012, Lil Buck was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch".[6] The same year, he appeared in a national GAP ad[11] and two NOWNESS videos, one of which was directed by ballet choreographer Benjamin Millepied.[15]

In 2013, Lil Buck performed on The Colbert Report and performed with Yo-Yo Ma a third time at (Le) Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, again directed by Damian Woetzel.[16] [17] Later in the year he briefly appeared in the Spike Jonze film Her as a busker.[18] He is currently dancing in the Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson: One.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Street dancer Charles 'Lil Buck' Riley to be artist in residence at Vail International Dance Festival". RealVail.com. May 12, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2012. 
  2. ↑ Sommer, Sally (January 2012). "Balletic Breakin'". Dance Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Blank, Christopher (December 8, 2011). "Crown prince of jookin' returns for New Ballet's 'Nut Remix'". GoMemphis.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  4. ↑ "Opening Ceremony Blog Exclusive - Spike Jonze Presents: Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma" (live performance). YouTube. April 11, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Johnson, Tamara (May 30, 2013). "Meet Lil Buck: Jookin Master". TheWorldDances.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Poon, Kina (January 2012). "25 to Watch". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2012. 
  7. ↑ A Musical Dialogue - US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture YouTube Video
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Lil Buck Explains Memphis Jookin On Colbert Report After Video “Goes To China”". MemphisRap.com. February 23, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  9. ↑ Chin, Josh (November 21, 2011). "Yo Yo Ma and Lil' Buck Perform The Swan in Beijing". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 17, 2012. 
  10. ↑ From Winning to ‘Wow,’ Festival Fun Unfurls in Crisscrossing Acts: Vail Dance Festival Has an International Evening
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Lil’ Buck: Memphis Jookin In Gap “Denim Moves You” Commercial (Video)". MemphisRap.com. September 11, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  12. ↑ Washburn, Dan (February 3, 2012). "Before Lil Buck Dances With Madonna at Super Bowl, Watch Him Dance in China". AsiaSociety.org. Retrieved February 17, 2012. 
  13. ↑ Blank, Christopher (February 7, 2012). "Memphis dancer Lil Buck to tour with Madonna". AsiaSocieity.org. Retrieved February 26, 2012. 
  14. ↑ "MDNA Tour details". Mad-Eyes.com. July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012. 
  15. ↑ "Jacob Sutton: Lil Buck". Nowness.com. July 24, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  16. ↑ Hip-Hop Meets Ballet in One Man’s Body
  17. ↑ "Lil Buck @ (le) poisson rouge: A jookin’ jam session starring Lil Buck - SOLD OUT!". LePoissonRouge.com. 
  18. ↑ Her (2013) – Full Cast & Crew – IMDb
  19. ↑ Harss, Marina (August 2014). "Mesmerizing Moves". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  20. ↑ Leach, Robin (May 24, 2013). "‘Michael Jackson One’ is Cirque du Soleil’s best — and includes snow at Mandalay Bay". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014. 

External links

Main styles
Derivatives
Movies
TV shows
People
Events
Related topics
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.