This week-long professional development project offers hip hop theatre companies and performers, an opportunity to develop and experiment with new ideas, with experienced hip hop theatre mentors on hand to inspire, advise and offer support.

Open Art Surgery allows artists to take creative risks, try something different and test ideas. At the end of the week, the work is shared through live performance and the audience is invited to offer constructive critical feedback.

Open Art Surgery is about breaking down the fourth wall and showcasing raw talent and new work. Previous pieces that have been developed during Open Art Surgery have gone on to feature in Resolution, Edinburgh Fringe and Breakin' Convention's London Festival & International tours. 


This years Artists for Open Art Surgery 2026


Siaya Thomas

is a young visual and movement based director whose work overlaps the intersection of cultural documentation, fashion communications and creative direction. Utilising a multitude of mediums to create striking and captivating imagery, Saiya’s work often reflects his rich cultural upbringing. Producing art that is paying homage to those before and striving to find what is next.

Having trained in Hip Hop culture styles for over half his life and then going onto study contemporary and classical styles; Saiya’s passion for directing was sparked during his time at The BRIT School. Filmmaking has become a big part of his practice - where Saiya embeds and incorporates many differing techniques into his work, from many disciplines.

Saiya is exploring how his film language is fit for stage, going back to his roots and utilising skills from across all mediums to develop a new body of work.


Laurie Case

Laurie Case is a London-born dance artist whose love for intricate and gestural movement led her to discover Threading.

Having trained in contemporary dance, Laurie’s entry to Threading came from a natural curiosity with finding detail, complexity and unusual pathways with the body. It has since grown to become the heart of her practice, and she’s spent the last four years developing her own choreographic approach to the concept.

Her on-screen work includes music videos for artists such as Dodie, Merrick Winter and Haley Blais, as well as 'Splinter', a short film she wrote and choreographed, directed by Bertie Gilbert. She’s particularly interested in combining Threading with film, dialogue and narrative, and is now exploring how these elements can exist together live on stage.

Alongside Justin De Jager and Sael Heesemans, Laurie is a founding member of Threading Theatre, a company and community based across London and the Netherlands

is a young visual and movement based director whose work overlaps the intersection of cultural documentation, fashion communications and creative direction. Utilising a multitude of mediums to create striking and captivating imagery, Saiya’s work often reflects his rich cultural upbringing. Producing art that is paying homage to those before and striving to find what is next.

Having trained in Hip Hop culture styles for over half his life and then going onto study contemporary and classical styles; Saiya’s passion for directing was sparked during his time at The BRIT School. Filmmaking has become a big part of his practice - where Saiya embeds and incorporates many differing techniques into his work, from many disciplines.

Saiya is exploring how his film language is fit for stage, going back to his roots and utilising skills from across all mediums to develop a new body of work.

Francesca Rose Miles

is a British dance artist, DJ and cultural producer specialising in hip-hop and club cultures. A First-Class Dance Studies graduate, she has trained in street dance and locking in the UK and Sweden, and worked with companies and artists including Boy Blue, ZooNation, Far From The Norm, Breakin’ Convention and Linda Hayford.

An active house and locking battle dancer, Francesca also DJs across house, UK garage, jungle, grime, jazz and soul. Her work is rooted in cultural preservation, including research and writing on sexism in hip-hop dance battles and her role as Narrator and Musical Director for Mixmag’s Jack Union, exploring UK House Dance history.

 

Solène Filion

is a multidisciplinary street and commercial dancer driven by authenticity, emotion, and power. Her practice explores Waacking, Hip Hop, House, Commercial, Waving and Animation.

A member of Boy blue Asymmetry company and AMS.co, Solène has performed internationally and presented her choreographic work in Montreal, Toronto, New York and Quebec City.

She has also competed and won battles both in person and online.

Her current artistic research explores the connection between movement, musicality, the brain and the nervous system, using playful cognitive and movement-based exercises to challenge instinct, coordination and creative decision-making.

Theophilus O. Bailey

Theophilus O. Bailey is a London-based theatre director, movement director and multidisciplinary artist whose practice investigates human behaviour through movement, text and image.

Coming to directing through hip-hop, Krump and contemporary performance, his work explores what the body communicates when words are no longer enough. His credits span the National Theatre, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse and Bush Theatre, with collaborators including Ryan Calais Cameron, Milli Bhatia, Maddy Corner and Alison Faulk.

A 2022 Black British Theatre Award nominee for Movement Direction, Theophilus is developing a directorial practice centred on physical storytelling, new writing and reimagining classical texts through contemporary performance languages.

 

Outlawz

Outlawz is a London-based dance crew specialising in Hip Hop and a range of other styles. Rooted in battle culture, performance and community, we are passionate about creating spaces where dancers can express themselves, challenge one another and grow together.

As a collective, we have had the opportunity to work alongside established organisations such as Boy Blue and ZooNation, while individual members have also developed their practice and performed professionally across the wider dance and performance industry. These experiences have shaped our identity and strengthened our ambition to continue developing as artists and as a collective.

Our next stage of artistic development is focused on exploring the connection between our brotherhood and our relationship with dance. We want to investigate what it means to move, create and perform together, and how our shared experiences, individuality and relationships can influence our artistic voice and that celebrates the energy, culture and connection that brought Outlawz together in the first place.


Hand-picked Mentors for Open Art surgery

Privacy Notice

All data collected through the application form will be processed in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (EU) and the Data Protection Act (440).  Data collected will be used by Breakin’ Convention for the following:

  • To inform participants of any change in dates, time or venue;

  • For administrative purposes;

  • To understand the profile of participants;

  • Footage and photography will be used for archiving and marketing purposes.

Personally identifiable data collected through this form will be deleted after the project has ended. Data in the form of footage and photography will be stored indefinitely.