Street Beat has entertained audiences around the country with a high-energy drum and break dance show.
The Los Angeles urban percussionists can strike up a beat on just about anything, and the dancers make spinning and moving across the floor look easy. The eight-member group mixes street-style moves with urban rhythms.
Local audiences will get to see them in action during a performance 7 p.m. Monday in the David Reid Theater at the Chapman Cultural Center.
"The best way to describe Street Beat is a modern day version of Stomp meets Blue Man Group in a Southern California way," said founder Ben Hansen in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "The difference between us and other groups is we deliver a whole night of entertainment with percussion-based music, comedy and audience participation."
Hansen said the group sets up three huge drum stations on risers made of different industrial cylinders and shapes. The drummers are also accompanied by a musician playing conga drums.
"Our drummers are very high energy," he said.
Before organizing the troupe, Hansen, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, moved to Los Angeles in 2002 and worked as a freelance drummer. He played with a variety of groups and Grammy Award-winning artists until he decided to focus on another direction.
Hansen started visiting elementary schools and teaching children to play the drums to help them learn the basics of music and designed workshops for classes.
"It was always a dream of mine to give back," he said. "My focus and direction changed."
Street Beat was formed in 2004 as a creative outlet. The group has played for a variety of audiences and performed more than 400 shows in 2008.
"This kind of show has never been seen in Spartanburg," said Steve Wong, marketing director for The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg. "The show is right off the streets of L.A., and it is very urban and somewhat gritty."