Rooted in Hip-Hop, Chicago House and Street Dance culture — moving through artistry, education, curation, community, embodied practice and fearless creative expression.
BraveSoul Movement is a Chicago-rooted Street Dance company and cultural practice shaped through decades of engagement with Hip-Hop, House, performance, education and community.
BraveSoul emerged organically through the long-running artistic and cultural relationship between Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood and Kelsa “K-Soul” Rieger-Haywood. Their practice brings together dancemaking, cultural knowledge, youth development, embodied learning, collaboration and community building.
We honor tradition while continually remixing it — creating experiences that recognize individuality, cultivate connection, preserve cultural memory and invite people to participate rather than simply observe.
“I don't think in the form of moves, I exist in the form of Movement. ”
BraveSoul lives across performance, education, cultural production and community. Each expression is different — but they remain connected.
Performance, cultural platforms, collaborations, education and gatherings — different forms of BraveSoul practice sharing one commitment to culture, expression and connection.
A BRAVEMONK-created and continually evolving cultural platform bringing together music, dance, battle, performance, community, vibe and celebration.
Explore The Story →House Dance aesthetics explored through groove, footwork, shifting weight, contrasting energies, polyrhythm and freestyle.
BraveSoul movement and Hip-Hop cultural practice meeting opera, theater, music and immersive performance.
Premiered at Jay Pritzker Pavilion during the 2017 DCASE Summer Dance Off, We Define Us drew inspiration from the personal narratives of its original cast.
The work interwove diverse origin stories — from Poland and Vietnam to Chicago's South and West Sides — with Hip-Hop serving as a shared youth culture connecting the ensemble.
Clubs. Cyphers. Conversation. Community. Two artists developing movement practices in Chicago's underground House and Hip-Hop spaces long before BraveSoul Movement had a name.
BRAVEMONK and K-Soul meet within Chicago's underground clubs and dance parties, developing movement sensibilities through weekly exchange, music, dance and late-night conversations around culture, politics and community.
Alongside Jason “House Mouse” Yee and Boogie McClarin, the artists co-found The Freestyle Collective, bringing organic Street Dance vocabulary and community-building practices into clubs, festivals, schools, theaters and neighborhood spaces.
A deeper shared creative process reconnects BRAVEMONK and K-Soul's artistic practices, creating space to move, perform and make work together beyond familiar boundaries.
The interwoven journey becomes BraveSoul Movement — a new container for dancemaking, education, cultural practice, community engagement and creative possibility.
BraveSoul premieres its ensemble work on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage as part of DCASE's Summer Dance Off.
Performances, cultural platforms, collaborations, education, mentorship, neighborhood programming, community activation, research and intergenerational exchange continue to expand what BraveSoul can hold.
BraveSoul's original values were intentionally expressed as relationships between ideas rather than isolated principles.
Honor the traditions that inform the practice while continuing to remix and evolve them.
Stay conscious, questioning and critically engaged while choosing possibility in attitude and action.
Pursue skill and quality while remaining open to learning, growth and our shared humanity.
Cultivate inner development while growing our capacity to engage and transform the world around us.
Practice honesty, accountability and cultural integrity while making room for authentic voices to interrupt convention.
Value diverse identities and experiences while building through participation, dialogue and relationship.
Honor the relationship of mind, body and soul, and the body as a carrier of history, culture, knowledge and action.
Across performance, teaching, cyphers, cultural production and community work, BraveSoul seeks to create spaces where people can encounter culture — and one another — with presence.
Battles, jams, conversations and experiences designed to bring culture-bearers, artists, dancers and communities into relationship.
Classes, workshops, summer programs and mentorship connecting movement practice with culture, confidence, leadership and life development.
Creating opportunities for stories, knowledge and movement to pass between generations while preserving living cultural memory.
Artist, B-boy, educator, host, cultural ambassador and community builder whose movement practice is grounded in Breaking, Hip-Hop, House and embodied movement languages.
Dance artist, educator, curator and community development practitioner rooted in underground House, Hip-Hop and Street Dance culture.
Learn with us. Create with us. Collaborate. Experience the work. Bring BraveSoul into your school, institution, neighborhood, festival or community.