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Urban to urbane: the birth of Manchester's new hip-hop culture

Written by Sean Karoonian
Thursday, 29 October 2009 00:00

Se7en meets and interviews Jerry Tse, founder of Sunshine Studios - undoubtedly one of the biggest upcoming names in Manchester's hip-hop community.

In collaboration with others such as Cristina Azh, Salford University's Hip-Hop President, they have brought Sunshine Studios and Salford University together, promoting the Arts and dance in particular, whilst attempting to tackle the negatively portrayed image of the city's hip-hop culture & environment.

Ever since the June 1996 IRA bombings, huge efforts have been made to rejuvenate both the appearance and economy for businesses and people alike in Manchester, with hundreds of millions spent over the past 10 years to provide the sustenance for such growth. In many of the younger generations' eyes, Manchester is gradually being considered as the nation's second most important cultural city after London, as opposed to the likes of Birmingham, and our already so called 'Capital of Culture' - Liverpool.

Se7en: So tell us about your views on urban culture in Manchester then:

Jerry: "Urban? Erm - No.  You see, just to clarify firstly, I think the word & term 'urban' has been given the wrong image. People think of 'urban' as 'ghetto' - but it doesn't mean that at all. It's more to do with culture, society, community and everything around you, as opposed to just being rough, having guns and shooting people. It's being given the wrong image. The media will always try and look for something, in fact people in general will always try and look for a scapegoat and something to blame bad things on. So I think this said 'urban' culture is the one that's taking the blame at the moment, where as there are a lot of people in it, such as myself, that are trying to do good positive things."

How it all began

Jerry Tse, 28, founder of Sunshine Studios in Manchester, may not be someone you would typically associate with the dance scene & hip-hop culture. Having graduated from Salford University with a degree in Engineering, he chose instead to follow his dream - street dance.

Immediately I can tell Jerry is passionate about what he's doing: "I'm a hip-hop dancer and I love it. Even though I studied for something else at university, dance is where my passion is. I thought about the engineering, but the dance dragged me back so I thought I can't leave it behind and went for it." Jerry continues proudly: "So the company started 3 years ago but then I've been planning it and running a dance business for 2-3 years before that. So even during that time I was building up to the point where Sunshine would open and there would be people there straight away. This place really started though when I was sat in university years ago with a friend Gavin, and I said: 'I want to open a place like Pineapple Studios' (the UK's most renowned dance studios based in London). He said okay so I just got a notepad out, wrote down all the numbers, how to make it work and said: 'Look, this is how we'll do it.'  And I did it.  It's just the way I do things - you have to seize opportunities."

And now, since first putting pen to paper with the original idea, Sunshine now prides itself on being one of the UK's largest dance & arts studios and schools, whilst with an additional arm branched out in Bolton, the main studios and teachers are based in Manchester City Centre and a stone's throw away from busy Piccadilly Gardens.

Students, Clients & the Future

Sunshine first opened its car doors (yes, car doors!) to the public three years ago whilst operating on a mobile basis with Jerry driving around & teaching from various gyms and studios. However, two years ago he managed to secure the company's first building on Newton Street, Manchester, for an undisclosed figure, & from which they've grown ever since. The past year especially, the studios have created a professional dance environment and community in the city, evolving from the fair and few dance halls dotted around the city. People are now being given the opportunity to learn more about both street & commercial dance.  With over 1500 students currently associated at Sunshine, the apex is far from being reached in the eyes of its founder:  
"Obviously when we started we had no reputation, no-one knew about us, but then we've grown bigger and bigger. We've also got a reputation for producing talent and quality, so we're very strict on what teachers we allow to teach here and because of that we've got a reputation for ourselves. We've built a lot of talented people, George Sampson, who went onto Britain's Got Talent and his other group, A2AA (Access 2 All Areas) all studied here. We've got 8 year olds here who can dance like adults and some of them haven't been even dancing that long, but they've been trained to that level. I mean with George Sampson though, he wasn't just in my classes, he was probably trained by no less than 20 teachers, that's why he's got to where he is. But yeah, He's a down to earth kid, real grounded and I'm proud of him."

It hasn't all been plain sailing however as Jerry tells me about having taken out two overdrafts and countless maxed out credit cards to fund the project:  
 
"Sunshine is all privately funded. We've never had any money given to us from the government or grants. We've looked into it though, there's some possibility of going there but I know lots of government funded arts organisations are struggling and a lot of them have been closed down. The government has been making cutbacks especially with the Olympics coming up. So I would never want Sunshine to be dependent on government funding, it's all self-sufficient, self-sustained. But I mean, if the government comes and offers me 10, 20, 100 grand I'm not going to say no! If it happens it happens!"

At Sunshine Studios you can find everything from pole-dancing to popping, burlesque to break-dancing, the choices are endless. With never having been much of a mover or shaker in my life though, it's left to the professionals to strut their stuff in the well-equipped dance studios, contained in a building spread over 5-floors and covering over 25,000 square feet.

During my visit I'm made to drop in on one of these classes being held at Newton Street - it just so happens to be belly-dancing... Despite repeatedly being asked, I kindly turn down the offer of cold-served embarrassment on a hot plate, knowing full well that I certainly won't be shaking my ass here as I sit and observe instead! Men's bodies just aren't designed for this level of versatility and contortion and even if they were, hairy-chested belly-dancers aren't what we'd really like to see entertaining us next to a table for two at a Middle-Eastern restaurant say - so let's send that image Britain's Got Talent's way where anything passes. (No sexism intended there guys but it's true!) Anyways, the class is being taught by Cristina Azh, 23, Salford University's Hip-Hop Society President. Iranian by birth & dancer by nature, her Middle-Eastern heritage provides the raw fundamental skills required in this genre of dance for her to be considered a true professional alongside the many other teachers here at the studios.

Cristina quickly sits down with me after the class & tells me more about what she hopes to achieve on behalf of Salford University with regards to their collaborative efforts with Sunshine Studios in helping Manchester's young community & culture: "We're really trying to unite the youth here into doing what can be a fun & exciting past-time such as dancing, which brings people together whilst simultaneously trying to deter and draw them away from crime by showing that there are better things to do with your time. Let's for example encourage kids to partake in activities such as graffiti by changing it from what many see as vandalism & instead into a new-age art. So whilst teaching them that vandalizing newly built streets and walls around town is wrong, we can show them that it can be done in safe & expressive environments such as here. I believe every negative can be turned into a positive activity."

So the studios seem to be more than a dance and arts school. Not forgetting to mention that they're also working in collaboration with top presenters & clients including, BBC, ITV, C4 and shows such as Britain's Got Talent. I ask Jerry to tell me more about the arrangements he currently has with the media:

"A lot of the TV channels and shows come and use the space a lot, so they're effectively clients of ours. Britain's Got Talent come and use the space, Britannia High come here to rehearse, Channel 4 come to do Celebrity Wife Swap, and other TV companies and shows are always popping in to use the space, and it's simply because there's not much space like this in Manchester or anywhere in the North. Also - by being a dancer & teacher, I've met a lot of people & made a lot of contacts in the industry from ITV to MTV."

With the advent of 21st-Century-urban-culture having spread like wild-fire across the UK, giving our youth at least something other than Colonel Sanders & fellow fast-food compatriots to thank the USA for, a rapturous craze seems to have engulfed Manchester with regards to the Arts. Let's remember that with increases in gun and knife violence nationwide, establishments such as Sunshine Studios are not simply necessary, but crucial in helping to promote urban culture and British youth in a positive light. Sunshine prides itself on its community support work, hoping to assist the council and Manchester Metropolitan Police in tackling issues involving young gun & knife crime, especially after Maria Eagle, Junior Minister, Ministry of Justice said earlier in a statement dated March 2009 that: "Half the total number of gun and gang homicides in Manchester are estimated to have been committed by those aged 11 to 29".

Et Finalement:

It seems that there has been a birth, and subsequent indefinite growth of a dance community in Manchester. More & more people are being absorbed into it, living it, breathing it, & not to forget, dancing it.  Jerry knows that there's still a long way to go though as he says: "In all honesty - I tell all my students to go down to London and pop into Pineapple Studios. Cause to be a dancer you've got to go down there and see the REAL dance world.  In Manchester - even though it’s developing - we're still not at that stage yet. Hopefully by going down South, my students will get stronger then come back here and help our city become stronger. Once we're at that standard then I'm looking at importing more choreographers from LA and NY to train people here."

One such choreographer is shown in the video below. John Graham, is a Los Angeles based dancer and can be seen here at Seven giving a master-class at Sunshine Studios last month. For those of you who may not know him by his real name, you'll probably know the music he has made under the pseudonyms Tilt, Stoneproof, Skanna, Quivver, Globe & Space Maneuvers:

So, from the administrative staff and dance teachers to the pupils, there's no rose-tinted lethargy circling the air as the likes of optimism and drive are visible in each and every person that enter through the main doors. It's hoped that for just £2 for the sessions (including 'The Sunshine Community Program', which is run every Sunday in addition to the many other classes and events held every night), that the studios are able to get any kids possible in off the streets to come and have fun in the positive atmosphere that I've found myself becoming gradually sucked into. Manchester's young generation are undoubtedly building bridges across the different parts of the city whilst striving to maintain a healthy dance & hip-hop community, culture and appearance. However, only further time & investment can tell if the city can reach its dream of being on par with the likes of London, Paris & New York.

For further information please visit: www.sunshine-studios.co.uk