The performers range in age from (roughly) 20 to 40. The genre is dance -- mostly freestyle hip-hop: popping, locking, breaking, house...laced with a bit of jazz and commercial hip-hop. The spoken word that underscores the physical is personal to the dancers: humorous and heart-wrenching; confessional and redemptive; beautiful and unflinching.  

The production is GROOVALOO and up till now its impact -- which, according to the LA Times, “...has the power to leave an audience slack-jawed and utterly blown away...” -- has been largely restricted to the West Coast with occasional TV appearances (Superstars of Dance; The Wayne Brady Show; The Ellen Show; So You Think You Can Dance) thrown in for good measure.  

Still, the show itself and its performers, collectively known as the Groovaloos, have an expansive following, and New York’s intense bboy/bgirl culture -- resonating from clubs to street corners to subway stations -- explains why the show’s groundbreaking run at Manhattan’s Joyce Theater (September 15th through the 27th) is generating mega interest and impressive ticket sales.  

GROOVALOO is the brainchild of Bradley “Shooz” Rapier and Broadway vet Danny Cistone, who served as director. It’s Rapier, however, who founded the Groovaloos troupe in 1999 and has been its artistic director ever since.  

“I was supposed to a doctor,” says the Canadian-born Rapier, whose passion for hip-hop grew to epic size once he relocated to Los Angeles. “I wanted to put together a group to celebrate freestyle -- to embrace the electricity and energy of that dynamic.”

Rapier, a fan of the Electric Boogaloos (the Zoot-suited group that took off in the mid-’70s and was responsible for putting “popping” on the hip-hop grid), knew that while his roots were middle-class, most of the artists putting their stylistic signatures on freestyle came from far grittier backgrounds. These were the people who recognized Rapier’s vision and were drawn to the exhilaration of expression that infused the Groovaloos.  

“The question was always, ‘Why do you dance?’” notes Rapier, who says the answers ranged from, “I do it to exist” or “To escape my father’s abuse” to “If I didn’t, I’d be in jail right now.”

Candid and truthful, these answers became the impetus for the Groovaloos personal stories and the show’s storyline.  What evolved was a fluid and poetic language that capturing the dancers’ life experiences:

“...this revolution of destiny that brought us together from ballerina to bboy to ghetto bird to angels’ wings from being beat down to standing tall...”

For insight into what inspired the show’s vibrant performers, visit the website (groovaloo.com) and click “meet the cast.” To experience the passion and personalities, however, you need to -- make that must -- see the show.  And for the record, when they’re not performing in GROOVALOO, many of these dancers -- bboy and hip-hop legends in their own right -- are in demand to work with celebrities like Madonna, Diana Ross, Brian McKnight, Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake.

As for Rapier, GROOVALOO has been the ultimate labor of love, his favorite moments coming not when he unleashes his own dance moves, but rather when he stands in the background, taking it all in.  

“There on the stage, watching the other dancers during their most creative moments, or watching the audience as they connect to the art form I fell in love with...this is what inspires me,” he says.

GROOVALOO plays Sept. 15 through Sept. 27 at the Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. (19th St.).  For tickets, call 212-242-0800 or click here.