The upcoming documentary Our Scene the Movie steps up their relationship between film and dance.

Quan Luong, the editor and cinematographer of the film, captures the dancers’ realities and what it means to be a part of the hip hop dance scene in Winnipeg.

“The film is about the general dance scene and the hip hop dance scene in Winnipeg from its beginning in the 1980s till now with thousands of people attending each [dance] event,” said Luong.

Luong said that he wants the audience to understand the hard work it took for earlier dancers to build a strong reputation for hip hop dance, while also garnering attention for industry events and to grow support for dance as a whole. He aims to expose those uninvolved with the hip hop style to its dynamic and artistic culture, in hopes that it piques their interest and starts a new generation of dancers.

“I’ve always liked dancing and I’m a little bit of a dancer myself so when GeNie approached me with this project, it’s an easy answer for me,” said Luong. “Dance has always been around my life. I started filming because of dance.”

The film encompasses several perspectives including more experienced dancers from both the choreographed and the freestyle hip hop scenes, in addition to those of dancers just starting out.

“The animosity between the two scenes is very different between the two. The freestyle considers themselves true hip hop while the choreography is followings someone’s dance moves, right?” So they have that misunderstanding between the two,” said Luong.

Luong goes on to say that this misunderstanding is manifested in not attending each other’s events, further widening the divide between the two sides.

“By showing my film it will make them understand how they got to this point where everyone’s friends now — there’s no more beef between the two. Because we showed how some of them started filming events where there’s a bit of both [scenes] at those events.”

He says that it does not matter where dancers are from: North End, South End or high schools — the dancers in Winnipeg come from all across the city.

“In general, I’ve learned that this city has quite a history for Winnipeg […] Everyone is very passionate and there’s a good story behind everyone,” said Luong.

He continued on to say that most of the dancers that he has interviewed use dance as an outlet to express their feelings and creativity.

Our Scene the Movie will be shown at the WAG on Saturday, July 28. The doors will be opened at 6:30 p.m. and the screening will begin at 7:15 p.m. A discussion panel will follow.

Luong reminisced about dance groups having dance battles in the parking lot of Garden City Shopping Centre, saying that he would love for the trend to return to that norm.

“It’s interesting to know that back in the 1990s everyone was breakdancing in the street,” said Luong.