New Victory Arts Break: Nuttin’ but a Word

New Victory Arts Break videos and activities are designed to have your family ready and raring for showtime before you even leave home. Here’s how to use them! All set? Then let’s get creative together and prep your kid for Nuttin’ but a Word with the activities below.

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New Victory Arts Break videos are filmed at the New Victory Theater. We acknowledge that New Victory resides on the seized homeland of the Lenape people and the intertribal territory of many First Nations. We celebrate and pay deep respect to all Indigenous peoples, past, present and future, and we encourage you to learn more about these vibrant communities.

Did You Know?

Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater tells powerful stories through movement, and Nuttin’ but a Word is no exception! Here are a few facts to read over as a family before the show, plus a video trailer showing off some the choreo you’ll see on stage:

• Individuality, creativity, innovation. Dr. Rennie Harris’s three laws of hip-hop shine in Nuttin’ but a Word as the dancers push the boundaries of different street dance styles—breaking, waacking, popping, Campbell locking, house—set to music not typically associated with them.
• “You ain’t said nothing but a word” is a comeback used to dismiss critique. It means, “Pay attention, because what I do next will upstage anything you have to say.”
• More than just music and dance, hip-hop is a cultural movement that began in the late 1970s in the Bronx. It includes four major artistic elements: breaking, MCing, DJing and graffiti art. Learn more about the history of rap and hip-hop in this episode of Crash Course, part of a 51-episode series on Black American History.

Try It Out!

The performers in Nuttin’ but a Word will share their individuality through dance, but that creative spirit exists across all aspects of hip-hop, including MCing, or rapping. Follow along with Siobhan and pump your kid up for showtime with a rhyming MC intro that articulates who they are!

1. Start with the first line: My name is (your name). Let’s say your name is Zack. Take the sound of your name and list some rhyming words: whack, attack, click-clack!
2. Come up with the first rhyming line. It should be short, to match the rhythm of the first line:

   My name is Zack.
   I’m ready to attack.

3. Close it out with one more line. This one can be longer, and we can branch out to words that only partially rhyme: fact, cat, zap!

   My name is Zack.
   I’m ready to attack.
   Faster than lightning—rip-zip-zap!

Keep going and get creative! Add more lines, or pen more verses with different starting rhymes and perform them all together as a longer rap. Express your individuality!

Talk About It!

As you make your way to the theater, get your kid in a Nuttin’ but a Word mindset with some show-themed conversation starters! Ask them:

• What are some of your favorite things about hip-hop? Where do you see breaking, MCing, DJing and graffiti art in our culture today?
• What’s a cause that you stand for? What kind of art would you make to share your cause with the world?
• What are some things you do best by yourself? What are some things that you think are done better as a group?

The fun doesn’t have to stop here! Follow along with New Victory Teaching Artists in a few Arts Break videos and activities from the archive, highlighting specific dance styles and playing with different ways of expressing yourself through movement.

Learn some house dance history and a menu of moves from Olney Edmondson.

Show off your moves with pathos (and donuts)! Dance your feelings with Sun Kim.

Add your own twist to a traditional dance style! Remix ballet with Lauren Sharpe.