Intro to Breaking With Ivan ‘Heat Rock’ Cofield

Break it down with Ivan “Heat Rock” Cofield at The Church on Saturday, May 20. Heat Rock first premiered his style at The Church during LayeRhythm’s Jam Session this past January, and is returning to lead an introductory course on the fundamental movements, styles and ideas behind breaking. Classified as a style of street dance, breaking evolved from the hip-hop movement of the early 1970s and is characterized by the four main movements of toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. From its origins in New York City, breaking has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, recently making headlines for its inclusion as a medal sport in the 2023 summer Olympics.

The events at The Church on May 20 begin with a session from 11 to 11:45 a.m. for ages 8 to 15, followed by “History of Breaking,” a lecture for all ages from noon to 12:45 p.m. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., a session will be held for ages 16 and up. Each session will include detailed group instruction by Heat Rock, demonstrations of movements and style, and access to a lecture on the history and development of breaking. The lecture portion of this workshop has been strategically placed between the two sessions so that both groups may attend.

Ivan Cofield was born in Georgia, where he and his older brother used drawing as their main creative outlet. Throughout grade school Cofield Ivan entered many school art competitions, but never won. He continued to explore his creativity and garnered much praise from his peers and teachers for his natural talent. During this time, he was also introduced to hip-hop culture. Within hip-hop, he gravitated toward b-boying (break dancing), popping and scribing (graffiti), which opened up new avenues for his creative path. He quickly became very popular among other students when he illustrated stylized portraits of his classmates.

In 2002, Cofield attended Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and majored in architecture, but he never lost sight of his passion for fine art. In 2007, he earned a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he expanded his repertoire in mixed media. Alongside earning his degree, Cofield danced with a few different dance crews and became one of the founding members of Del Fuego Wolfpack in 2011. He focused on various folk dance styles, which became a great source of inspiration in his art.

He now resides in Brooklyn where he spends his time dancing and creating art, in all the forms and media that he’s grown to love, now inseparable from who he is. His current interests and inspiration are mental health, masculinity, and race.

The cost of the event is $20 for the ages 8 to 15 session, and $40 for the 16 and older session. The lecture is free with workshop registration. The Church is at 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor. Visit thechurchsagharbor.org.