‘Honestly, expanding Shuffle this year just felt like the natural next step,’ says MC Laffitte, Creative Producer & Three60 Producer, on the eve of Shuffle Festival’s third edition. Opening tomorrow, 9 October, at the Platform Arts Centre in Easterhouse, Glasgow, the two-day gathering is making a determined case for street dance north of the border.
Presented by Glasgow dance collective THREE60, the event is moving beyond the tentative scratch nights of 2024 and 2025. Backed by Creative Scotland, Dance Base, and The Work Room, this expanded programme pairs homegrown talent with an intensive residency from London company Boy Blue.
‘From day one, the ambition was always to grow it and eventually align with major festivals like Breakin’ Convention in London,’ Laffitte explains. ‘After running Shuffle as a scratch night for two years, we could clearly see the audience appetite was there. We saw the opportunities it was giving artists and the doors it could open for them. Having an actual festival setup just gives the whole thing more weight, and it really aligns with where the Scottish Hip-Hop scene is headed.’
That momentum requires infrastructure. For Laffitte and THREE60—founded in 2014 by Divine Tasinda, Adam McMillan, Kemono Lebe Riot, and Levent Nyembo—the real fight is for institutional legitimacy in a scene where public subsidies and major stages still tilt toward contemporary dance.
‘For the past few years, Three60 and other artists have been pushing hard to establish Hip-Hop theatre as a legitimate art form that belongs in major events and festivals, but look, we still have a long way to go,’ says Laffitte. ‘Transitioning Shuffle into a festival lets us continue that journey. It gives artists a much bigger platform to show their work, upgrade their skills, and connect directly with audiences, programmers, and producers from across Scotland and the UK who are coming out specifically because of this new format.’
Repertoire, Pedagogy, and the Rehearsal Room
Central to that push is how the festival handles its headline guests. Instead of bringing up a London cast to show off a finished touring piece, Boy Blue spent a fortnight in residence at The Work Room and The Yard Creative Hub, remounting repertoire on 15 dancers chosen from across Scotland.
‘The way I see this residency, it’s a total win-win for both the audience and Scottish artists,’ says Laffitte. ‘The audience gets to experience the incredible, high-quality work Boy Blue always delivers, but remounting it directly on Scottish dancers creates a massive training opportunity. In an ecosystem like Scotland, where there’s honestly less access to high-level Hip-Hop training and performances, opportunities like this are priceless.’
The work tackles an obvious gap in the Scottish training pipeline.
‘From day one, the ambition was always to grow it and eventually align with major festivals like Breakin’ Convention in London,’ Laffitte explains. ‘After running Shuffle as a scratch night for two years, we could clearly see the audience appetite was there...’
Hip-hop is still missing from mandatory dance college curricula, leaving local performers without the formal backing enjoyed by classical disciplines.
‘Hip-Hop isn’t currently part of the mandatory dance college curriculum in Scotland, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a high-level, high-quality art form,’ Laffitte says. ‘It has deep foundations, codes, and structures. And while Three60 has delivered several Hip-Hop training opportunities for professional dancers over the past few years, having a company like Boy Blue deliver this kind of residency really builds on that foundation. They’ve spent years refining how they pass that knowledge on—they’ve built real curricula and know exactly how to elevate a dancer’s skills through their training and repertoire.’
That rehearsal-room exchange transfers craft straight into Scottish performers. It equips local dancers with stage skills that an outside company would otherwise pack up and take back south.
‘For our dancers to experience Boy Blue’s work firsthand through a residency that actually teaches them—and reminds them—of the foundational elements, how to choreograph for the theatre, how to interpret the work… that’s invaluable knowledge,’ Laffitte says. ‘Those 15 dancers just wouldn’t get that if Boy Blue simply turned up as a visiting company with their London dancers.’
While national policy drags its heels, independent outfits are finding their own workarounds. Laffitte points to private institutions stepping into the breach to give students regular access to top-tier teachers.
‘We have seen some positive shifts recently. More Hip-Hop artists are getting access to residencies thanks to institutions like Dance Base and The Work Room opening their doors,’ Laffitte notes. ‘But like I mentioned, Hip-Hop still isn’t built into the main curriculum in dance colleges—though Colleges like Danceinc Studio Centre are stepping up, making it a core subject and bringing Boy Blue up monthly to teach. If we want dancers to build sustainable careers here in Scotland, we have to start by honouring the art form, making space for it in formal training, and bringing in the right people with the right knowledge to teach it.’
Preserving the Roots and Stemming the Southward Drain
However welcome, any training is futile if Scotland ends up serving as an unpaid feeder academy for London agencies. Without regular stages and commissions at home, homegrown talent will keep packing its bags.
‘Obviously, having more performance opportunities is key,’ says Laffitte. ‘Hip-Hop artists have a very raw, organic way of working—they’re always going to make work regardless—but we shouldn’t take that for granted. We need to make a genuine effort to give them platforms where they can present, test ideas, and experiment.’
The line-up at Platform is also doing conservation work. Rather than flattening street dance into a generic commercial showcase, Shuffle is making space for styles that risk fading from the Scottish scene.
‘Curating this, the goal was also to showcase the distinct styles within Hip-Hop, especially the ones fewer people are practicing in Scotland now, because we want to keep them alive,’ Laffitte explains. ‘That’s why we brought in Dimestop for Popping, A.K.O. for African diasporic dances, and Brothers on Lock for Locking. And then Boy Blue ties it all together with a longer piece that spans multiple styles across the culture—Social Hip-Hop, Krump, Litefeet, and more.’
It is a public nod to the crews who kept community classes running through years of institutional indifference.
‘We really wanted to honour the people and collectives who have been building and feeding this scene for years, and who have poured so much into training the new generation,’ says Laffitte. ‘Groups like Dimestop and A.K.O. have shown years of commitment to running open classes, passing down knowledge, and doing it in a way that’s completely authentic and respectful to the culture.’
The divide between street culture and Scottish arts programming remains pretty stark. Hip-hop rules global music charts and dominates social feeds, but Scottish festival stages are still slow to catch up.
‘A lot of this comes down to a shift in mindset across the board,’ Laffitte argues. ‘You still see very few Hip-Hop acts in Scotland’s major festivals compared to contemporary dance. Hip-Hop is at the absolute forefront of the global entertainment industry—it’s the dominant genre in music, in social media dance trends, everywhere. Yet local Scottish Hip-Hop artists don’t get to benefit from that resonance. As a sector, we need to actively make space for artists who practice the style authentically.’
When local artists get the stage, programmers take notice. Laffitte points to Rudy King Bantu, who used an appearance at Shuffle’s 2024 scratch night to secure a slot at Dance Base during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
‘We want Shuffle to open doors so artists can go on to perform in other cities and festivals across Scotland,’ Laffitte says. ‘We actually saw that happen after our first edition in 2024—Rudy King Bantu performed at Shuffle and was then booked for the Fringe at Dance Base. That proves that when Scottish Hip-Hop artists get the platform, the work is high quality and programmers want it.’
The wider touring circuit is only just beginning to wake up. When THREE60 went on the road earlier this year, it broke a dry spell that would be unthinkable in subsidised theatre.
‘I hope Shuffle inspires other people to start their own platforms or just ride this momentum,’ Laffitte says. ‘The more Hip-Hop events happening, the more the audience grows. When Three60 toured earlier this year, it was the first time a Scottish Hip-Hop dance act had toured the country in five years, and we had fantastic crowds everywhere. With more events like Shuffle, more training, and a growing audience, my hope is that we won’t have to wait another five years to see a Hip-Hop tour in Scotland.’
Looking down the road, Laffitte is hoping to expand the festival to bring in international guests and celebrate the culture in full—adding MCing, DJing, and graffiti to the bill.
‘Looking ahead, we want Shuffle to keep growing over the next few years so we can start bringing in international artists while continuing to platform local Scottish talent,’ Laffitte says. ‘Having that mix makes for great shows and keeps local dancers inspired with something big to aim for. We definitely hope to keep collaborating with Boy Blue, and long-term, we want Shuffle to evolve into a full festival that celebrates all elements of Hip-Hop culture—DJing, graffiti, MCing—on top of the dance element.’
‘We want Shuffle to open doors so artists can go on to perform in other cities and festivals across Scotland,’ Laffitte says. ‘We actually saw that happen after our first edition in 2024…’
For now, the focus is on the floor in Easterhouse. The weekend wraps up not with a polished performance behind a proscenium arch, but with an open Community Dance Jam for anyone who turns up.
‘As excited as we are to present these incredible performances and dive into Hip-Hop theatre, we never forget that Hip-Hop is all about community,’ Laffitte says. ‘For us at Three60, Hip-Hop isn’t just a dance style—it’s a culture, a way of living, a home. The core principles of Hip-Hop have always been peace, love, unity, and having fun, so we have to bring those values into everything we do, at every level.’
‘The community jam is an essential part of Shuffle,’ he adds. ‘It reminds everyone that dance is for everyone, that Hip-Hop is welcoming, and that just sharing space and having fun together is something really beautiful and fulfilling. We hope everyone jumps in! You definitely don’t need to be a professional dancer—it’s a completely open, inclusive space.’
For Laffitte, the goal remains building a scene capable of sustaining itself.
‘At the end of the day, it’s all about creating an ecosystem where local dancers can thrive, stay rooted in Scotland, and know that their art is valued.’
Featured Image: R.E.B.E.L – Boy Blue 5_photo credit Joseph Obawole
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