Benji Reid is a creative producer, devisor and director. He trained as a dancer with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and as an actor with Philippe Gaullier and Double Edge Theatre. Following his years as a freelance performer he formed BREAKING CYCLES.

Benji’s dance background includes; 1985 GLC Break-Dance Champions with Broken Glass Street Crew, European Body-Popping Champion and 2nd in the 1986 World Dance Championships. In 1989 Benji worked with the legendary Soul II Soul as the main dancer and choreographer for their world tour, appearing on the Arsino Hall show and playing at the Soul Train Awards.

In theatre Benji has worked widely with such highly regarded companies as the David Glass Ensemble, Trestle Theatre Theatr Clwyd and Black Mime Theatre. It was with Black Mime Theatre that Benji first became interested in directing.

For over ten years Benji Reid has been creating Hip Hop Theatre.
His first production was co-directing Jonzi D's solo of 'Aeroplane Man' in 1996 and in the same year he toured 'Paper Jackets', a one-man show he wrote and starred in. In 1998 Benji went on to direct his first main stage play, hip hop musical 'Avalanche' for Nottingham Playhouse - this became the foundation for BREAKING CYCLES the company.

BREAKING CYCLES is an artist led company dedicated to the creation and production of inclusive, highly energised, emotionally conflicting PHYSICAL THEATRE - crossing and challenging the boundaries of multi disciplined art forms, layering contemporary vision with classical inspiration. Breaking Cycles is a national and international advocate for Hip Hop Theatre, playing a key role in its development as an art form, challenging, engaging and creating new audiences for theatre.

Breaking Cycles has created a number of productions, which have sold out to audiences across the UK touring circuit and Internationally. All the pieces created have been in repertoire and are as follows
- The Waiting Room, a trilogy including The Pugilist, Holiday and Crowded Stomach, toured UK and Internationally in 2000. The Pugilist was later reworked and presented at the 2002 British Dance Edition showcase.
- In the same year Style 4 Free was created for the Hip Festival. The Pugilist, Holiday and Style 4 free then went on a sell out tour of Brazil, New Zealand, Sydney Opera House, and the Royal Opera House, London.
- B Like Water, a co-production with Contact Theatre, co-directed by John McGrath and written by Lemn Sissay and 13 Mics co-directed by Jonzi D were created in 2003.
13 Mics showcased at Decibel Xtrax before touring nationally and internationally including a three-week London run at the Lyric Hammersmith and playing to a sell out audience of 1800 on the main stage at Sadler’s Wells as part of Breaking Convention Hip Hop Festival 2004.
In 2004, due to high demand, Breaking Cycles were back on the national and international touring circuit with two programmes of repertoire. Both tours received outstanding acclaim.

Benji Reid has received a number of collaborative commissions including:
• Dramaturg and Director for Life of a B-boy with Spearfish and Funkstylers.
• Dramaturg for The Solar Power by Full Circle at New World Theatre, New York.
• Co-director with Michael Field of Hip Hop Comedia play at the New York Theatre Workshop for Playback Theatre
• Choreographed Seven, directed by Jo Bonnie, written by Will Power, with the New York Theatre Workshop.
• Choreographed and co-directed Slamdunk, a new hip-hop musical about brotherhood beats and basket ball, with Felix Cross of NITRO.
• Lead actor and Movement Director in Ragamuffin, on national tour.
• Created Peaches for ACE Dance’s 2002 national tour.
• Co-devised and directed Conversing With Angels for Qasim Riza Shahee.
• Movement Director for Storm, a play by Lemn Sissay at Contact Theatre, Manchester.

Benji is currently in receipt of the NESTA Dreamtime Fellowship, awarded to prestigious artists for their outstanding achievements and continuing development and was also nominated for the Art05 award for his work in the North West of England.

Press reviews:
“You’re never bored that you’ve only got Benji Reid for company because he has an exuberant variety of skills to keep you entertained” Time Out, London
“Truly multi talented artist” The Voice

“Visually, Benji Reid is one of the most stunning theatre artists on the scene today- the way he uses his body, voice and spirit to tell a story is truly a sight to see" Will Power, USA
“This is a poet trapped inside the body of a dancer. It’s a killer combination” Daily Telegraph, Australia
“Reid is a performance artist, stand up tragedian and body popping comic” The Voice

“The star of the evening is Benji Reid” The British Theatre Guide

Performance information:
The Holiday
The Holiday is a physical sonnet, a dark and instinctive proposition on escapism that grasps and retains the raw emotion and energy of movement based theatre, body popping, poetry and rhythmic bass.

Style 4 Free
An improvisation inspired by hip hop and jazz, danced like a slapstick puppet creating disjointed text over muffled beats. With sampling from kung fu movies, cartoons and The Olympics, nothing is sacred. Each improvisation will hail a new story and new free style.