The Hype Magazine Live Session with Tommy The Clown
Tommy The Clown has 25 years of bringing positive impact in the Los Angeles community promoting safety and the arts. Famous for creating the dance known as Krump, Battle Zone and clown dancing. This year a celebration was in order for the Tommy The Clown Academy 25 Year Anniversary and Battle Zone 25th Year Conclusion. For 25 years, Tommy the Clown and T-Squad have performed for hundreds of thousands of people and regularly entertain a sold out 17,500 crowd at The Forum. Tommy The Clown’s 25 Year Anniversary is sponsored by, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, USC Civic Engagement, BHS Family Health Center and Black Diamonds Drill Team & Drum Squad. Proceeds will benefit inner-city school students. As you’ll see from the images below…there is only one Tommy The Clown and this packed arena at Los Angeles Southwest College showed mad love to this dance icon.
You can see our full gallery of exclusive images via The Hype Magazine photo album of the event, including backstage looks.
According to the official line, for 25 years, Tommy the Clown and T-Squad have performed for hundreds of thousands of people and regularly entertain a sold out 17,500 crowd at the Forum in Los Angeles. Tommy The Clown’s 25 Year Anniversary event was sponsored by, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, USC Civic Engagement, BHS Family Health Center and Black Diamonds Drill Team & Drum Squad. Proceeds will benefit
Proceeds from the event go to benefit inner-city students by receiving free dance classes and afterschool programs, which are designed to strengthen their communication with one another in a safe environment from their dangerous neighborhoods.
The Hype Magazine LA correspondent HenGee Garcia (Twitter: @OGHenGee) was on hand for the celebration and caught up with Tommy The Clown backstage before the show.
About Tommy The Clown
Tommy’s dance craze caught the attention of award-winning director and photographer, David LaChapelle – who was compelled to film the South LA founder of an international dance craze. LaChapelle directed the documentary feature, “RIZE”, which was released in summer of 2005 through Lionsgate Films.
Thomas “Tommy the Clown” Johnson was born in Detroit and moved to South Los Angeles when he was an early teen. After living a troubled lifestyle, he realized that this lifestyle was not for him and that he needed to make a drastic change. In 1992, Thomas’ life changed in a way he could have never predicted. One of his co-workers asked him to be a clown for her child’s birthday and because of his upbeat personality and sense of humor, she thought he’d be perfect for the quick paying job. Up for the challenge, he took the job and Tommy the Clown was born. Tommy the Clown has since become the pioneer of an inspirational dance movement known as “Clowning” and “Krumping” and turned a popular form of birthday party entertainment into a worldwide phenomenon.
Visit www.TommyTheClown.com to catch the latest news and updates as well as to connect with his official social media platforms.
View our archived live streams from the Battle Zone 25 via our channel on Periscope.tv
