Founder Anthony “Solo” Harris brings 20 years of Dance Warz to Downtown New Brunswick. Photo: Dance Warz.

Every great performance needs the right stage — and this one carries a hundred years of history. State Theatre New Jersey first opened in December 1921 as a vaudeville and silent-film palace, designed by renowned theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb and, in its day, the largest theater in the state. Generations passed through those doors before the building fell on hard times and, by the late 1970s, nearly slipped away for good.

It survived because a community fought for it. Local development and cultural organizations rescued the landmark, restored it, and reopened it as a nonprofit performing arts center — a home that has since welcomed millions and hosted icons from Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen. In 2021 it marked its 100th anniversary, restored to its original Art Deco splendor and standing as a cornerstone of Middlesex County culture. That is the ground we get to dance on this August.

Dance Warz began in 2006 — New Jersey’s oldest organically grown street dance event. It wasn’t handed a sponsor or a franchise. It grew straight out of the culture, powered by the dancers who showed up, battled hard, and kept coming back. For two decades it has been a home for local hip-hop legends and rising stars, a place where a young dancer can share the same floor as the people they grew up watching.

That mission runs deeper than competition. Solo Expression was founded by Anthony “Solo” Harris, who turned his own life around through dance after coming up as an at-risk youth and performing nationally with the legendary Newark group ENVY. Today that purpose lives in a program built for developmentally disabled and at-risk youth — dance as therapy, as healing, as a way to shine. Dance Warz and Solo Expression come from the same heartbeat: movement with meaning.

Twenty years of dancers, creators, and community. Photo: Dance Warz.

Rising stars and local legends, one floor. Photo: Dance Warz.

The New Brunswick Heart Festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of the arts, culture, and history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County. Alongside Dance Warz you’ll find live music from the Warehouse Collective and headliners The B-Side Band, the New Brunswick Brass Band, Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia, tap talent John Boudouvas, the New Brunswick High School Cheerleaders, and music by DJ IZM.

Bring the whole family: an art market, food and craft vendors, free face painting, henna, balloon animals, caricature, a health and wellness area, hands-on crafts with the Zimmerli Art Museum, and a Princeton Ballet School open house with free Discover Dance workshops for every age. Come for the culture, stay for the community — and after the festival, catch blues legend Buddy Guy live at the State Theatre at 8 PM.

Epic battles are a Dance Warz signature. Photo: Dance Warz.

Twenty years in, Dance Warz has honored where it came from — and on August 8 it steps forward onto a historic stage in front of a whole new generation. For more on this milestone and the culture behind it, read the companion feature at Dance Mogul Magazine, and explore our youth, adaptive, and therapy programs at Solo Expression. Be part of the celebration — this is history in motion.