Dozens of breakdancers, poppers and voguers will take over the Downtown Indianapolis Canal Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. for a free festival called The Cypher, where drum battles, live bands and a global fashion runway share the spotlight with a fundraising push for two Central Indiana nonprofits. The event, staged outside the Indiana State Museum, is built around an old hip-hop tradition: the cypher, an open circle where dancers and musicians take turns improvising in the middle while the crowd cheers them on.
Organizer Cuong Tran, who performs under the name King Koi Roi, told WISH-TV that dancers of all abilities are welcome to join in. Tran is an Indianapolis street dancer who specializes in popping and animation and has represented Indiana in international dance battles in Ireland, Japan and Canada, according to his own biography on Koioutofwater. He previously started a dance club called AI Get Funky to mentor younger dancers, per the same source.
The festival itself was co-created by Tran and musician-photographer Ted Somerville, who wanted to recreate the loose, organic feel of 2012 “guerrilla” street performances that Somerville's band, Sweet Poison Victim, once staged on Monument Circle, according to Mirror Indy. The two met through local community art circles before building The Cypher into a full-scale event, the outlet reports.
What's Happening Along the Canal
Sunday's lineup includes a drum battle, dance circles spanning breakdancing, popping, tutting, voguing and hip-hop, three live bands, and a vendor village, per WISH-TV. Organizers expect more than 20 dancers to take part. Mirror Indy's earlier preview of the event added that a global fashion runway will showcase traditional clothing from 10 countries, with models recruited from Indianapolis public parks and international markets and their stories narrated by Tran.
Mirror Indy, a local nonprofit news outlet, is also an official community partner for the inaugural festival, having provided early previews and community backing ahead of Sunday's event.
Dance Money for Dancers and Health Services
The Cypher: Movement and Music on the Canal bills itself as a one-day celebration in downtown Indianapolis spotlighting local dancers and musicians, but its organizers built it to double as a fundraiser. Tran said donations to Indy Dance Council and the Damien Center are welcome, per his interview with WISH-TV.
Indy Dance Council teaches a variety of dance styles and was created by Mariel Greenlee, a former 15-year dancer with Dance Kaleidoscope, according to Crossroads Dance Indy. Greenlee founded the organization to build an advocacy network connecting dance artists and expanding performance opportunities across Central Indiana, the group notes.
That kind of grassroots support matters in a local arts landscape where public money is scarce. The Indy Arts Council received $852,000 in requested funding across 96 applications for its early 2026 grant cycle but ultimately distributed just $90,000 across 10 selected public art projects, according to Axios Indianapolis.
A Second Beneficiary Facing Record Demand
The Damien Center, the fundraiser's other beneficiary, supports AIDS research and homelessness services, according to WISH-TV. Established in 1987 in response to the AIDS epidemic, it is Indiana's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS service organization, and it has shifted over nearly four decades from end-of-life care to holistic wellness services as medical advancements changed what's possible for its clients, per the Indianapolis Business Journal.
The center's caseload has grown sharply. It expanded its client reach to 13,702 individuals in 2025, more than double its 2021 caseload, delivering HIV care, mental health counseling, food pantry access and harm-reduction outreach across Central Indiana, the Business Journal reports. The organization was named Large Nonprofit of the Year by IBJ in 2026.
Beyond direct care, the Damien Center works with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Indianapolis to administer tenant-based rental subsidies, emergency financial relief and permanent supportive housing for people facing housing insecurity, according to the Damien Center, including assistance through the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program. Hoodline has previously reported on the center's harm-reduction outreach and its work distributing PrEP starter packs at community health events.
Admission to Sunday's festival is free, and organizers are framing the circle-based format itself as a fitting vehicle for the cause: a form built on inclusion, channeled toward two organizations trying to widen access to art and health care across the city.
