Thursday, June 07, 2007
hip hop dance.
hip hop dance is a very diverse thing.
it ranges from dance forms such as krumping and b-boying to even stuff like grinding, sad as it may be.
historically, hip hop is a very inward-facing culture.
unsurprisingly, the more developed dance forms in hip hop can be considered to be quite esoteric.
to put it simply, the more developed hip hop dances aren't spectacles for the general public.
they're meant for the practitioners of the art forms themselves.
often, the finer points are missed out entirely.
one example.
during performances (which i do not really approve of in the first place.)
a b-boy may do a slick set of toprocks into some smooth footwork into a hong10.
a powerhead may skip toprocks entirely and just flare->windmill->swipes.
the level of difficulty is indeed higher in the latter.
the audience (non-b-boys) will likely applaud the latter and scoff at the former.
however, a b-boy would give more respect to the former.
hence i feel it is safe to conclude that b-boying is a socially exclusive art.
not a common spectacle.
also, much of the modern "hip-hop" dance classes are choreographed strictly.
while choreography is required to all dance forms, to one extent or the other,
hip-hop originated as an unstructured dance form drawing mainly on ingenuity.
hence i feel that too much structure and choreography in a dance routine would be effectively betraying the essence of hip-hop dance.
granted, its effective to have mini "combos" in your b-boy routine.
for example, you may practice moves such as:
6-step->baby freeze
6-step->air baby
windmill->hong10
however, improvisation is the key. especially for toprocking and uprocking.
Hip-hop as a dance has been bastardized and taken to mean any form of street-influenced dance.
hence, most dance classes today marketed as hip-hop are very wide, depending on the instructor's personal preference.
much of these are actually fusion dances influenced heavily by street jazz.
in a way, it is a form of neo-classical contemporary dance marketed with a youthful image.
historically, b-boying was the original form of hip-hop dance from which all other forms developed.
hence, it is the only dance widely considered to be an original element of hip-hop.
other dance forms mostly branched out of b-boying
lastly, there are many forms of hip-hop dance. these include.
Krumping, popping, locking, grinding, freaking, wopping, b-boying, clown-walking, crip-walking, waving, ticking and so on. the examples are legion.
b-boying drew its influences mainly from rock and soul, surprisingly.
this is evident in many instances.
for example, many breakbeats have a distinctly jazzy feel to them, a relic of the times when african american slaves on plantations listened to soul music and sang along.
also, breakbeats and most older hip-hop songs are largely percussion based.
this is a throwback to when negroes were to poor for any formal instruments and had to make do with improvised percussion such as home-made drums and hand claps.
lastly, b-boy uprocking mainly drew its roots from hardcore mosh-pit dance.
no, hardcore is a genre, not just a term.
no, people do stuff other than headbang and slamdance in mosh-pits.
also, there are many arguments over style and power in b-boying.
In our crew, it is evident there are different styles.
there are people who put power over style, like Wilson.
there are people who put style over power, like Nicholas.
there are people with both style and power, like Yuxuan.
there are people with neither style nor power, like me.
and there's Ivan, whose dance style seems out of place in our crew, is in the wrong crew, and whom i often request that he go fuck himself.
personally, i think an overemphasis on power is demeaning to hip-hop.
powerheads often emphasise strength over skill.
they are, in essence, gymnasts.
often they may be technically sound.
but they are unable to appreciate moves based on how smooth they flow.
rather, they only appreciate power moves.
granted, power moves are a major part of b-boying, especially to the uneducated public.
however, the thing that differentiates a gymnast from a b-boy is style.
doing a harder power move may not necessarily be better than doing a unique variation on a power move.
the key to chaining power is style.
style changes your flare from just another flare to YOUR unique flare (with flair, if i say so myself.)
this is an excellent article i read that inspired this section of the article.
i would like any1 who dreams of attaining power to read this.
http://www.bboy.org/forums/beginner-help/53859-newbies-powermoves-what-you-should-know.html
this article details the risks in the major power moves.
its mainly bruising.
but then again, there is always an inherent risk in learning almost any move.
which usually happens to be bruising.
there are, admittedly, moves with negligible risk of injury.
for example.
all footwork (not enough height to injure much.)
kip-ups. (still not enough height to injure you sufficiently.)
Shoulder freeze. (still not enough height to injure you sufficiently. at most you'd roll over like an idiot.)
baby freeze. (at most you'll just roll over. you dont even strain your wrist here.)
no pain no gain.
the above are usually boring moves compared to, say, swipes. or a pike.
hence it is safe to conclude bruising is part and parcel of being a b-boy.
often, when we get injured, the injury is minor.
a superficial bruise.
overstrain of some parts.
generally, if you can use the injured part within 24 hours, it should be safe enough to continue training.
an important exception is joint injuries.
often, joint injuries affect the ligaments to some extent, which could be serious.
however, we should use our own discretion at all times.
we should be able to judge the punishment our body is able to take.
and we should slowly stretch that.
if we feel that our neck's limit is a headstand, where does that leave headSPINS or even halos?
the reason many b-boys take up b-boying is to dance in clubs.
admittedly, b-boying originated as a club dance.
however, putting my contempt of clubs aside momentarily,
clubs aren't exactly a conducive environment for b-boying.
the people there are mainly non b-boys or non b-gals.
hence they likely won't be as appreciative.
it would only make sense to b-boy at a b-boy exclusive club or event.
furthermore, it is essential to remember that hip-hop is a culture, not just regulated to b-boying.
hip-hop at its essence is about 2 things.
being creative.
and being with your friends.
the main 4 elements of hip hop are about creativity.
b-boying (being creative with dance.)
Turntabling (being creative with music.)
Graffiti (being creative with visual art.)
Rapping (being creative with words)
Hip hop, just like more or less every single activity, is highly social.
in hip-hop, the social structure is very important.
people engaged in hip-hop culture are, to put it bluntly, pack animals.
a b-boy's crew is very important.
not just to dance with him, but also for the emotional support, physical support and fellowship.
they're more than dance companions.
they're mini-families.
many people in hip-hop have dysfunctional family backgrounds.
hence, they seek an alternate sense of belonging and acceptance in a crew.
hip-hop as a cultural movement has historically been afro-centric.
cornrows were worn to contrast the curly, natural hair of negroes to the straight hair of whites.
the affectionate term "my nigger" is an example of cultural re-appropriation, claiming back the term from its usage as a racial slur.
however, hip-hop has evolved to become a cultural movement that is now worldwide.
hip-hop is no longer an american thing.
there are many international hip-hop scenes.
regionally, malaysia and the Philippines have the most established hip-hop scenes.
elsewhere in Asia, there are hip-hop scenes. sadly, these are often underground.
Many hip-hop scenes find themselves overshadowed by pop culture.
Namely, J-Pop, K-Pop, Canto-Pop and Taiwanese Pop.
However, there are good asian hip-hop artistes.
noting the social nature of hip-hop, it is not surprising that most of these are groups.
for example, there are:
Too Phat (Malaysia)
L.M.F. (Hong Kong, defunct)
Machi (Taiwan)
there are many more such as buddha brand (Japan), and MC Hotdog (Taiwan?) but these already serve to prove my point, that hip-hop is global.
in conclusion.
i'd be very surprised if any1 read this, much less read until the end here.
this is just some random rambling by me on certain issues i feel in hip hop.
not just b-boying, but hip hop as a cultural movement.
and as a lifestyle in general.
hip hop isnt a dance.
its a way of living.
and i'll be surprised if any1 could name the rapper who said that quote.
