1. There is a region in SW China where the language HANI is spoken. My name in Hani means "Sick Chicken."
2. The squirrels in the Bronx are BLACK!! I've seen brown and grey and red before... and now black.
3. My "Beginner's Breakdance" instructor is not only a legend in the breaking community, he is THE LEGEND of breaking history.
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Meet Ken Gabbert. I know him as Ken Swift. But once upon a time he was "Prince Kenny Swift" original member of the Rock Steady Crew, the first breaking crew to come out of NYC some 25 years ago. The Rock Steady Crew made appearances in all of the hiphop movies from the 80s and 90s that brought worldwide attention to the art forms of hiphop culture: breaking, mc'ing, turning tables, and grafitti art .... Ken's most famous movie was 1983's hit "Flashdance," where his 2-minute dance with several members of the Rock Steady Crew launched the Hip Hop scene into national attention.
Ken is widely known in the B-Boy world as "the Epitome of a B-Boy" and is credited with the creation of many dance moves. He is nearly universally considered by B-Boys to be the individual who has had the greatest influence on breakdancing. (I found this out on Wikipedia). Ken had given me his card after the first class, back when I had no idea who he was. I was frustrated with my inability to keep up in the beginner's class and walked away that first day unable to remember any of the moves i had just learned! I emailed Ken my frustrations, and he has been quite helpful in my bgirl formation. Learning the moves is about showing up until you get them down. And becoming a B-girl is not about learning specific moves, it's about self-expression and creativity. You gotta have the heart! You gotta understand the history of hip-hop culture, know where it came from. Ken has been great about bringing the heart of old-school breaking to our Beginner's classes. It's about the fancy footwork, it's about showing people what you got, personalizing the dance moves. Back in the day, everyone did the same moves, so they had to add personal flare. These days, there are all sorts of flips and power moves that have been introduced. Without the foundation of Toprock and Downrock footwork, combined with personal flavor, the dance is merely acrobatics or gymnastics. And the person doing it is an acrobat or a gymnast, not necessarily a B-boy or B-girl.
So the past week I have rented all the old school movies to try and understand the history of the B-world. Wild Style (1982), Flashdance(1983), Beat Street(1984), and Style Wars. Sure enough, in the end credits of each movie I saw "Prince Kenny Swift" listed under the Rock Steady Crew. If you're interested in B-boy culture and history, a documentary film was released in theaters in March of this year. It's called "Planet B-Boy" and includes an interview with Ken Swift! I have yet to see it, because it is so popular on Netflix that I'm still on the waitlist :(.
I've started up classes again this week with Ken. Second time's a charm...I actually remembered moves from the class to practice at home!! Happiness IS. I attended a B-Boy battle this weekend...it was a battle of all NYC's boroughs...a battle for $1000 and the title of "MASTER" in the NYC breaking community. A six-year old boy, barely 2 feet tall, won the first place trophy of the Beginner's 101 battle. He was TINY, but he had a big ATTITUDE that came through in his dancing, even doing power move flips!! It was awesome.
Ever heard of Rachael Ray show? Kinsy and I sat in as audience members in yesterday's taping. I went for the special snack given to the audience. We got a huge box of gourmet cookies! The show will air in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted. It's the one with celebrity guest Denis Leary and 2008 NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson.
That's all for now. I've gotta go buy some knee pads for breaking...
HT
"Life is an Adventure. Love it. Live it."
-HT
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