10/30/08, NYC Breakin'

I had my first "beginners" break dance class last week. It did NOT go well. :(

The instructor moved so fast he never even introduced himself before we were all of a sudden dancing, learning about 15 complex moves, all in an hour! He kept saying these are "Basic" moves and I kept thinking, well my mind is feeling pretty BASIC right now. SLOW DOWN!!! He said it's all about muscle memory. But when my muscles never even go through the correct movement once, then how are they supposed to REMEMBER the moves???!?!? Minor set-back: I didn't remember a single move from the class to practice at home.

After that brief slap in the face, I have re-evaluated my approach to dancing and am back on track learning the 'basic' moves from online videos... STEP by STEP by STEP :). It's a better learning technique for me at this point. Break dancing has four main components to it: 1.Uprock/Toprock, 2.Downrock, 3.Power Moves, and 4.Freezes. Uprock/Toprock are the moves you do while standing up. Uprock refers to the movement of the arms and upperbody, such as mock-fighting moves, the robot, etc. Toprock refers to the fancy footwork you do while standing. Uprock/Toprock transitions to Downrock: the fancy footwork you do while on the ground. Downrock moves give you the momentum to go into Power Moves, like spins on your back, hands, and head, or windmills, a common move done by gymnasts, etc. The power moves take a LOT of upper body strength and core strength. Break dancing has a beginning, middle and end. The end is usually a Freeze: whether in mid-air on your hands or feet or side, you strike a pose and hold it for 3-4 seconds as your finale. Freezes say a lot about a dancer's style, and there's opportunity throughout the whole dance for creativity.

Believe it or not, there is controversy over the use of the term "Break dance". It was coined by the media for promotional purposes, and many breakers feel like the use of the term lacks depth and respect for the history of the dance. More appropriate terms to use are "Breaking" or "B-boying" or "B-girling". So with that said...

My Breaking Highlights from the Week:

1. Got the 6-Step move down, both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Working on my Toprock moves now. Got a few down!! I have been practicing in my living room, so there are limited hours for practice because we live right above a barber shop...and breaking, especially "beginner" breaking can be a little bit noisy! :)
2. Bought shoes for breaking!!! (which was an adventure in itself.) I am easily overwhelmed by shopping in general and NYC is a VERY overwhelming place to go shopping in…but I found my shoes after just TWO stores and they were on SALE! I knew I wanted Adidas Sambas (indoor soccer shoes, black with white stripes). But what I found was black with red and green stripes and yellow shoelaces…the colors of Ethiopia's flag!!!! It couldn't have been a better match!
3. Found out the instructor of my beginner's class, Ken Swift, is a LEGEND in the breaking community. So once I get the basics down on my own, I'll have to take a few more of his classes.
4. My friend Ben Murane (SU alum) is living in Brooklyn and connected me with his friend Dvora, who is involved in the NYC breaking community. She's the one who told me about my instructor being a legend. Ben and Dvora rent a studio in Manhattan on Sundays to practice their respective arts: martial arts and breaking. They've invited me to join them and practice my breaking skills!!! Dvora knows of (free) practices around the city and has invited me once I get a few months of practice in! I'm very excited.
5. Ordered "8 Min Abs" video (recommended by a sports therapist I saw right before leaving CDA), so I'm on DAY 4 of a 6wk core strengthening program...which will help as I learn Downrock and Power Moves!

There are international breaking competitions each year for both individuals and crews to compete at. The Battle of the Year (BOTY) is a crew competition, where teams from Africa, Asia, Brazil, Canada, and Europe represent. The BOTY 2008 was held in Germany this year: the champion crew was from Russia, while the runner up was from S.Korea. There is also the Red Bull BC ONE, an individual competition featuring the top 16 b-boys in the world competing in one-on-one battles. This year's event is taking place NEXT WEEK (Nov 5) in Paris, France! I wish I could be there to watch! Last year's champion was Ronnie, from the USA!

For any of you that wear Puma or Tribal brand clothing, they are both sponsors of b-boy/b-girl events!

Any questions about breaking? Let me know. I'm learning as I go!! It's been fascinating. I live right across from the Bronx Museum, which has a current display about this history of Street Art and Street Culture here in NYC. One of these rainy days Kinsy and I will head over there and check it out.

Peace,
Hana T.

"The present is a gift
And I just wanna BE."

-Common