Ypulse Guest Post: Have A Seat…And Breakdance
Posted by anastasia on 09-08-2008
Today’s Ypulse Guest Post is from Gynae Davalos. Gynae works with The Cypher Project in Austin and is involved in Better Hip Hop Bureau Austin. If you work in youth media or marketing and have an idea for a Ypulse Guest Post, just email me.
Have A Seat…And Breakdance
If rhythmic gymnastics can be an Olympic event, I think breakdancing should be too – but without the ribbon/hoop/ball and leotard. Compared to other styles of dance, today’s breakdancing is considered a sport by many. So it made sense to me for Nintendo to release a new video game for the DS called Red Bull BC One (coming September 16). It features over 70 b-boy moves that are executed by completing fast-paced puzzles and 35+ unique beats to break to.
With shows like “America’s Best Dance Crew” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” b-boys and b-girls have catapulted themselves into the spotlight. But for those who don’t really know how old “old school” is, breakdancing has actually been around for decades.
From Breakdancing with Mr.Fresh & The Supreme Rockers on bboy.org:
In 1969, Afrika Bambaataa saw Breakdancing as more than just dancing. He saw it as a way to achieve something. He saw the potential of Breakdancing, and encouraged the dancers to keep at it. To work hard, and to believe that if they stuck with it, something good would come of it. Bambaataa then started one of the first Breakdance crews, the Zulu Kings. The Zulu Kings won a lot of battles and talent shows and preformed in various clubs in New York.
Old-style Breaking remained popular until about 1977, when the Freak took over, based on the hit record “Freak Out” by the Shieks. Then around 1979 and early 1980, a new Breakdance crew was organized – Rock Steady Crew. Even though Rock Steady Crew was especially talented, a lot of people put them down being old-fashioned. But Bambataa encouraged them. He told them that if they stuck with it, something good would happen. He took them on, and soon they were performing at the Mudd Club, the Ritz, and other Punk rock clubs around New York. When Rock Steady performed for Malcolm McLaren and Bow Wow Wow at the Ritz, people started taking them seriously. Breakdancing was in again.
Breakdancing has been so in that numerous “battles” worldwide have been organized in an effort to showcase the extraordinary talents of individual b-boys/girls and crews. The first Red Bull BC One battle was held in Switzerland. This year’s Battle of the Year World Finals will be held in Germany. Every year here in my town of Austin, TX, we have B-Boy City, one of the biggest weekend-long b-boy events in the southern U.S.
I am constantly amazed by the athleticism and creativity of these head-spinning, acrobatic dancers and hope even more opportunities open up for them. Before you know it, performing arts schools will have breakdancing courses and b-boy/girl battles will be part of after school programs. But for those with physical challenges or no desire to jump while doing a handstand, there’s always the portable Nintendo DS to get your up-rock on.
Categorized under: Urban
September 11th, 2008 at 9:43 am
woah i didn’t know breakdancing had been around that long – that’s cool!
gotta check out the game