The term "Physical Graffiti" was used by Sally Banes to describe how breakers and Hip-hop dancers embody many of same style elements of battling such as braggadocio, "getting fame," etc. that are part of Graffiti and MCing. She argues "breaking is a way of claiming the streets with physical presence, using your body to publicly inscribe your identity on the surface of the city..." (Banes 14). This week you will read articles and view films that speak to the history and progression of breaking and its evolution into a global Hip-hop dance practice. As you define key terms this week, EMBODIED HISTORIES and BBOY/BBIRL, think about how gestures of breaking and Hip-hop dance practices can be understood as a physical repertoire of Hip-hop history. As we prepare for midterm, think about how the terms connect to one another as well as other elements in Hip-hop such as graffiti and MCings.
“We don’t want to be clones of the commercial hip-hop world because that’s been seen for so many years. Somebody’s waiting on something different.” This quote is stated near the end of the documentary Rize. It shows that while dance has been around for hundreds of years we see the constant changing, advancing and sampling that dancing has had. In the hip-hop culture breaking and crumping are two notorious styles that have changed the way we look at the boundaries that our body can cross while on the dance floor. In Rize, crumping is seen in a whole new light. Lil C states that violence and fighting is “the last thing on our mind when we’re dancing.” Crumping looks violent and aggressive, much like how much of the world views lives of many blacks. This, once again relating to “Blackness” and the cultural differences that “Blackness” infers. Yet, in reality, crumping, like many other forms of dance (or similar to grafitti), is just a way of physical expression. According to Katrina Hazzard-Donald in Dance in Hip-hop Culture, hip-hop dance “encompasses a highly functional system of symbols that affect individual identity development, peer-group status, and intergroup dynamics and conflict (512). Crumping especially deals with rage and anger and is ultimately a way to vent. This form of dance has become a replacement for violence and drugs in many who live in those areas where violence and drugs are common. As seen by the Clowns, who take children and use dance as a form of entertainment and shelter. One thing did upset me when learning of the world of crumping. Like much of hip-hop, dancing is a form of competition. When the Clowns defeated the Krumpers in their battle, Tommy the Clowns house was trashed. While taking away from violence and gang activity, it seems to me, that their respected dance crews have become a sort of gang within themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to break dancing or "breaking", a b-boy and b-girl or break boy and break girl is a dancer who performs "breaking" moves which consist of standing, floor, or power moves usually performed in rhythmic fashion to hip-hop or music with heavy bass (Lecture 9/27). According to Sally Banes, breaking is the newest part of hip-hop culture, it's the part that has made hip-hop a media obsession (Forman & Neal, 13). I think that in regards to this statement by Banes as well as the videos we viewed in class it is clear that breaking has influenced popular culture in a major way. Anytime you turn the television on, you can almost always hear a hip-hop song or see some form of breakdancing intersecting the show or ad. Embodied histories I think refers to the way in which hip-hop and breaking has borrowed and built itself up into what it is today from a variety of different styles of music and dancing from the past. In her article, Katrina Hazzard-Donald talks a lot about the different types of dancing which have influenced African American culture in the past and how they have been combined to form what we call breaking today. In particular, she states that "it revived movements that had been out of popular use for thirty years" (Forman & Neal, 511). Breaking, as well as hip-hop embody or use the variety of styles from the past to produce the framework for breaking while also allowing for performers' individual styles to come through.
ReplyDeleteBreaking borrows pieces from a vast range of dance types and techniques. The first moves that resembles modern breaking comes from Black American Slaves that were imitating their masters “civilized and proper” dance moves and mixing it with their tribal leaps, skips, turns and drops. Slave owners would encourage the best dancers to compete. (Banes) This practice was the start a substantial aspect in breaking known as the “battle”. The cakewalk is believed to have originally started as a ridicule to the arrogant, upright posture of the slaveholding class (Hazzard-Donald). Russian and Irish step dancing influenced the footwork seen in hip hop dance (Banes). Many Cultures throughout time have had an influence on breaking. And all breakers use their bodies to share stories from the cultures that influenced this type of dance. This makes it an embodied history. All these accounts of history come together to form one type of dance, in which, Bboys and Bgirls use their bodies as a form of cultural expression. Bboys and Bgirls are the dancers who perform breaking moves that consist of standing, floor and power moves (Lecture 9/27). With each move, the breakers are expressing their cultural identity and its influences. They are sharing stories that have been passed down through time and communicating them through dance.
ReplyDeleteAs with all aspects of hip-hop, sampling is used highly in breaking. Breakers draw on old styles of dance and movement to create their moves. B-boys/ b-girls, people who dance during the break beat of a song, combine many African dance practices, the lindy hop, flash, the Charleston, ballet, and juba to take their moves to the next level (Lecture 9/27). By combining all of these dance styles, breakers are acting like historians. A reading during our week devoted to sampling stated: “Hip-hop came along with the sample, a tool that refuses either-or statements. Hip-hop did not reject the past…” (Karimi 222). Although this reading was referring to DJs, it still applies here. Breakers are embodying history; they are keeping the past alive by presenting it in a new way.
ReplyDeleteThe breaking group Jabbawockeez, during their appearance on ABDC in week 7, shows the ability of b-boys to rejuvenate past dance styles. This performance is making a timeline of all the “hip-hop” dances. As one member of the group states, “Hip-hop includes locking, popping, b-boying, and we also have pop which kinda fell into hip-hop.” This use of sampling in breaking ensures no dance is forgotten. Hip-hop truly pays homage to the past.
“There is no shortage of creative recycling. Each generation of African-American youth, it seems, recalls demonstrating what they think is a new dance step, only to be told that their elders did that same dance twenty, thirty, forty, or more years ago” (Hazzard-Donald 506). This quote from Katrina Hazzard-Donald says it all about embodying history. B-boys (break boys) and B-girls (break girls) take that African griot role, but they relay stories through their bodies. Everything about hip-hop has a root- breaking is no different. From the Brazilian samba to the Jamaican skank, today’s dancing uses samples from the past either directly, or to innovate a slightly different gesture, but nonetheless, they use their history to create a future.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the movie “You got served” you can see the link between dancing and other aspects of hip-hop. The most obvious link is the battling. Just like the infamous MC battles, the movie shows several breaking battles. It’s a way of marking territory, commanding respect, and getting paid. Today, we have a less intense version with shows like America’s Best Dance Crew, which aided in giving rise to the Jabbawockeez. Through these examples we can see the importance that breaking has on hip-hop and personal expression.
The history of Hip-Hop is full of sampling and piecing together a mixture of ideas. Breaking and other hip-hop dances are not different from this aspect of mixing ideas. The types of dances that hip-hop originated come from a variety of sources including: slave dances, European dances such as the Irish Jig, tap, and Russian moves. The forms of body movement can be traced throughout the decades to form what we call breaking today. “From (out of) those new cross cultural dance experimentations and in some of the purely African dances there were styles that resembled and would later, through American dance history, evolve to become the ultimate dance form: breaking” (Holman 33)
ReplyDeleteYou can see parts of breaking that came from the juba such as fast foot work, Russian moves such as drops, squats, and sweeps, and flash dancing which incorporated wild acrobat moves and tap. B-Girls and B-Boys have evolved these forms of dance to meet their expressional ideas that make up the freestyle type dance that we think of today. These dances are improvisational, without any formal steps or gestures, and created outside a dance studio (Lecture 9.27). These moves were formed from expression caused by the body, in rhythm with the beat, not counted out in steps. When watching a B-Boy or B-Girl dance, you can see the history of dance from the juba and the cake walk to flash dancing and Puerto Rican acrobatic acts.
Physical graffiti illuminates hip-hop culture through sampling. Physical graffiti is defined as a practice that breakers use to write their experiences and histories using physical gestures and dance moves to speak (Lecture 9/27). Break dancers or break girls take various cultures to form an act that illustrates artistic movements. Breaking samples various cultural dances and martial arts such as South American dances, capoeira (martial arts), and slave dances such as the juba (Lecture 9/27). Breaking can be seen as embodied history because it takes a cultural stance and tells a timeline through actions and movements. Sally Banes clearly recognizes this idea when she states, “The main source of the movement in breaking is black dance, but like the rest of hip hop, breaking is an exuberant synthesis of popular culture that draws on everything in its path” (Banes 18). You can see in clips from the dance crew, Jabowokeez, just how many various dance moves are used to compose a work of art and to personally express ideas (Youtube). From the hands to the feet, their moves are their story. Recently, I have begun to pay closer attention to hip-hop music and dance moves as a form of art sculpted and transformed into the dominating culture it is today.
ReplyDeleteThe history of the BBoy and BGirl can be traced all the way back to when Hip-Hop was being birthed. A BBoy/BGirl is a dancer who performs breaking moves which consist of a combination of standing, floor, and power moves usually performed in a rhythmic fashion to hip hop and heavy bass music (Lecture 9/27). The BBoys and BGirls took from past dances, such as the juba shuffle dance, and combined it with another dance, the Irish jig and developed the tap dance (Foreman and Neal 33). You can see in the video of Chris Brown at the VMA’s how multiple combinations of dance moves are performed and put together to create a performance that is memorable.
ReplyDeleteEmbodied history is to give body to, to personify. The dancers give back to history in their movements. You can see moves that date back to the early 1900’s in almost, if not all, dance performances nowadays. I think the different dance types allow people to intermingle in different cultures by integrating different styles into their dances and performances. You can tap dance, but as the same time have a little salsa in your performance.
‘Bboy/bgirl’ refers to dancers, male and female respectively, who practise the art of ‘breaking,’ a form of dance style which became popular in the 1970s to coincide with the birth of hip-hop. Sally Banes describes breaking as a combination of “dancing, acrobatics, and warfare” through which the ultimate goal is “style” (Forman & Neal, p.14). Banes’ use of the term ‘warfare’ sheds light on the importance of breaking to the hip-hop culture: akin to DJ and MC battles, breaking encompasses the fighting nature of hip-hop, the braggadocio and ‘street’ image.
ReplyDeleteThe meaning of ‘embodied histories’ when thinking about breaking can relate to the various dance-styles and cultural exchanges ongoing within the form. The conventions of breaking have drawn similarities to the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, Irish folk dancing, Capoeira and many more forms of dance, old and new, black and white. In this sense, dance becomes a sort of cultural signifier, a way of learning about the past through dance, and also – importantly – the present. When Irish immigrants came to the US, they did so in a cloud of oppression and prejudice, not unlike what African-Americans faced, and it is not too much to suggest both groups learned a lot from one another (see link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJCV8Z-wDDY).
As discussed in lecture, breaking is one of the facets of hip-hop dance (Lecture 9/27). In my opinion, breaking is one of the four elements of hip-hop that sticks out the most. The other three elements; graffiti, DJ-ing, and MC-ing are very important aspects that seem more seldom recognized in the media. In all the previous lectures we have discussed how all of the elements contain sampling. Even though I was aware that sampling happened in music I was unaware of how frequent sampling did occur. In graffiti, DJ-ing, and MC-ing sampling has been the hardest to recognize for me. However, in breaking I think sampling is more obvious. For example, after viewing the youtube videos in class over several different dances and then watching Chris Brown’s performance it was clear the sampling he has taken from different types of dances. In Sally Banes reading, “breaking is the newest part of hip-hop culture, it’s the part that has made hip-hop a media obsession” (Forman & Neal, 13). I think this statement is completely accurate because breaking, in my opinion, gets more media attention than other forms of hip-hop. Even though the other elements of hip-hop are equally important, breaking seems to be the one that makes an artist stick out more to individuals.
ReplyDeletePost #6: Embodied History
ReplyDeleteIn regard to the history of b-boys and b-girls, it follows the main criteria and goals that hip hop tries to accomplish, yet manifested in the form of the human body. First and foremost, the most important part in Hip Hop is the call-and-response; it appears with MCs, DJs and Graffiti, and is absolutely present in breaking, “the term break also had more than one use in the ’70s. It was often used as a response to an insult or reprimand; for example, ‘Why are you breakin’ on me?’ Break was also the section on a musical recording where the percussive rhythms were most aggressive and hard driving. The dancers anticipated and reacted to these breaks with their most impressive steps and moves.” (p.19, Chang). The basis of the dance is completely based upon a dialogue between single or multiple dancers, or b-boys/grils. In terms of the performances themselves and their relation to music, it also follows the same criteria/ patterns of MCing, DJing and even Graffiti writing. When a B-Boy or B-Girl hears the music, and either “starts the argument” or comes up with a “rebuttal”, their dances and moves are completely fluid in the sense that it’s also a response to the beat, rhythm and mood to the music. If the track on the record is really charged and hard hitting, that’s is most likely what the dance will be about, which would translate into a power move. This method is also very amorphous, so it doesn’t have to be all about power, but a focus on “flow”, “popping”, and more technical moves like headspins.
Breaking, and graffiti share a similar impact on the Hip-Hop community, as each of these facets of Hip-Hop encourages conversation between various cultures and act as records of Hip-Hop culture. As Bane explains in her article on breaking, the first battles of B-Boys and B-Girls, male and female breakers, were between black and Hispanic teenagers, vying to be the best breaker in their city. Both groups had different cultural backgrounds, and therefore their dance technique was noticeably different. As Hip-Hop dancing evolved, dancers began borrowing moves and styles from various cultures, and as time progressed, from different points of time in Hip-Hop. Chris Brown’s VMA performance for example, was heavily influenced by tap dance, which is not usually considered when speaking of Hip-Hop. When this kind of cultural conversation occurs, Hip-Hop culture is personified, as the dance moves themselves reference different cultures and time periods. Embodied histories can also be created if a breaker’s recognition becomes widespread, because they are likely to become a much talked about icon in the Hip-Hop community. Much like graffiti, in which artists achieve fame by tagging their city, B-Boys and B-Girls used their bodies to “publically inscribe one’s identity on the surfaces of the city” (Forman and Neal 14). Just as graffiti acts as a historical narrative of a space until it is destroyed, the evolution of Hip-Hop dancing and breaking acts as a retelling of Hip-Hop through the ages, and represents the results of cultural melding.
ReplyDeleteBreaking in hip-hop refers to the dancing style that includes popping, locking, breaking, power moves, and moves that sample older dance styles. Some of the older dance styles that are sampled are included but not limited to the Afro-Brazilian dance/fighting capoiera, the cake walk, the Charlston, tap dance, and others. “From (out of) those new cross cultural dance experimentations and in some of the purely African dances there were styles that resembled and would later, through American dance history, evolve to become the ultimate dance form: breaking” (Holman 33)Breaking samples various cultural dances and martial arts such as South American dances, capoiera (martial arts), and slave dances such as the juba (Lecture 9/27). This can be seen as another form of sampling in the hip hop culture. Breaking also can tell the story of the experiences the individual and their society has experienced. Physical graffiti is defined as a practice that breakers use to write their experiences and histories using physical gestures and dance moves to speak (Lecture 9/27). The people responsible for breaking are known as bboys and bgirls, they are the story tellers that embody their individual and culture’s experiences.
ReplyDeleteHip-Hop has many different elements that play a part in the makeup of it and a crucial part is “physical graffiti.” This idea of “physical graffiti” is “the practice that breakers use to write their experiences and histories using physical gestures and dance moves to speak,” (Lecture 9/27). For example, in the movie Step Up, different crews battle through “breaking” by showing where they are from and how much talent they have. This idea of “breaking” is said to be “a combination of standing, floor, and power moves,” (Lecture 9/27). When b-boys and b-girls form crews to “break” or battle, they typically do this to claim territory or to show the others who is boss. This is a non-verbal way of communicating and saying that they run their town. This idea of “breaking” became very popular way back when and is being recycled into many new routines today. Also, street dancing “was used in many hip-hop spaces to provide an outlet for youth to express themselves without violence,” (Lecture 9/27). This kept kids out of trouble and on the dance floor. In the performance by Chris Brown at the 2007 VMA’s, his large variety of dance moves were sampled from all throughout history, which brought a new flavor and interest to the audience (YouTube). The term “embodied histories” refers to those people who choose to express themselves through the art of dance or “breaking.” This form of expression tells the audience a story without having to say anything, and only require watching their body language speak.
ReplyDeleteKatrina Hazzard-Donald said, “There is no shortage of creative recycling. Each generation of African American youth, it seems, recalls demonstrating what they think is a new dance step, only to be told that their elders did the same dance twenty, thirty, forty, or more years ago” (Forman and Neal 506). Bboys and Bgirls, through their dancing, are physical timelines of different dance moves throughout history. Breaking has an extensive history that contains remnants of African American slave dance practices such as the juba (Lecture 9/27). Constant sampling from different eras provides Bboys and Bgirls to be physically embodied histories. Breakers’ dance moves don’t just represent a historic lineage of dancing but their dance moves give breakers an opportunity to express themselves the same way graffiti artists represent themselves on walls and sides of buildings. However, breakers express themselves with physical movements rather than paint. If a breaker is a product of different cultures then it can become transparent through his/her breaking. This is the case with the Channing Tatum’s character in Step Up. The character incorporated his “urban” upbringing with the culture of the fine arts school to create a dance that incorporated his multiple influences. This is an example of polyculturalism being evident in breaking.
ReplyDeleteA b-boy/b-girl is a dancer who performs “breaking” moves which consist of standing, floor, or power movies usually performed in rhythmic fashion to hip-hop or music with heavy bass (Lecture 9/27). This is where the term breaking or break dancing comes from. People of all different cultures and throughout time have sampled and combined different dances and moves to make breaking what it is today. Like we saw in the video in class, almost every dance move we see today is a “remix” to a previous dance from many decades ago. “Just as the jokers and jitterbugs of another era were given their monikers, African American working and lower class youth who participate in the hip-hop genre, who adopt its persona as their personal presentation, are sometimes called b-boys, b-girls, or hip-hop people” (Banes 513). This mixing of cultural dances is what I consider embodied histories. They use dance to share their stories and struggles and as a way share their cultures’ past. Breaking is also a form of physical graffiti. Graffiti is a way artists express themselves just like b-boys/girls dance as a way to express themselves. Both graffiti and breaking is a form of communication between different cultures.
ReplyDeletePhysical Graffiti refers to the practice that breakers use to write their experiences (Lecture 9/27). “Breakers” which are also called “BBoys or BGirls” are dancers who perform breaking moves to help write their experiences. We learned in class that breaking is one of the four elements of hip-hop (Lecture 9/27). Breaking is similar to MCing, Graffiti, and DJing in many ways; they are all different ways to express yourself in the world of Hip-Hop. Breaking is just another form of expression through moves. It can tell a story about where the breaker is from or where the origin of the dance is from. Breaking samples from all different styles of dance and ultimately can create a conversation between cultures. When borrowing from many different cultures things can get confusing such as a language barrier, for dance this is not the case. Everyone can interpret dance and within hip-hop it is easy to identify the different cultures in which breaking has sampled from. For example, in class we watched Chris Brown sample from some old school dances like the Cakewalk and the Charleston. Chris is not the only dancer out there sampling, everyone borrows and mixes up dances creating an interesting, and exciting way to view one of the four elements of hip-hop.
ReplyDeleteBboy and Bgirl refers to dancers, both male and female, who practice the art of breaking. Breaking is a form of dancing. It became popular in the 1970s around the same time as hip-hop. In our reading Sally Banes describes breaking as a combination of “dancing, acrobatics, and warfare” through which the ultimate goal is “style” (Forman & Neal, p.14). I never considered moves like pop, lock, or dropping to be substantial dance moves, but after watching the assigned videos for class I have come to a conclusion that all those dance moves as well as any type of movement can be considered dancing. According to our lecture, breaking samples various cultural dances and martial arts such as South American dances, like capoiera, and slave dances such as the juba (Lecture 9/27). Breaking has the abilities to tell stories and communicate by simply body language and movements. Some of the more popular sampling moves are combinations of standing, floor, and power moves,” (Lecture 9/27). The people responsible for breaking are known as Bboys and Bgirls, Hip-Hop should honor these people for bringing a style and swagger to the Hip-Hop community.
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ReplyDelete“Physical graffiti” is a practice used by breakers to write their experiences and history using physical gestures and dance moves as a way of “speaking” (Lecture 09/27/10). BBoy and BGirl performers use standing, floor and power breaking moves in a rhythmic fashion to present their story (Lecture 09/27/10). They are using their bodies to play out a timeline that has occurred over the years. Their body symbolism makes breaking powerful and energetic, even beyond the vitality of graffiti and rapping (Banes 14). Their moves has such a strong message that they don’t need to use any words to share it, in a way they are giving their bodies to the dance and letting it tell the story. Just as rappers use sampling in Hip-hop, breakers use sampling and borrow moves from from various other styles, such as the Caribbean, Harlem ballroom and the Charleston (Banes 18). They show that history is everywhere and takes many different forms; and that those stories can be shown through the art of dancing. Although today’s youth in Hip-hop may think a move they are performing is new, chances are that their own elders were performing that same dance as many as forty years ago (Donald 506). They show there has been a lineage of Hip-hop passed down generations. With each generation that passes, the new generation’s body becomes a “prop” used to continue the cultural expression of past and present Hip-hop.
Bboys and Bgirls are dancers who perform “breaking” moves. Breaking dance moves have come from many different cultures and time periods, from the cake walk, to tap dancing, to taking pieces from the “Juba” which was a practice in African American slave dances. (Lecture 9/27) As I watch the Chris Brown performance at the 2007 MTV awards and even some of the clips from the Jobowakeez, I can see the different types of dances being tied together. I found the Irish jig to be a very important piece in breaking because it has a lot to do with prescience footwork. Sally Banes describes breaking as a combination of “dancing, acrobatics, and warfare” through which the ultimate goal is “style” (Forman & Neal, p.14). Breaking has become an outlet for students or kids to “battle” without having to use violence. Breaking is a physical form of graffiti. It allows the performer to embody the history of their culture as well as add their own unique style to show the crowd how they are feeling through dance.
ReplyDeleteHip hop dance catches my ear like no other. I have competed in hip hop dance all over the United States. I did this because it allowed me to express myself. For example, if I am angry I show it through my dance and I find that other dancers do that is well. It allows you to bring so much more heart and passion to the table. When you think of BBOYS or BGIRLS I always think of them “break” dancing. I feel like a lot of people use that term and don’t realize what is being said. When they dance, they literally “break” things down for you in motions. It’s like a language in a sense. They break down there emotions and what they are feeling through rhythm and motions. When speaking of an embodied language I feel like its referring to how are body speaks. It sounds complicated and a lot of people ask, well how can the body have a language and speak? If you ever listen to the lyrics while watching someone dance it’s almost like they are acting those lyrics out at times so that is an example of how the body can speak through dance. Another example, as I stated earlier was that dancers can dance a certain way if they feel a certain way. I know when I dance if I am happy my dance has a sense of humor and goofiness. Rather if I am mad I have a lot of attitude and rage towards my moves. If I’m angry I tend to get a lot more competitive as well. Battling is also another way of expressing yourself through hip hop dance. Many crews come together and battle, using moves to interrogate the other crew. If you have the sickest moves you will win that specific battle. Many times, crews try to embarrass or humiliate the opposing crew. This is like battling with rapping. Embarrassing your opponent through words is almost the same as embarrassing your opponent through moves and dance. In many cases, this is what is done when crews battle. Again, this is showing that dance is a language.
ReplyDeleteThe 1930s had the Jitter Bug to accompany Swing music; the Waltz found its popularity in ballrooms hundreds of years ago, and today the new musical genre of Hip Hop has its own form of dance known as Breaking or Break Dancing. Just as the older types of dance like the Waltz let its participants slide back and forth on the dance floor gracefully going along with its music, Breaking accompanies all the aspects that hip hop brings to the table. From the music’s faster pace to its MC’s braggadocio of battling and showings of superiority these dancers use physical movements to describe the hip hop genre. The same goes for breakings roots as it does in the evolution of DJing and MCing. As many different forms African music are found to be an influence in Hip Hop, dance styles like the samba, rumba, and tribal / slave dances find their way into BBoy and BGirl performers sampling from each style to make something completely new. This, I feel, is what makes up the embodied histories of the performance. Like graffiti, as we discussed in lecture “breaking is a way of claiming the streets with physical presence” (Lecture 9/27). As some purist discourage the word dancing to follow break; I can understand how the commercialization has taken away some of its meaning, however, Katrina Hazzard Donald puts it best “even watered down, hip hops influences will have profound and enduring effects on American Culture.” (Forman and Neal 514)
ReplyDeleteObviously Mcing and breaking is an important characteristic in the culture of hip-hop. Though today, we don’t see it as much, breaking describes a physical embodiment of this culture, and since it was so popular, it is the definition in hip-hop of an “embodied history”. A b-girl and b-boy, are male and female break dancers, breaking involves freezes, power moves, but also incorporates many different types of dance, including some very unexpected and old styles of dancing. As stated in multiple lectures and readings, sampling and borrowing is a large inspiration for the culture of hip-hop and it is apparent that breaking involves sampling to a certain extent, physically embodying the past. In relation to this embrace of the past, we can look at the different styles they borrowed from such as James Brown’s “ultimate dance music” that involves “unrelenting repetitive beats and rhythms that could make you dance forever”. (Forman & Neal, 35). What also served as inspiration for the b-girls and b-boys were kung fu films, “many of the break dancers were avid fans of martial artists like Bruce lee. A large number of martial arts moves were incorporated into break dancing through the influence of the films and the interest in martial arts” (Forman & Neal, 39). Through sampling of the past and sampling of different cultures, hip-hop creates a style and flavor rich with diversity.
ReplyDeleteMany themes in hip hop revolve around creating an open space of expression, originally pulling from historical injustices it has formed this realm that defies the mainstream and serves as an advocate for individuality amongst the minority group. Breaking emerged from street performers and soon resulted in the formation of many crews/groups as an alternative to the predominate gang lifestyle flourishing in many urban areas. These ciphers, not only centered around the literal act of social dance, but also around a cultural heritage as many of the moves and light-hearted prerogative is rooted in 18th century American slavery (Lecture/Forman and Neal). Holman also notes that there are other contributors that shaped these early dance traditions, and much like “Chinese, Russian peasants, and African slavery the movement is influenced by animals who depend of survival” (Forman and Neal 35). Which is interesting because the present day media and 18th century slavery sentiment thrive off of the notion that African Americans are sub sequentially barbaric or animalistic and are often portrayed as untamed or wild distinguished solely by skin color, (resulting in the perils of lower social status.) Even in this forum of these ideal ciphers, equality is without. “Girls didn’t do the same floor moves as boys” they worked more on synchronizing and choreographing complex dance routines (Forman and Neal 35). Katrina Hazzard-Donald goes as far to say that breaking/hip hop dancing is masculine, usually performed by a long man (Forman and Neal 509). Diverting away from the true intentions of escape and breaking the cipher of unity.
ReplyDeleteBreaking in hip hop is a form of physical graffiti in which breakers use past dance movements and gestures along with futuristic dance moves to express themselves. Breaking, in our reading, is referred to as a “combination of dancing, aerobatics, and warfare in which the ultimate goal is style” (Forman & Neal, 14). B-boys and B-girls refer to both break boys and girls. These breakers use “a combination of standing, floor and power moves” to battle with other break crews through dance techniques. This style of breaking is shown in the movie Step Up where each crew battles with the others of their dance moves to decide which crew is the best. They use mixes of past dancing, along with present day style of popping, locking, and dropping. Break dancing is a breakers non-verbal way of telling opposing crews that this is their territory and not to cross it. Break dancing has been passed down for generations, and embodied histories refers to the dance moves that have been passed down from generation to generation as well as current feelings and emotions to create one creative piece. In a way this is sampling. Break dancing is not always a competition between two crews. In Chris Brown’s video, he is break dancing using styles of past and present to show his power and status.
ReplyDeleteAs discussed in class, B-Boys/Girls are breakers that express themselves through breaking which is the type of dance style associated with Hip-Hop (Lecture 9/27). Breaking is a battle between B-Boys/Girls that reveals personal style and has that braggadocio effect. Sally Banes claims that the “taunt and boast” or call and response is very present in breaking (Forman&Neal 14). For example, one break will do a move and the other will try out do him or her with a better move. However, breaking is not something the youth of New York came up entirely on their own. They sampled from previous dance forms such as slave dances, tribal dances, the jitterbug and the cake walk (Lecture 9/27). In Chris Brown’s 2007 MTV Awards performance you can see that he is referencing the cake walk and while watching Rennie Harris Pure Movement its easy to see some tribal moves incorporated in the dance. As Hip-Hop dance becomes more mainstream Katrina Hazzard-Donald argues that it has become a “marketing strategy” and has lost some of its original style (Forman&Neal 513). Even though that is somewhat true, I feel that it is at least familiarizing the public with the idea of breaking and opening doors for a new passion through which people can learn more about the origins, meaning, and symbols of this dance form.
ReplyDeleteDance is an art form used all around the world. As a bharatanatyam dancer I realize that dance is about telling a story. In my form of dance we tell the stories of the gods and goddesses in the Hindu faith. In hip-hop dance and breaking they tell stories and portray a history of their own. The embodied histories of breaking can date back to several important eras in American history, such as flash dancing inspired by acrobatics at traveling circuses. In “Breaking” Michael Holman points out that there are African, Irish and even Russian influences to breaking, inspired by the different cultures that influenced those American eras. Holman also talks about the people who break, Bboys and Bgirls. They originally started doing so after the development of DJ Cool Herc’s break beats that essentially ignited all of the hip-hop culture. As we talked about in lecture, crews replaced gangs for many young urban Bboys and Bgirls. It gave them an outlet to confront conflict with more than just fists. This competitiveness shows the embodied history of breaking as well. The competition of black dance forms was started by slave masters who would “let the best of the dancers have it a little easier” (Forman and Neal 33). Today, breaking allows Bboys and Bgirls to express themselves while also embodying the history behind the moves.
ReplyDeleteIn the article Dance in Hip-hop Culture by Katrina Hazzard-Donald she points out that African American dance has a cyclical history, saying that, “an African American dance appears, then goes underground or seems to die out, only to emerge twenty or so years later as a ‘new’ dance” (Forman & Neal, 505). And both Hazzard-Donal & Sally Banes discuss how history is part of breaking. The recycling f moves and barrowing and improving moves is what makes breaking, in class we talked about how moves from the 1920s are used in dances performed in the 2000s. But what took breaking to the next level is the individuality of B-boys / B-girls. The connection bboys had to mcs was the way they could pump up the crowd that was around them, having a call and response element. The connection one can make between bboys and graffiti artist is the artistic expression one puts into their craft, but a major difference is one can perform publically while the other has to stay away from the public eye.
ReplyDeleteLike the other 3 elements of hip-hop culture described by Afrika Bambaataa, breaking started in New York City circa 1972. According to Katrina Hazzard-Donald, the dance has undergone three stages, the first of which she calls Waack. “Dance moves such as locking, the robot, and the spank, along splits and rapidly revolving spins combined with unexpected freezes, were part of waack’s outrageous style (Hazzard-Donald 509).” “It was the mid-seventies, New York (the disco decade) that gave birth to breakdance style, but its roots date back to ancient Africa, feudal China, and tribal Eurasia (Holman 32).” Much of hip-hop dance has external influences from a variety of sources, including historical influences such as the way that European dances were ridiculed by way of “leaps, hops, skips, falls, drops and turns done to unrelenting tribal beats and rhythms (Holman 32).” Of major influence “was the juba, which was done by one or more dancers in a circle of male dancers, each one taking his turn to go off (Holman 33).” “Hip-hop dance is clearly masculine in style, with postures assertive in their own right as well as in relation to a female partner (Hazzard-Donald 508).” This radical development should come as no surprise, considering that “It is no coincidence that many youth of the hip hop generation have never known the relative security that some of their parents and even grandparents knew (Hazzard-Donald 508).” “The dawn of the revolutionary sixties partner dancing gave way to a get it together and let it all hang out freestyle (Holman 35)).” “Breakdancing, the second stage of hip hop dancing, draws on a traditional and familiar concept in African American music, dance, and verbal arts: competitive one-upmanship (Hazzard-Donald).” “The third stage of hip-hop dance, which I will label rap dance, developed a response to the popularity and athletic requirements of breaking (Hazzard-Donald).” “The richness of gesture and motion in hip hop dance, as in numerous other forms of popular American dance styles that develop among marginalized African American, West Indian, and Puerto Rican youth, reflects the effect of social and economic marginalization on their lives (Hazzard-Donald).” So dance is a way of retaking space and asserting oneself, while revisiting historical periods and ethnic dances into a physical graffiti unlike any other form prior to the hip hop era.
ReplyDeleteThe word breaking comes from the more commonly used term break-dancing which is dancing or performing while standing or on the ground and uses power moves for added effect and emphasis. Artists that specialize in this heavy bass beat style of expressive dancing refer to themselves as BBoys and Bgirls. Breaking and breakdancing both have a very no holds bar style of dancing that allows the dancer to "sample" or incorporate many different dance moves from many genres and parts of the globe. Sampling dance moves in one's routine adds depth and relation to larger demographics to expand a person's fanbase. Moves are taken from many cultures and continue to be re-used in modern breaking. The recycling of dance moves and intercrossing genres adds versatility and connection to wider age group.The more unique and creative a routine is, the more likely to become popular from catching the eyes of others. Rap dancing, related to breaking, is very "energetic, athletic, and noticably male dominated, using a very African movement vocaublary" (Donald 511). Although breaking and other forms of hiphop dancing are male dominate, there are many female artists who have made a name for themselves in the hiphop/breaking dance world. The artistic freedom of breaking appeals to a wide range of people and is almost impossible to be limited to a single gender.
ReplyDeleteThroughout modern American history, popular culture has seen different phases of dances ranging from the waltz, the cake walk, pitchin hay, and milking the cow. In today’s popular culture, Breaking contained early remnants of certain African American slave dances like the juba and later dances such as the lindy hop and “flash” dancing (lecture 9/27). The early breakers were Blacks and Latinos that battled for a chance to become the neighborhoods best crew and each of these crews had different techniques that they used in order to try and one-up one another using outrageous physical contortions (Banes 13) these groups also formed what we would call B-boys and B-girl groups. According to Banes, breaking is a way of claiming the streets with physical presence by using your body (Banes 14). As we saw in class, Chris Brown incorporated a variety of old techniques like tap dancing and flash dancing and fused it with modern dance moves to shock and awe the audience (YouTube). For the term Embodied histories, Donald describes it best by talking about how African American dances seem to have a continuous rather than a cyclical history (Donald 505) thus it is an ever changing product that changes over time.
ReplyDeleteI was a dancer for ten years and although I stuck to the more traditional forms like ballet and tap, I have always had an appreciation for the skill and talent involved in break dancing, not to mention how freaking cool it looks. What really interested me was how break dancing or “breaking” has evolved from centuries of other dance forms. As Sally Banes points out “battling”, one of the key components of breaking, actually arose from slave masters encouraging competition among dance circles. The beauty of breaking is that it combines numerous forms of dance like tap, juba, the Irish Jig, and many others to create something completely unique. But breaking is only one facet ofHip hop dance style; Katrina Donald ventures to break down the elements of Hip-hop dance into three distinct categories: waack, breakdancing and rap dance. Breaking allows dancers to put their own spin on the moves and express something new. The BBoys and BGirls are the artists and can perform on their own or as part of a crew. Crews like the Jabowokeez move together to follow choreographed routines while the dancers in Rock Steady Crew each take turns showcasing their skills; either way there is always an element of competition involved. Although the art of Hip-hop dancing has become commercial to the point that classes are now offered in most dance studios across the nation; it seems that the original breakers want to keep breakdancing alive in its place of origin, with the streets being the stage.
ReplyDeletePhysical graffiti, graffiti, and turntablisiam, etc. are all branches off the big tree of hip hop. Bboys and Bgirls have created another aspect of hip hop that has help that hand reach further to more people in a similar but different art form. According to Jorge Pabon, “The common pulse that gave life to all these elements is rhythm, clearly demonstrated by the beats the DJ selected, the dancers’ movements, the MC’s rhyme patterns, and the writer's name or message painted in a flowing, stylized fashion” (Chang p. 18). I agree with Mr. Pabon in this sense completely. These people who were evolving with such a fresh new mechanism of Hip Hop kept on creating channel after channel to display and perform. Bboys and Bgirls took physical graffiti and really propelled it into the public in ways some of the other channels of hip hop haven’t yet. Breaking is seen all over the nation now as a professional stlye of dancing, it has crept its way into young people lives of all demographics as an exciting, exhilarating ‘new’ way to dance and express one’s self. I think that breaking has been one of the most successful aspects of hip hop because of those reasons exactly. It does not have negative repercussions like illegal graffiti may have, yet still allows the artist to express and communicate just as successfully with others.
ReplyDeleteShake Ya Groove Thang
ReplyDeleteHip-Hop Dance or Physical Graffiti is the epitome of sampling within hip-hop. “Physical graffiti” is a practice used by breakers to write their experiences and history using physical gestures and dance moves as a way of “speaking” without speaking (Lecture). As rappers borrow beats, rhymes and flows from their predecessors, so do dancers. Breakers sample and borrow moves from various styles, such as the Caribbean, Harlem ballroom and the Charleston (Banes). Sampling is a way to pay homage to what has come before you, and also a way to keep an ‘art’ evolving throughout time. Dancers from the movie Rize, say that they don’t want to be thrown into a category as general “hip-hop dancer”, but rather want to be known as something different, something bigger. As seen in class and in this week’s supplementary material, artist such as Chris Brown, and dance group Jabawokeez implement many different dance styles within their arsenal of movements. Dancing is a way to tell a story without words. The way that an artist moves sends such a strong message to the audience that words couldn’t. Most importantly, dance has acted as a non-violent avenue for the youth in our communities. As discussed in class, many of our inner-city schools, like my home community, don’t offer after school programming for young students, so what option do they have but to get into trouble.
Breaking is not just a specific or structured way of dance, but it has been influenced by a variety of many different dances from many different cultures. That is why breaking is known to have embodied histories for each dance step that a breaker take its could be from as sample from some other dance through out history used in their routine. Breaking has dated back to the 18th century American slavery, when African and European dance styles began to mesh.(Murray&Neal) Dances like the cake walk and the Charleston interpreted by the slaves to mock their masters. But we can still see these dance moves today in Chris Browns 2007 VMA performance. Breaking moves were also inspired by the kung fu flicks that was made popular at the time by Bruce Lee for the fast movement and full uses of the body in martial arts has also influenced the styling of breaking, this is another example of sampling from a different culture.
ReplyDeleteBboys and Bgirls stands for break boy/girl is a dancer who performs breaking moves on the urban streets. Theses dancers are not made in the dance studio's but are self taught dancers that expresses oneself through dance. Breaking was an safe after school activity for the bboys and bgirls as a better alternative then joining gangs. Breaking used in many hip hop spaces to provides an outlet for youth to express themselves without violence.(lecture) These breakers don't fight with words but they battle it out with there crew through their body language and movements. Breaking is like an unwritten language with many different gestures, breaking is known as a physical graffiti yet its very self expressed like graffiti art, breaking is also an art form of dance. Though graffiti art is expressed thought words and other times imagery, breaking is expressed through the explosive power movement making a statement of its own.
As defined in class a BBboy and BGirl are men and women who dance in a style called “breaking.” This dancing style draws many of its inspirations from old African American traditional dances, as well as some South American dance influences as well. To call this “break dancing”, which is a term our society is accustomed to using now, is somewhat offensive to these breakers, as it calls to mind the commercialization of this type of dance. Also as we learned, these dance groups were alternatives to a life of crime and violence. According to Afrika Bambaataa, breaking is one of “the four pillars of hip-hip.” I think that this is very true. This type of dance really breaks the norm of traditional social dances, just as hip hop did the same thing with music. The dance is as much a part of the song as the rhythm and lyrics. These dancers are telling a story about the music through breaking. Embodied histories is something that I have already mentioned, in that breaking has taken from many cultures its styles and influences. Breaking is not the only part of hip hop to do this, as much of the hip hop world has an embodied history with multiple other cultures and histories. When I think of breaking, I immediately think of the Jabbawockeez, who are one of the most famous dance groups in the world. It is so hard to identify what genre of dance this group is, and I think that also speaks to embodied history as well.
ReplyDeleteBboys and Bgirls, break-boys and break-girls, physically embody or demonstrate cultural histories through movement and dance. Author and dance historian Katrina Hazzard-Donald understands that breaking recycles and recontextualizes many dances that were born in the African and African-American experience. Many of the particular dances used by Bboys and Bgirls have long histories extending back to African American slave experience and a history of explicit oppression. The documentary RIZE focuses on the crumping and clowning subgroups of breakers, draws a connection between these male-dominated and aggressive forms of movement, and argues that they respond to real oppression. This oppression is embodied in the movements of the dancers, and one can trace the movements to the American South, and even to South or West Africa. Hazzard-Donald believes that “like a language, the basic vocabulary of African American dance is passed along” (506). This language can be traced in popular dance routines: Chris Brown speaks the same physical language as Michael Jackson, who speaks the same language as dancers in the Black minstrel tradition who performed a move (Stepping on the Puppy’s Tail) that “had an amazing resemblance to the moon walk” (33). Like images and ideas, dance movements have a cultural history.
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about embodied history, BBoy and BGirls use their bodies to show history. Instead of writing their thoughts down like MC's or spraying/drawing like graffiti artists, dancers use their bodies to express their thoughts, feeling, attitudes, and beliefs. “Physical Graffiti refers to the practice that breakers use to write their experiences,” (Lecture 9/27).Dancers use different motions and moves to 'talk' or speak to the audience and sometimes they do it to tell a story. Some of these dances are related to a certain culture and time period (i.e. The Charleston). This can be compared to an artist's drawing from a certain time period related to their own culture. These dances can be passed down like stories or be valued by different cultures to get a sense of what the dancers own culture is. Breakers use sampling like DJ’s do only instead of music they sample from different dance styles. Breakers use their own moves like, power moves, locking, popping, and stop. They also use moves such as the cake walk to express a certain period or movement in time. Sometime breakers break to express feelings at that exact moment. "The dancers and onlookers formed an impromptu circle. Each person’s turn in the ring was brief....packed with action and meaning," (Forman and Neal 15). These battles were sometimes an alternative to gang fighting.
ReplyDeleteBreak dancing is a great example of embodied history. Sally Banes writes, “Breaking is something new and original..but its basic building blocks are moves from the Afro-American repertory, which includes the lindy and the Charleston and also includes dances from the Caribbean and South America.” This shows that break dancing has an intricate background. It is able to take styles from history and build onto it, adding his or her own style. This concept is very similar to sampling that is seen with Djing, where Djs take beats from past artists and add their personal style to turn it into their own. Break dancing is a collaboration of historical dances from the past including capoeira, slave dancing, folk dancing and more (lecture 9/27). It is showing that all kind of cultures can come together, and learn from each other. This is also a perfect example of polyculturalism.
ReplyDeleteThe physical graffiti aspect of break dancing is taking the emotion you are feeling and instead of drawing it or rapping it, performing it with your body. “Just as graffiti writers mark off city territory and lay title to it with their tags, breakers claim space by tracing symbols on the streets with their dancing (Banes 18).” Instead of having a tag like a graffiti artist, a break dancer has a freeze, which is a certain pose that they are known for. I find the parallels between graffiti and breaking very interesting.