Breakdancers do not typically dance to classical music—but the b-boys of Stuyvesant’s Breakdancing Club dropped the beat on Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major at the Asian Culture Festival, performing a fun dance routine that made the crowd go wild.
The festival took place on December 20, 2007 in the Murray Kahn Theater. Juniors Hon Chau, Jonathan Kao, Andrew Sang, club co-founder and president Danny Wu and co-founder Carl Zhang showed off their moves along with guest performers Brian Gimm, a junior from Francis Lewis High School, and Tiangi Fan, a junior from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
To prepare for the festival, the b-boys practiced for hours the week before, with Wu as choreographer. Creating moves for solo dancers was easy, but for moves that involved all the b-boys, there was much debate and each dancer’s style had to be considered. Back flips and “suicides,” which are vertical twists that result in a dancer landing on his back, were some of the highlights of the performance.
Usually, breakdancing is paired up with old-school hip-hop, but for the festival, the b-boys choreographed a routine to a version of Pachelbel’s Canon that was originally used in a Korean commercial.
In the end, the club’s carefully chosen music won the hearts of many. “I really liked it because it combined western and eastern culture,” audience member and sophomore Xiaoxiao Wu said.
The Breakdancing Club has also performed at other school functions, including dances and the fall club/pub fair. “I was very impressed by their moves and saw some I haven’t seen before,” freshman Abbie Kouzmanoff said about the club’s performance at the New Year’s Ball on Friday, January 4.
Wu said there are few events in which crowds naturally form around you. But in breakdancing, “the circle is always the driving force for a breakdancer to entertain,” he said. “The crowd gets you hyped.”
The music also plays a large role in a breakdancer’s performance. A good beat is “one of those things that you hear and it wakes up your b-boy soul,” Zhang said.
Breakdancing is the “closest thing to combining a sport and dance,” Kao said. The moves are influenced by gymnastics and require a lot of time, practice and dedication. Though commonly known as street dancing, breakdancing also stems from kung fu fighting, which is part of Chinese culture.
Some of the moves performed at the Asian Culture Festival included shoulder freezes, baby freezes and mini swipes. A shoulder freeze is when the dancer balances on one shoulder with his legs held up high in a “P” position. A baby freeze is similar, except the dancer balances on one arm and crosses his legs in midair. A mini swipe is when the legs whip into the air and the arm spins the whole body around.
“I expected them to have some common breakdancing moves,” sophomore Janet Tang said. “[But] I liked that they were breakdancing with a chair, too. That was unexpected and it was definitely very memorable.” Toward the end of the performance, two dancers performed some dance moves using stools, with their bodies hung upside down and their legs in midair.
The b-boys made the moves look effortless, but other students who participated in the festival can testify to their hard work. “They put a lot of effort into it and did a very good job,” said junior Sue Chuang, who performed in the festival’s Chinese cultural dances. “It was really cool that they got to come out and do it for the Asian Fest.”
Many of the b-boys learned the basics by studying YouTube videos and various breakdancing Web sites like bboy.org and bboyworld.com. “They all have tips on how to get started and videos to demonstrate how to do a move,” Wu said. “Watching or reading can only get you so far. You need to try it out yourself to really get the full experience of breakdancing.”
The Breakdancing Club has been active for over a year and consists mostly of juniors. A majority of members are also Asian. There have been b-girls since the start of the club, but the ratio is “pretty bad, probably about seven to one,” Zhang said.
Because the club has no female officers and the Asian Culture Festival performance was reserved for the most experienced dancers, b-girls did not participate in the festival. “It wasn’t a tryout thing. We just wanted to do it for fun,” Wu said.
Sophomore Priscilla Zhao is one of only two female club members who come to meetings regularly and breakdance. “Freshman year, I couldn’t do anything but footwork,” she said. Footwork is spinning your feet around the floor and is considered a basic move. “This year, I learned to do more dangerous work, like freezes,” Zhao said.
Some girls find breakdancing difficult because, compared to male members, they have less upper-body strength. Though b-boys have the advantage of being stronger, the “b-girls are more flexible,” Kao said.
“Breakdancing is not about power. It’s about balance,” Zhao said. “Girls are just more scared to fall.”
Injuries are common but usually minor. “[Getting hurt] is the best part, especially when you get the move,” Wu said. “They aren’t severe and we keep doing it.”
“I never thought I could do a handstand,” Zhao said. “I used to be scared to do anything like that. This year, I don’t mind the pain anymore.”
Some members said they sometimes practice so much that their whole body aches. “[Wu] practices till his whole body hurts,” Zhang said. “I usually practice till one part hurts.”
During the club meetings, there is “not enough teaching because of too much dancing,” Kao said. The more experienced club members usually teach moves to others. They divide the members into groups based on what the members want to learn that day.
Historically, breakdancing battles, which arose in the 1980s, replaced fighting between rival gangs. The theory was that the best dancer was the best fighter due to the immense strength breakdancing requires. Breakdancing Club members, however, battle to share their skills and teach others their moves.
This camaraderie can be seen in the halls and classrooms of the third and fourth floors, where the club usually meets after school. At meetings, usually held once a month, the b-boys and b-girls often form a circle, showing off their best moves on the dance floor and cheering each other on.
“[Breakdancing] can be discouraging because of the hard moves, but people here encourage you to go on and be creative,” Kao said.
The Breakdancing Club’s Asian Culture Festival routine can be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=sAbPaZcMTbo.
