Roaming the Hill
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Toprocking, Strength, Style
November 2, 2007 - 12:00amI walked into the Helen Newman Dance Studio last Sunday night, and the group was already in motion. Many were dancing; some were stretching; still others were just talking with their friends.
“We’re all passionate about break dancing,” said David Hoang ’08, president of Absolute Zero. “That’s why we come. That’s why we dance.”
According to Hoang, break dancing started in the housing projects of New York City and has remained primarily underground ever since. Break dancing conventions are not exactly covered by the evening news. Prof. Jim Self, dance, added that breaking did enjoy quite a bit of media attention for a few years in the early ’80s but, has been an underground movement for quite a while. The brief spotlight that breaking enjoyed in the mid-80s helped it grow out of NYC and go global.
While break dancing has its roots in hip-hop, hip-hop has its roots in funk, and thus, the backbone to any breaking music is a tight funk drum beat. A breaker might dance to hip-hop, techno or funk itself — but the constant is that break beat.
The members of the Absolute Zero break dancing team were there Sunday night not only to work on their own skills, but also to teach and help other b-boys and b-girls, the term for break-dancing boys and girls. According to Self, many people now use the word b-boy to describe anyone with the look or attitude of a real breaker. To be a real b-boy or girl, however, you have to at least try to break dance.
“You may not be good at it, but at least you’re doing it,” Self said of a b-boy or b-girl.
Absolute Zero was founded in 1997 simply to spread the culture of hip-hop and break dancing. It started as a group of guys with a common interest. Now, AZero is a team of teachers and performers and — most importantly — friends.
Absolute Zero dancer Luke Han ’08 recalled a time that a few of the guys were at Pixel, a bar in Collegetown. When the group started dancing and the DJ saw that they were breakers, he started throwing on break beats specifically for them. Unfortunately, their dancing exhibition ended with a broken wine glass — a new meaning for the phrase break dancing.
My Sunday night lesson in breaking included the difference between toprock — dancing upright — and downrock — moving with hands on the floor. Additionally, long time member of Absolute Zero, Alex Chao M. Eng ’08 explained the difference between power moves and style. Breakers do power moves while on the ground and use the momentum from their swinging feet to execute these moves. On the other hand, style is all about moving to the beat and the overall quality of the dancing. Everything from moving hands while standing up to the little footwork a dancer puts in between power moves is included in what breakers call style.
“The crowd loves the power,” added Chris Cheung ’08, co-vice president of AZero. Cheung dispelled the myth that physical strength is a must for break dancing. Strength is really only necessary for the harder power moves.
Scott Crespo ’11, who is a regular at the practices but doesn’t perform with Absolute Zero, explained that people who come to the group’s meetings hone their skills in other types of hip-hop and funk style dancing. Crespo cited popping — when a dancer appears to be making waves with his body, pausing at certain points — and locking as two such styles. Of locking, he said, “The only way to describe it is you have to actually do it.”
While some of the AZero guys were off to one side teaching newer dancers, some of the vets had formed a circle. The breakers would stand around cheering on one dancer in the middle. They took turns, some showing their own moves, and some attempting to emulate what others were doing. The experienced breaking vets were even teaching each other. Johnson Chen ’08, club treasurer, says that some people like to wear helmets, elbow pads and/or kneepads when they’re practicing.
“You never know when learning new things will hurt you,” he laughed.
As the night came to a close and the number of breakers dwindled, Yusang Lee ’10 pulled off a 1990 — when a dancer spins around while standing upside down on one hand. As Lee ended his move he hit the ground to applause and a collective “ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!” from all those present.
“Basically, he did more rotations then we’ve ever seen him do,” Chao smiled. “This is why we do this. It’s these moments.”