"Real H.i.p.-H.o.p."
Healthy, Independent, People- Helping, Other, People
Every year I like to go to Venice Beach, California atleast once. This year I have already visited twice! Each time I go I always hope to catch the hipster dancer group "Style Proz Crew" now known as the LA Breakers. This group was featured on season 5 of America's Got Talent, and although they have great talent, unfortunately they were eliminated from the show. Surprisingly I am always able to find them down the strip on Venice Beach.
There choreography and dance skill is always very entertaining to watch. I really enjoy their break dance moves and transitions. The level of difficulty for this type of dance is very advanced and takes a lot of stregnth, practice, and dedication to do the types of moves these performers use. Not only is this group very talented choreographically but they also know how to enteract with their audience.
Note to any future audience members: you will need to keep an open mind, and refrain from being offended by any of their stereotypical ethnic jokes. In relation to original hip-hop, this group likes to use comedy to grab the attention of their audience. As you will see in my video clips some of the jokes may be offensive, but are not in fact intended to offend but to bring humor to common stereotypes. As an audience member I always anticipate what different racial slur or offensive crack at a race that the speaker will use next in order to grab peoples attention that are walking by, or trying to escape this public dance performance. As I recently just learned about in my Dance 101 course this style of dancing was originally known as "Clowning", in which the dancer is also attempting his roll as a clown or comdeian. Unlike authentic clowning, this group does not use face paint within their costume design.
What I really enjoy about this groups choreography is how they transition from difficult skilled break moves into a public action for dance. Once a large crowd has formed around the performers they then pull members of the audience onto the center stage to take part in a dance of their own, which will soon be followed by their grand finale. Along with comedy, this group also communicates that dance is their way of life. It is what they do for a living, and ask the audience for donations to help keep them off the streets and to prevent them from robbing anyones homes. They also express how dance is important for children and for a community.
I believe the unifying element of this groups choreography was the importance of dance and how it can be accessible to the general public. The central theme the performers were trying to convey was that dance, even hip-hop, which sometimes carries negative conotations, can be an outlet for many children. Dance can keep people from breaking the law, doing drugs, robbing people, joining gangs, etc. The dancers were successful at grabbing the audiences attention and keeping it. They did this through the chalenging and entertaining break dancing, through comedy, and through freedom of speech.
Note to any future audience members: you will need to keep an open mind, and refrain from being offended by any of their stereotypical ethnic jokes. In relation to original hip-hop, this group likes to use comedy to grab the attention of their audience. As you will see in my video clips some of the jokes may be offensive, but are not in fact intended to offend but to bring humor to common stereotypes. As an audience member I always anticipate what different racial slur or offensive crack at a race that the speaker will use next in order to grab peoples attention that are walking by, or trying to escape this public dance performance. As I recently just learned about in my Dance 101 course this style of dancing was originally known as "Clowning", in which the dancer is also attempting his roll as a clown or comdeian. Unlike authentic clowning, this group does not use face paint within their costume design.
What I really enjoy about this groups choreography is how they transition from difficult skilled break moves into a public action for dance. Once a large crowd has formed around the performers they then pull members of the audience onto the center stage to take part in a dance of their own, which will soon be followed by their grand finale. Along with comedy, this group also communicates that dance is their way of life. It is what they do for a living, and ask the audience for donations to help keep them off the streets and to prevent them from robbing anyones homes. They also express how dance is important for children and for a community.
I believe the unifying element of this groups choreography was the importance of dance and how it can be accessible to the general public. The central theme the performers were trying to convey was that dance, even hip-hop, which sometimes carries negative conotations, can be an outlet for many children. Dance can keep people from breaking the law, doing drugs, robbing people, joining gangs, etc. The dancers were successful at grabbing the audiences attention and keeping it. They did this through the chalenging and entertaining break dancing, through comedy, and through freedom of speech.
The choeographer used his body as well as the dynamic of group performance within the choreography. The music and the audience contributed to keeping the beat for the dancers. As the level of difficulty increased by the performers so did the level of energy from the audiences interactions. The mood portrayed during this time was that of comedy, laughter, humor, and happiness. The group utilized a big space on the pavement on the strip of Venice blvd., and also included the use of a microphone and sound system within their performance.
As a whole I would describe the dancers to be energetic and carasmitic. They worked well together and had a great sense of unity. I recognized one of the dancers who communicated the most with the audience as a leader. It was evident that he has been practicing this routine for a long time and even stated that he has been performing it for the public for 10 years. All of the dancers in this group really brought the dance to life for the audience. They did this by working together and making sure the audience participated in the choreography. By the end of the preformance there was a unique relationship established between the audience and the performers. This relationship helps encourage the art of dance and its importance in society.
Below I have included several video clips I filmed of the LA Breakers street performance on Friday, October 25, 2013 in Venice Beach, California:
