Dynamic Rockers/5 Crew Dynasty on the Rachael Ray Show!

Posted on April 1, 2009

Rachael Ray recently had Dynamic Rockers/5 Crew Dynasty on her show after hitting up BreakerNYC and asking him to put her in touch with some area breakers. I bet her audience wasn’t expecting that! Props to the crews for a dope performance and Chris from BreakerNYC.com for making it happen!

SYTYCD, Star Search, America’s Got Talent and ABDC: Breakdancing on Reality TV

Posted on March 29, 2009

There’s something mesmerizing about seeing the human body do amazing things. It can be singing, contorting or flying through the air; we love experiencing our fellow man honing a craft or creating art.

We’ve been fascinated for years. Even before the modern circus developed in 2nd century BC, societies held competitions–often as a rite of passage–where boys would prove they were men by displaying ability while everyone else watched

Is it any wonder then that talent-based reality TV show has become so popular? While not the first, American Bandstand and Soul Train become hit shows by televising music and dancing. The 80’s leveraged their formula to bring us Star Search and Amateur Night at the Apollo. Things were going well until 1995 when Al Gore’s internet creation started disrupting people’s focus.

But there was a renaissance 2002, when American Idol emerged and reignited public interest in watching other’s display their talents on TV. After its success, some of their executives realized there was a market for a dance version of the show. And with that, So You Think You Can Dance? was born. With an inquiry like that being the show’s title, you knew some breakers were going to respond! Here are some of them answering the question in the different countries it was asked:

  • America - B-Boy Ryan Conferido
  • Canada - B-Boy Jeremy Tran (also peep locker Katie Lee)
  • Malaysia - B-Boys from the 2008 and 2007 seasons battle
  • Scandavia - This is a top 24 clip with b-boys from Norway, Sweden and Denmark

A remake of Star Search also started around this time with dancing replacing modeling as a category. There were 4 seasons and nearly all of them were won by a b-boy, Do-Knock. Despite mild acclaim, the show only lasted until 2004.

With these programs doing so well, Idol’s Simon Cowell took the cue to create another talent-based reality show, America’s Got Talent. This was more of a variety show and it wasn’t long before breakdancing made it’s way onto it’s stage as well. There are Got Talent spin-offs in over 20 countries and breakdancers have been on a lot of them:

Finally, in 2008, MTV got in on the action. Really, they should have been first. SYTYCD is on Fox and America’s Got Talent airs on NBC but MTV has the dance-loving youth market cornered like Mike Tyson. They finally released America’s Best Dance Crew and have been giving access to b-boys and b-girls ever since. Breakdancers have won each of the competitions held so far: Jabbowockeez in the first season, Super Cr3w in the 2nd and Qwest Crew in  3rd.

Though these shows don’t always allow breakdancing to be done in it’s truest form, they have been a platform to jump-start careers. For example, ever since winning ABDC 1, Jabbawockeez have been in Gatorade and Pepsi commercials (I guess there’s no conflict of interest) and even performed with Shaq at the last All-Star Game. And then there’s the financial component: some of these competitions pay up to $100,000! These dancers do it for the love but it’s great that they can extend that love to their wallets and bank accounts.

And this is only the beginning. There will be new shows (anyone want to bet that the Bravo Channel creates one?), twists on existing shows and some will die off. I know some people are concerned that the growing popularity is looking eerily familiar but there is fortunately enough information available to prevent breaking culture from repeating history.

For more information on the shows, you can check out their websites here:

Throwback “Singing in the Rain” Volkswagen Ad with David Elsewhere

Posted on March 23, 2009

I restumbled upon this Volkswagen Golf GTI ad that came back a few years ago and was quickly reminded of it’s brilliance. I know that one of the dancers is David Elsewhere–you can recognize his signature style–but am not sure who the other one is (I don’t think that’s Elsewhere doing the lamp post freeze, 90 or back flip). Anyone know?

Red Bull BC One Event on MTV

Posted on February 25, 2009

MTV got a great response last month when they showed Inside the Circle and Planet B-Boy and even re-aired it a few times. Now they’re planning to show Red Bull’s BC One event. Showing more breakdancing makes sense since their viewers love it but this time will be different. Whereas Inside the Circle and Planet B-Boy are films, BC One is just a 1 on 1 battle. How do you think this will be received?

Red Bull BC One

Red Bull BC One

Red Bull BC One airs on MTV this Saturday, February 28th at 11pm ET

Birthplace of Hip Hop on PBS’ “History Detectives”

Posted on February 23, 2009

Most hip-hop heads will tell you that it all started in the Bronx. And many will even tell you exactly where: 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. This is the location where DJ Kool Herc–the Godfather of Hip Hop–started throwing the basement parties which fueled hip-hop’s growth. And tonight, the spot will be featured on PBS’s History Detectives, a show “devoted to exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects.”

I heard about this episode from the Bronx News Network. The details are as follows:

BIRTHPLACE OF HIP HOP
AIRING: Season 6, Episode 11
THE DETECTIVE: Tukufu Zuberi
THE PLACE: New York City
THE CASE:

A hip hop enthusiast from New York City has always heard that 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx is the birthplace of hip hop.

The story goes that on August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc, a building resident, was entertaining at his sister’s back-to-school party, and tried something new on the turntable: he extended an instrumental beat (breaking or scratching) to let people dance longer (break dancing) and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended breakdancing.

This, the contributor believes, marked the birth of hip hop. The music led to an entire cultural movement that’s altered generational thinking – from politics and race to art and language.

History Detectives sets out to examine an inner city environment that helped lay the foundation for a cultural revolution.

Dark Knight Breakdancing - Batman battles the Joker

Posted on February 15, 2009

Did you want the Joker to win in the Dark Knight? He may have died in the movie but you can still have him win a breakdancing battle. Patrick Boivin has created an interactive Dark Knight battle between Batman and the Joker using Youtube. You choose a character and then watch and copy your oppononents moves.  If you’re able to copy it 3 times in a row, you win. 

Here’s the first clip:

I found this on on Loyalkng.  Why so serious?

Atlanta Breakdance Event on Comcast

Posted on February 11, 2009

If you didn’t have a chance to attend Atlanta’s All Targets Leveled (A.T.L.) jam last October, you’re still in luck: Comcast now has it on demand. The 30 minute segment, which was produced by Eljay Williams, can be accessed by Atlanta area Comcast subscribers using the following sequence:

“On Demand” -> “Get Local” -> “What’s Hot” -> “A.T.L. All-Targets-Leveled”

I wonder if Comcast thought of this after MTV showed Inside the Circle and Planet B-Boy. Regardless, I hope more jams and events are given this level of exposure. 

How did Junior (Wanted Crew) become the B-Boy Rick Astley?

Posted on January 28, 2009

If you spend more than a few hours a week casually browsing the web then you’ve probably been Rick Rolled. If you’re into breaking, you’ve probably had the equivalent done with B-Boy Junior of Wanted.

I don’t know how he became the b-boy archetype but his Red Bull BC One highlight clip is one of the most shared breakdancing videos around. Marketers should be scratching their heads trying figure out how make something go that viral. I’ve had it shared with me countless times and since his name is often forgotten, I unsuspectingly click the links. The scenarios are usually along the line of…

  • In person: “Oh, you breakdance? I saw this one dude who was amazing. I can’t remember his name but I’ll send you the clip!”
  • IM/Email: “You gotta check this out! This guy has got to be the best breakdancer around!”

Etc. Don’t get me wrong, I think Junior is talented. I’m just perplexed over how he became the poster boy for breakdancing. Everytime I click a link and see that French b-boy’s familiar highlight clip, I think to myself “Dang…I just got Juniored”

Over-shared clip of Junior at Red Bull BC One:

Coming in at second place is the over-shared clip of Elsewhere (”Dang…I just got Elsewhered”) at Kollaboration:

Breakdance Flash Game at Onemotion

Posted on January 21, 2009

There’s a breakdancing flash game created by artist/designer Tomas Eriksson at Onemotion.com. Personally, I’m not really a fan, but it could be fun and entertaining once you get the hang of it.

Related Posts:

Groovaloos on the Ellen Degeneres Show and Superstars of Dance

Posted on January 13, 2009

If you’ve seen Dance Flick, Idlewild or any season of America’s Best Dance Crew, then you’ve seen a member of the award-winning Groovaloos. The L.A. based hip hop dance company, which consists of b-boys, lockers and funk stylers, has been a part of nearly every recent movie and TV show that showcases breaking. They are currently representing America on NBC’s new dance show, the Superstars of Dance, and also stopped by the Ellen Degeneres Show last Monday to show the avid dancer how they get down.  

Week 3 on the Superstars of Dance:

The Ellen Degeneres Show:

Also be sure to view their extended dance clip on the Ellen Degeneres Show’s website 

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