Celebreak

“Project: B-Boy” Documentary on Krazy Kujo

Posted on February 2, 2009

Will breakdancing soon have it’s own film genre? New ones are popping up left and right and old ones are being uploaded like mp3’s. I just discovered Project: B-Boy, a short documentary about Krazy Kujo that first debuted in 2006 at SILVERDOCS:

“Project: B-Boy” is a 13-minute documentary on world-renowned b-boy legend “Krazy Kujo.” Known for his mixture of break-dancing, martial arts, and circus acrobats into a style that is truly unique and forever impacting on one of the major elements of hip-hop, this documentary explores his thoughts, style, and life as a dancer/performer/innovator.

You can check it out here or in HD at Openfilms:

The film “Detours” and how it addressed biting

Posted on December 13, 2008

Biting, or stealing someone else’s move/style/set, has always been a cardinal sin in breaking and the hip-hop community at large. Like any art, the dance is about self-expression and individuality so copying another dancer is looked down upon.

However, copying another artist is different than being influenced by them. Most artforms recognize that you can learn techniques and style from others while still maintaining your own sense of originality. But in breaking, this grey area has always been debated. What constitutes biting? Which moves are foundation (and can/should be done by all) and which are unique (and should only been done by the originator)? 

While it’s still debated, one of the things the helped clear the air was a piece from the project Detours. Detours is a film that featured Californian b-boys Kujo, Rawbzilla, Midas and Elsewhere. Dubbed “An Experimental Dance Collaboration”, the film showcases the unique styles of these 4 dancers who were often de-labeled “b-boys” due to their abstract styles. At the end of the film, they put together a compilation of breaking moves that were similar to moves done in different artforms before breaking ever existed. By doing this, they conveyed the notion that every move we do has been inspired by something or someone else and therefore, none of us is 100% original. It’s a great piece and for some such as myself, it helped clear up biting once and for all. 

Here’s the excerpt below. The guy talking at the beginning is Crazy Legs from Rock Steady Crew:

External Links:

• Detours Extended Trails Clip

Overcoming obstacles and defying the odds

Posted on October 21, 2008

I’ve yet to meet anyone who has seen breaking and not been mesmerized, even if just for a moment. When I ask if they’ve ever tried it themselves, most people respond that they’re incapable of it.

ILL-abilities is a crew of b-boys whom many might have written off as incapable of breaking. Each of the 4 crew members suffers from a disability. But rather than let that be a limitation, they’ve each managed to learn how to break. Tommy Guns had his right leg amputated after being diagnosed with Osteosarcoma; Checho was born with lower body malformations; Lazy Legs is restricted by Arthrogryposis; and Kujo is almost 90% deaf. These amazing dancers have not only overcome their disabilties, they’ve conquered them.