Dance: Ballet and Hip Hop

During this Lecture, the UC Merced Hip Hop Movement group educated us about the history of hip hop and what it is, and what it has evolved to. Hip Hop is a way of expression. The four pillars of hip hop are graffiti, Dj, Mci-ing/ spoken word, and dance. Hip hop first started out as just break dancing in the 1960s in Bronx, New York by immigrants. During the financial frustrations of WW II, immigrants used break dancing, as an outlet and form of expression. Break dancing can be so intense that it can be a battle of dance between two dancers. It can be a way to settle arguments. Later on, the Jamaican tradition of “impromptu toasting/boasting through rhythmic poetry over/with the music developed into “rapping” a.k.a. “Mc-ing.” (Movement) Dj-ing

French Ballet began in the 17th century. It was a flamboyant entertainment presented in front of the aristocracy and royalty in the courts. French Ballet was also performed when they were celebrating marriages and showing off the wealth and power of the ruler. Besides, Ballet was called “la belle danse”, and it means “the beautiful dance.” In order to help the audience to recognize the characters in the story, dancers usually wore extravagant costumes. Moreover, the idea of different ballet movements was based on the social dance of royal courts, like beautiful arm and upper body movements and floor patterns were included. Also, in the beginning, only men were allowed to dance ballet, and women played the first ballet with parts until 1681.

Even though some believe that dancing is no more than girls in pink tutus twirling around on stage, they’re wrong. Guys are dancers too and they are a HUGE factor (especially when it comes to Ballet) because without them, famous ballets wouldn’t have any graceful lifts. Just like cheerleading, lifting people is definitely a sport. Dance is a mentally involved and physically demanding sport.

In order to understand hip-hop dance, it is important to recognize hip-hop music and where it came from. Many scholars of rap music relate the founding of rap to African and African American oral and musical traditions, specifically African griots and storytellers. They link the rhythm of rap to the use of drums in Africa and to African American music in the United States, from slave songs and spirituals to jazz and R&B. Scholars have found very interesting connections between rap music and Black nationalist traditions (traditions historically practiced by black people that serve as part of their racial identity). Rap is similar to the “call and response of the black church, the joy and pain of the blues, the jive talk and slang of the hipsters and jazz musicians, the boasting of street talk, the sidesplitting humor of comedians, and the articulateness of black activists.” All of these African American oral traditions, including rap, can be traced back to West African oral traditions. In traditional African societies, the spoken word and oral culture included poetry, storytelling, and speaking to drumbeats. The links between rap music and African American oral and musical traditions demonstrate that hip-hop music represents more than just sound. It represents history. This aspect of it, in my opinion, makes this type of music very unique and makes it carry more value.

Hip-Hop isn’t just four elements combined within a culture, it is also “ a way of life, a language, a fashion, a set of values, and a unique perspective” (Efrem 2), the hip-hop basic and sub-elements have a strong impact in the American society mainly on its

Hip-hop is a musical art form, created by African-Americans and Latino-Americans in the mid seventies. Its conception came from a young generation of African-Americans in the Bronx, who created a beautiful, prideful expression of music, art and dance from a backdrop of poverty. Since that ignition in a New York City borough, it has inspired people from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds all across the world. When hip-hop is discussed as an art form and not just as rap, it usually is meant to include the four elements: the DJ, the emcee, graffiti writing, and break dancing. Some of these were around before the words "hip-hop" were uttered, but they reestablished their identities within hip-hop.

Dance demands the same physical skills that are required in other sports. Flexibility, strength, and endurance are key characteristics that most dancers need to posses. As with other “athletes,” most dancers are not born with these abilities but must establish them through practice and repetitive training. Similar to traditional sports practices, dance rehearsals are extensive and require diligence, dedication, and patience from the dancers as they will have to repeat exercises and stretches to perfect their technique and stay on

Stretching is vital for a b boy or a b girl as well, and even for the simplest moves, not stretching could cause you to injure a party of your body. It also gives more of the opportunity to create something new and original. Training is essential to perfect moves and to create something your own, even if all that training makes you feel that it can only workout the body. Listening to music trains the mind much more than providing a clean set or combination. Mood and attitude affect the way a dancer dances, and since hip hop is so raw and clean, b boys and b girls train in a matter to be raw and clean versus being so plain with their ideas. The mind works just as hard as the body to create what to do in a split second. Endurance is surely there, especially in the moment of a battle.

Hip-hop, which originated more than 20 years ago, is a musical art form. It has went through many changes during its lifetime. The music and lyrics have always remained centered in urban settings, with most artists of the music rising up from the inner-city neighborhoods. Beginning with a young generation of African-Americans from the Bronx looking to express themselves, it has since evolved to inspire people from all backgrounds across the world. During a time of segregation where clubs and the music played in them were only for white citizens. Hip hop was created in the 1970s and is defined by four key elements; MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing. People would learn to breakdance to Afrika Bambaataa, who contributed a series of tracks influencing the hip hop culture.

Hip-Hop dancing is a revolutionary style that has spread throughout America for over decades now. Going coast to coast and even over many oceans, especially the Pacific Ocean in the state of Hawaii. The stereotype that all people in Hawaii are “Hawaiians” or that the population lives in grass huts and doesn’t know what a mall is, plagues the minds of mainlanders. So it would be a big surprise knowing that these “Hawaiians” can be Hip-Hop dancers too. The message was shouted out to the whole nation when Hawaii’s first Hip-Hop dance crew Hype 5-0 competed on America’s Best Dance Crew season five showcasing their dance abilities against other dance crews from around the country. Once this message was relayed, Hawaii was put on the Hip-Hop map and even more Hip-Hop influence poured into the state with dance competitions being held, Hip-Hop artists increasingly having concerts, and having dancers from Hawaii travel out to the mainland expressing their talents and not forgetting where they are from.

Dancing and Hip Hop are nearly synonymous since the very beginning of hip hop dancing was an integral part, and the youth in the Bronx area who helped create hip hop culture valued it highly. As the author of hip hop culture Emmett George Prince states “ Known affectionately within the hip hop nation as the boogie down the Bronx during the 60’s and 70’s proved fertile grounds for the birth of the revolutionary cultural movement named hip hop”. Hip-hop allowed the youth in the Bronx to

Along with this new medley of music came new forms of dancing. Since many different kinds of music began to be mixed together, such as funk, disco, rock, jazz and reggae, people started to create a new dance form that embodied the patterns the deejays created on the turntables. This new dancing was called breakdancing or b-boying. It was called breakdancing because the movements that the dancer performs seem strong, jerky, and mechanical. Breakdancing entailed athletic skills and movements where dancers use full body movement to "pop" and "lock" their muscles and limbs. "Pop" and "lock" are descriptive terms that speak for themselves. Breakdancing is quite hard to master, especially for women, as "hip-hop is a dance form created by men. . . [and] requires considerable upper-body strength. Proper balance of weight is crucial" (Forster 28). Also, while in most forms of traditional dancing, the spectators of the dancers remain passive, hip-hop performers encourage their audience to be involved, causing "a real dialogue with the disc jockey" (Chan).

Hip-hop culture includes four main components: rapping, DJing, graffiti art, and break dancing. At its start, hip-hop was inspired by a change of other art forms, many of which still influence and inspire hip-hop artists today. One of hip-hop’s key characteristics is its ability to take an idea, a practice, or a way of doing something and make it into something new. Hip-hop is

Dancing is a historical tradition. Hip-hop dancing has been alive at social functions for centuries, and Popping and Break dancing are the old school days gone by. In recent years, Hip-hop dance has proved its long lasting presence in our lives. It is in our media, our music and day-to-day social functions. It isn't usually taught parent-to-child so people are seeking schools where they can learn. With Dance sport being considered as a medal sport in the next Olympics, more people will be exposed to Social and Hip-hop dance.

Hip-hop dance is a popular and energetic dance genre, usually accompanied by hip-hop music. It has enjoyed popularity among young people all over the world. I have been interested in hip-hop music and dance for a long time. I can show my love for life and exercise my body by practicing hip-hop dance. Young people like hip-hop dance because they can invent their own moves. It offers young people a new way to express their own personalities and emotion. Hip-hop dance also shows that they feel good about life and that they are not afraid of problems. With a history of about 40 years, hip-hop dance first began in the 1970s in the US (Pabon, 1999). In early times, people in New York and Los Angles began to perform hip-hop dance. It was first