Thursday, August 12, 2004

Breakin' all the rules

The B-Boy Summit is celebrating it's 10th anniversary.

I thought B-Boying would never last. Ten years ago if you had said that B-Boying would be around for another ten years I would have said "Get outta my way I have to take these valuable Beanie Babies to my vault!"

The B-Boy Summit was created in 1994 to create a community oriented Hip Hop Event.
This years event will be the 10th and final
Many hip-hop artists, breakers and DJs will be on-hand including Grandmaster Caz, Crazy Legs, Jean Grae, Floor Lords, Rock Steady Crew and many more.

I once met Crazy Legs. His legs really are crazy! They often will jump into a vat of potato salad. The legs also talk to themselves... in Polish!

In all truth, I loved breakdancing. I really thought it was cool. I am not sure why it didn't survive. Sure some people still do it, but gone are the days when guys would carry a cardboard box with them so they could breakdance on the corner.

Once, in the 1980s breakdancing was IT! Everyone loved breakdancing. In 1984 there were THREE competing breakdance films!

From the IMDB:

BREAKIN':A struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.

BEAT STREET:An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.

BODY ROCK: Chilly is just a guy from the streets with a talent for break-dancing. When his wicked moves catch the eye of an industry pro, Chilly finds his dreams of fame and fortune coming true, for better or for worse.

The plots sound similar, but the three films could not be more different. Uh, actually, they were similar.

In Breakin' Kelly, the jazz dancer, meets Ozone and Turbo.

YES, THEIR NAMES WERE OZONE AND TURBO!

This was another aspect of Breakdance culture I like. EVERYONE GETS A NICKNAME! Think about that! If you take ballet do you get a nickname? NO! But, breakdancers do! Here are some breakdancer names I just made up:

Pickleshoe
Andre The Pants
Canned Hands
Auqatastic
Sgt. Mucho Mucho
and
Spork from Ork

If you are ever asked to throw down in a breakdance battle feel free to use one of those names.

Now, Breakin' was probably the most successful of the three. It spawned a sequel with the GREATEST SUBTITLE EVER: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo!

What is a boogaloo? Who knows? No one! Still, an ELECTRIC boogaloo is the best kind of boogaloo you can have. I guess.

Breakdancing movies have been in the decline over the past 20 years. Recently the makers of You Got Served tried to make a breakdance movie comeback. It didn't really electrify the nation like the films of 20 years ago.

Oh, well. I guess I will wait for You Got Served 2: Electric Boogaloo.

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