COURTNEY O'SULLIVAN
'Aspiring Dancer'

Hip-hop culture started out in the Bronx, New York in America in the 1970’s. Hip-hop is made up of; Break-dancing, DJing, MCing and graffiti. Throughout the years hip-hop itself has grown massively in the youth culture and has been renewed as a form of expression for youths to battle against each other without the violence been included. Hip-Hop started out limited to urban music and dance has become a bigger and better form of communication and enjoyment by young people throughout the world. Hip-Hop is no longer limited to rap music and break dancing out on the streets but because of the popularity and its growth over the last twenty years today it has become into a million pound commercial industry that influences everything from design, fashion, television programming and advertising. Break dancing started out in the South Bronx. The youth culture back then consisted of spending a lot of their time hanging around on the streets, with nothing to do. There was a lot of gang fights around the streets and from that break dancing was evolved. A lot of the younger generation would be part of a gang of people, so they would battle against each gang and would often battle to see which gang is better and to amend winners. Break dancing was also a way for the youths to let out there anger and mimic fighting without contact. B-Boys and B-Girls would often battle with each other so they could express their feelings through angry and powerful movements.

 

Today’s Hip-Hop was developed from young people using their ways of life and culture that is important to them and putting it into most aspects of young people's daily lives. (Taylor. 2014) Break dancing is a series of moves made up of Top rock, up rock, 6-step, Worm, Windmill, Head spin, Flare, Jackhammer, Backspin, Floor Lock, popping and locking. “Since its inception, break dancing has provided a youth culture constructive alternative to violent urban street gangs. Today, break dancing culture is a remarkable discipline somewhere in-between those of dancers and athletes. Since acceptance and involvement centres on dance skills, break dancing culture is usually free of the common race, gender and age boundaries of a subculture and has been accepted worldwide.” (BreakdancingNinja.2013) Rock Steady Crew was one of the first young breaking crews to bring popularity to its highest in the late 1970s and expand on the youth culture. Break dancing as a technique was mainly developed through the constant growth of dance crews.  Rock steady crew started off the popularity of break dancing by performing all over America especially in Manhattan, when more people began to take notice and media attention grew.

 

Break dancing technique and style expanded when dance crews would take their technique and style and perform it a various events including, parties, disco clubs, talent shows, T.V appearances and other public events. Their popularity rose when they battled against the dynamic rockers and the battle was being watched by the Daily News and the New York Times, this then took the young rock steady crew into worldwide success. Rock steady crew expanded as well as the hip hop youth culture, as they performed on the Roxy tour, which resulted in them landing their own music video “hey you, the rocky steady crew.” It was from then the youth culture took even more interest in break dancing and more young people jumped on the band wagon. (crazylegs.2014) Break dancing which is performed to rap music is a big part in why break dancing as developed as an expanding form as technique. Other forms of music throughout history have attracted young people but now in the way rap music has as young people were often pointed in the other direction of music rather than young people listening to rap music. Rap music talks about sex, drugs, violence etc. And this is not respective in some cultures and therefore was not culturally acceptable. Young people like the idea of rap music as it speaks what is happening in their daily lives, and they are able to express their selves through this music without any form of danger. Break dancing is a way to express independence and team skills through movements. Technology has helped to create break dancing as technology has got stronger over the years majority of young people are up to date with how technology works and break dancing has evolved over Televisions especially in commercial videos with artists such as RUN DMC, Missy Elliot, Rita Ora and many more, have had break dancers featured in their music videos. (Taylor.2014)

 

Bibliography:
crazylegs. (2014). Rock Steady Crew. Available: http://crazylegsworkshop.com/. Last accessed 15/11/2014.

Carl S.Taylor. (2014). Hip-Hop and Youth Culture. Available: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_HIP_HOP_YOUTH/?page=2. Last accessed 15/11/2014.

Breakdancing Ninja. (2013). Breakdancing History. Available: http://www.breakdancingninja.com/bboy_history.html. Last accessed 29/11/2014.

Photo Credits:
www.naitimp3.ru
www.stardanceschool.com
3oneseven.com