More Than A Stance » Media

What Does It Feel Like To Be at IBE?

Calvin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:17:34 +0000

Anyone who’s filmed or photographed an event knows that it’s easy to lose a lot in the distance between the dancing and the camera.

In a viewfinder, intimate cypher battles suddenly become sterile. Dynamics of a hyped battle become a jumble of blurs and static. Subtle flourishes get drowned out by acrobatics and roars. Expensive as a camera might be, there has yet to be a feature that can automatically capture an event’s atmosphere. A quick scroll through the comments of any battle clip reveals dancers lamenting that the footage doesn’t really capture what really happened.

Continuing on our mini-theme of unconventional event trailers, Botanik comes through with a powerful summary of the IBE experience.

As much as it’s been said before, it’s the little things that count.

LINK: IBE 2011 by Botanik

Style Wars: The Outtakes

Calvin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:34:10 +0000

While Style Wars is already considered a documentary classic in the hip-hop community, there’s still plenty of footage from the project that has yet to see the light of day.

Hip-hop author and film producer Henry Chalfant has begun a Kickstarter account to raise $28,000 to restore close to 30 hours of film originally shot in the early ’80s.

Outtakes are said to include scenes like the clip above, showing a young Crazy Legs dicussing Rock Steady Crew, as well as extended footage of the immortalized battle between Rock Steady and Dynamic Rockers.

Hit the links below to find more information and to contribute.

LINK: Kickstarter — STYLE WARS … the Outtakes

SOURCE: Hypebeast

Navator Takes Event Trailers to the Next Level

Calvin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:45:44 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with filming battles and splicing together some exciting clips over some hard beats to make a highlight reel. On the opposite side of the event coverage spectrum, however, Navator takes jam footage and makes it an artform all its own.

With smooth textures and clicking soundscapes from the likes of Flying Lotus and TOKiMONSTA, these clips capture (or create?) the emotions and atmospheres of the events beyond the stage. Purists might scoff, but it’s hard to deny the beauty of these pieces covering IBE, Freestyle Session, and Evolution.

LINKS:

- Navator.com
- Navator YouTube Channel

Jordan Matter Envisions “Dancers Among Us”

Calvin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:20:11 +0000

We’ve all felt the urge to get loose and dance at inappropriate times. With his series Dancers Among Us, New York photographer Jordan Matter shows what the world might look like if the energy of dancers invaded the mundane drudge of everyday life.

From Matter’s artist statement:

“As we get older and wiser, what happens to this enthusiasm, this ability to be wholly present in the moment? Why are these pure moments of passion so often replaced by cynicism, boredom, and indifference?

“… Dancers are storytellers. They’re trained to personify passionate moments, their bodies imbued with a stunning combination of artistry and athleticism. They create a fantasy world, offering us a deeper look into familiar settings. They bring to life what we feel but are unable to express physically.”

LINK: Dancers Among Us

SOURCE: mashKULTURE

Chris Brown to Star in “Planet B-Boy” Feature

Calvin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:31:39 +0000

Let’s just ignore the fact that there are a million possible Rihanna jokes that could result from this — according to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Brown, Josh Holloway (“Lost”), Laz Alonso, Caity Lotz, and Josh Peck (“The Wackness”) will star in the feature film version of “Planet B-Boy.”

Shooting began in Los Angeles and continues in Montpellier, France.

The film is said to be “about an all-star American b-boy crew training to compete in France at the Battle of the Year (BOTY) International Championships. After a decade of defeat, the crew and their coach must go up against the best and greatest b-boys in the world: the Koreans, the Russians and the French who have dominated the original American dance form for the last 10 years.”

Well, alright.

While I personally can’t help but imagine Chris Brown smiling a lot and Josh Peck saying things like “Oh word? That’s dope!” while people do headspins in the background, I like to think the film is in good hands.

In a 2008 interview we had with director Benson Lee, he spoke a lot about the importance of persistence in gaining the trust of dancers like Ken Swift, Storm, and Trac2.

He also had the following to say about the current state of dance flicks:

“After everything that I’ve learned from making this documentary, the last thing that I wanted to do was make a movie about a b-boy who falls in love with a ballerina. And it’s really important that I take everything that I’ve learned from this culture and try to portray it within a fiction context.

“And it’s going to be challenging, and one of the things that I have to do is I have to work with real b-boys. There’s no way I can get a studio dancer to portray authentically what this culture is about. And so right now, I’m working with consultants who are actual b-boys and b-girls while also working with a writer.

“I made a promise to myself that I can’t come out there after making Planet B-Boy and make another hip-pop movie on street dance. I’m really dedicated to making a movie about b-boys and try to make it really correct.”

We’re excited to see him run it, run it.

UPDATE: The following message from Lee can be found on the Planet B-Boy Facebook page:

“Dear peeps, I understand your concerns but I want you to know that Chris Brown is just one of 13 main characters in the crew. The other 12 are real b-boys including Do-knock, Kasper, Kid David, Abstrak to name just a few. We also have an additional 20 characters who are ALL played by some of the best b-boys in America. In addition, we will be filming our movie at the real Battle of the Year at the end of this month in France. We are also including Top9 from Russia, and Pockemon from France, and a star studded Korean dreamteam made up of the best b-boys from Korea. As the director of Planet B-boy, I am proud to work with Chris Brown because he has a deep respect for b-boys, and the truth is he’s the only mainstream dancer/actor who can legitimately dance b-boy moves. We are making a fictional movie (w/o corny romance) and we have to work with actors. My principal cast is awesome period. We’ve already begun filming and they’ve killed it by playing real characters with a real story. So before you judge our film, I ask that you wait and see it first because as the director of Planet B-boy, I guarantee you that this is going to go above and beyond what you will expect of the fictional version of my doc. Anyway, thanks for being fans of the doc. I promise you that I wont let you down!”

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

Jalen and Lil Demon vs. American Apparel?

Calvin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:45:17 +0000

Most people will probably either love or hate this spot by Tony Kelly, but all I know is I can’t stop watching it.

Jalen and Lil Demon have been killing it for a while — and slow motion and bow ties and Debussy? C’mon!

Thesis: B-Boys Are Artists, Not Athletes

Calvin — Tue, 31 May 2011 08:29:26 +0000

Not everyone’s a Strife.tv, so it’s always an interesting to see how non-b-boy media outlets fare with b-boy interviews. Luckily for you, Detooz Films does an impressively slick job with the infamous b-boy Thesis (click here to read our previous Thesis feature).

Among other things, Thesis discusses some interesting points about the pitfalls of watching too much YouTube, his reasons for prefering cyphers over big shows, and the beauty of taking moves from a three-legged dog.

Yeah, you’ll probably just need to watch it.

Dance Assassin: Taking B-Boying to the Streets, Kind Of

Calvin — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Now that the hype on this has died down a bit, it’s worth showcasing this bit of b-boy comedy gold to those of you who might have missed it the first time around.

While it’s certainly entertaining in its own right, what’s really weird about this video to me is how it illustrates a lesson that has been popping up a lot for me lately: the b-boy community is really small.

Even with how widespread b-boying has become, it’s always a pleasant surprise to realize that b-boys and b-girls almost always have a handful of close mutual friends even with people across the globe.

In the case of this video, my first “break-dance” lessons came from an amiable blond guy who taught out of a ballet studio in Birmingham, Alabama. He was an accomplished dancer, but all I knew of his b-boy background was that he occasionally practiced with Birmingham’s BMW Crew. He tried to teach me how to swipe, but he abruptly disappeared one day, leaving nothing behind but the studio’s vague explanation that he “moved to California.”

Well, here he is now, scaring the crap out of babies when he’s not Tasering girls or creating viral dances.

Had I known Rob was this weird when I was I middle school, I would have either avoided him entirely or worshiped the ground he waacked on.

The Best of B-Boy Bowling

Calvin — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:39:06 +0000

I mean, what else are those slick floors really good for?

For the sake of variation, you can try a backspin instead of a headspin:

Or you can rock the beat of the pins:

Apparently, this whole bowling alley bowling phenomenon is ubiquitous to the point where battles can spontaneously break out in front of the snack bar:

Or you can blend the activities by instating a “one roll, one run” rule:

Have you done this before? Is b-boy bowling the new b-boying at Walmart?

Ducky’s Fiery Feat

Calvin — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:15:49 +0000

(Insert your favorite fire-related pun here.)

It should come as no surprise that we’re big fans of Ducky, but the Korean dancer’s latest video really is, uh, fire (sorry).

What’s great about this teaser is that you could take out the flames, and the dancing would still be just as fascinating.

On the other hand, if you replaced Ducky with any other dancer, this would look like the ugly offspring of a car commercial and a bad Mafia movie.

And, for those of you who care about stuff like this, it seems that Ducky isn’t the first to have done this. Congratulations, “Phil.” Your presumably drunken New Year’s 2007 stunt wasn’t in vain.

Flo Master Calls for Respect to Krumpers

Calvin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:08:47 +0000

Well, he is a legend.

But the real surprise here is how how obscure BlackBerry has gotten in its campaign.

What if People Treated All Athletes the Way They Treat B-Boys?

Calvin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:58:14 +0000

Alright, these Nike Skateboarding commercials are a) kind of old and b) not about b-boying.

But they are hilarious, and their relevance toward b-boying is readily obvious.

It doesn’t take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see the word “skaterboarders” replaced by “b-boys” — especially when you consider that many b-boys are hoping to see professional b-boying emulate the model set by professional skateboarding.

Amazing B-Boy Light Painting from Around the World

Calvin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:33:59 +0000

First, a brief history: light painting — otherwise known as light graffiti or “that stuff that your photographer friends do that made you ask, ‘How did you do that?’” — has actually been around since the 1930s. Typically, a light is moved during a long exposure shot, creating a streak of color.

While Man Ray is credited for being a pioneer of light painting, Picasso (!) popularized the technique after being introduced to it by Gjon Mili, a photographer who shot pictures of ice skaters with lights attached to their legs.

Fast forward several decades, and now you have videos like the one above featuring Japanese b-boys Snack and Suke doing sets with lights attached all over their bodies.

Having the lights on the actual dancers themselves can yield interesting results (click here for more from Oregon-based Ben Canales), but there are also more conventional methods for marrying light painting and b-boying.

Below are examples of a French director and photographer using the stop motion technique of light writing to complement b-boys’ shapes and moves.

Houlk from Jerry Miller on Vimeo.

And hey, look. B-boys drawn in light painting form by Julien Avignon.

Yeah, France is killing it.

B-Boys who MC: Alien Ness, Ken Swift and More

Calvin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:16:43 +0000

Can you multitask like Ken Swift and Zulu Gremlin?

It’s been long said that the original hip-hoppers rarely restricted themselves to one “element” of hip-hop. It wasn’t uncommon for a b-boy to also dig records and catch a quick tag on the way home.

The funny thing about b-boys MCing or rapping, however, is that b-boys aren’t always the most articulate guys. And oftentimes, fans are surprised by their favorite dancers having voices that don’t seem to match up with their dance styles.

Add on to that the dichotomy that is often placed between stereotypical “rappers” (blinged and thugged out) and “b-boys” (poor and grimy), and watching your favorite b-boy rhyme can sometimes be like watching your favorite MC break.

As these videos show, the results may vary, but they’re always pretty fascinating.

Would it really be a true Alien Ness music video if it didn’t start with smoke being blown in the camera?

Bboy City’s Romeo fills his video with all the hip-hop staples: dancing, graffiti, and, uh, ancient pyramids.

And, of course, you have to reserve a special place in your heart for people who can do both at the same time.

Who are your favorite MCing b-boys?

Adidas Megalizer: Make Music with Your Moves

Calvin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:40:34 +0000

adidas Originals – MEGALIZER featuring les Twins from Twins on Vimeo.

Above is every lazy dancers’ dream: what if the music matched itself to you, instead of you dancing to the music?

It’s the premise of the latest spot for Adidas Originals, for which France’s Vagabonds crew’s Lamine and Mounir teamed up with Les Twins, YAK Films, Sid Lee, coder Didier Brun, and a number of famous French rappers.

As many commenters have pointed out, the concept is nothing new — Nike even ran a similar spot using shoes to make music. The difference is, in this case, dancers are wearing the shoes and creating the music through their steps.

Unfortunately, though the advertisements imply that the shoes will be made available to the public, it seems that only three pairs were made for the films, while a limited number of installations were built in Paris for people to try. Furthermore, according to Brun’s blog (which is worth checking out if you want to see the science behind it all), the shoes seem to be a challenge to master themselves moreso than a shortcut to beat rocking mastery:

The dancers that operated on the video clip did train a lot to succeed in synchronizing to play the actual song.

In any case, it’s a fun and nicely executed series, and the beats beat the sound of b-boys panting, grunting, and crashing against the floor. Who wouldn’t at least want to try some toprock-tap-dancing-beat-making?

Thanks to Bboy Insiders for the heads up.

Fast and Fly: Ken Swift Discusses the Nike Cortez

Calvin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:58:22 +0000

In celebration of their upgraded line of Cortezes, Nike Sportswear dropped a nice three-part series of videos showing the shoes’ history, evolution, and adoption by various cultures.

Ken Swift holds down the fort for the b-boys and the East Coast, explaining how the shoe’s unique shape and fabrics made it ideal for doing fast footwork and looking fresh.

Other featured artists include Mister Cartoon and Estevan Oriol.

Check out more Nike videos here.

BBOY ICONS Turns B-Boys into Comic Book Heroes

Calvin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:44:48 +0000

Paris-based graphic designer Zroy Roy makes amazing comic book covers featuring b-boys like Crazy Legs, Born, Taisuke, RoxRite, and Wicket (shown above).

According to the site:

BBOY ICONS is an artistic illustration project about bboys an bboying culture. This blog presents BBOYS who seen as superheroes because of their extraodinary dancing faculties and the respect they arouse.

One nice feature is the inclusion of a short biography of each dancer depicted.

The only "crashing" RoxRite does is through walls

Similar concepts have been explored before with b-boy trading cards, b-boy themed Pokémon cards, and the LXD series, but rarely are the results this impressive and authentic.

LINK: BBOY ICONS

Marcio: If Bruce Lee Were a B-Boy

Calvin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:01:58 +0000

As RoxRite recently blogged, it’s getting more and more difficult to have your b-boy clips stand out when there are so many dancers with cameras and computers constantly uploading new content.

The Portugese-born French b-boy Marcio takes on a different approach, memorably showing us what kung fu flicks might have looked like if Bruce Lee could airflare.

It’s not the first time a b-boy has donned the iconic Bruce Lee costume — check out Profo and the guys of Atlanta’s Lost in the Gym. Crumbs is also said to have repped that black and yellow. To make matters even more confusing, there’s the Korean b-boy who goes by Bruce Lee who, as far as I can tell, does not wear the outfit.

Who’s your favorite b-boy version of Bruce Lee? Do these isolated incidents hint at a bigger trend that warrants a Stuff B-Boys Like post?

Cloud Debuts “The Music Box”; Girls Across the World Faint

Calvin — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:13:23 +0000

Just in case you were having one of those rare Mondays where you actually feel pretty good about yourself, Cloud reminds us that some people will inexplicably be better at everything than you will ever be.

Skill Methodz’s Daniel Campos, also known as Cloud, otherwise known as your girlfriend’s favorite b-boy (you know he’s at least in her top three), just released his latest in a string of impressive videos. The guy dances, sings, draws, directs, films, edits — at this rate, expect a line of Cloud food products by 2012.

Really, though, it’s a fun piece, and there’s something immensely satisfying about watching a b-boy unashamedly get down in a pair of comfortably beat up sneakers. Now, if only we could get him to sit down for a More Than A Stance interview…

LINK: “The Music Box” – Daniel Cloud Campos

Crazy Legs’s Cooking Show

Calvin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:00:54 +0000

The New York Times did a nice little write-up on Crazy Legs’s webcast where he features hip-hop and healthy meals.

From the article:

“Putting a healthy meal on my plate is important for me as a dancer. Not being the youngest dude in the world, I have to keep a healthy perspective as I get older.”

Oh, and remember, falling is not an option.

LINK (NYT): Webcast by a Hip-Hopper Who Cooks

LINK: Crazy Legs Workshop

The Art of Being Fresh(-faced): Braun Features Ronnie and Lean Rock

Calvin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:33:02 +0000

The German consumer products company Braun recently debuted a line of YouTube advertisements featuring the ever-popular b-boy Ronnie and the infamous breaks DJ Lean Rock.

Ronnie, of course, became one of the faces for Red Bull after winning BC One, and Lean Rock is a former Karmaloop model. (The point: it never hurts to look good on camera.) Congratulations, fellas!

The advertisements are said to be running as TV spots in Europe later this year, and the YouTube channel features additional videos of the guys showing how to trim a goatee and how to look “badass.”

Points to discuss:

Does this mean b-boys will start shaving more?
Does this mean shaving enthusiasts will start breaking more?
When will Braun realize that the real money would be in inventing a device that would help young and/or Asian b-boys (like myself) to grow facial hair?

Freeze Pictures Galore at f***yeahbreakdance

Calvin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:54:58 +0000

This image will probably either make you really excited or give you the cold sweats

Goodness, this site takes me back to the days of the now-defunct photo galleries of breakdance.com.

For the non-tech-savvy, Tumblr is a microblogging network where young, hip users upload and repost their favorite pictures, videos and music. (Think Twitter with embedded media.)

Either this is the best b-boy name ever, or it describes what happens every time someone plays a James Brown song

The trendily obscenely-titled blog f***yeahbreakdance compiles user-submitted b-boy/b-girl media, allowing dancers to gain followers and viewers to keep a steady stream of b-boy content in their subscriptions.

It goes without saying that the blog’s logo is a silhouette of a guy doing a freeze.

But what’s really fascinating about the blog is the insight it gives into the minds of today’s up-and-coming dancers. Networking tools like Facebook and Tumblr have now become the primary means for many beginning b-boys and b-girls to meet one another and record their progresses. Competitions are optional, but webcam pictures are essential.

Just take a peek at some of the the blog’s cheekily-written FAQ responses:

1) Do you bboy?
Unfortunately, no. I have absolutely no time to now. I barely have time to breathe & I’m a girl btw.

3) Why are you posting up gay pics of people doing “freezes”?
This is basically a submissions-based tumblr. I don’t have free time to look for pictures. Therefore, I try to accept pictures as much as I can.

8) Can you/Will you/Please, change fuckyeahbreakdance to fuckyeahbreaking or fuckyeahbboying?
No, if you don’t like it then create your own & the unfollow button is in the upper right-hand corner ;)

Like it or not, the blog’s administrator claims to have over 4,500 followers; b-boy promoters and sponsors, take note. In any case, we should all be grateful that it’s better executed than previous attempts at Twitter dance battles.

As for why More Than A Stance has yet to create a Tumblr account — well, I’m still waiting for Xanga to become cool again.

LINK: f***yeahbreakdance.tumblr.com

Foto Friday: Carlo Cruz

Calvin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:35:23 +0000

If you haven’t already checked out our interview with him here, Long Beach’s Carlo Cruz travels the globe snapping up photos of b-boys and b-girls of all backgrounds and skill levels.

His photography stresses an emphasis on aesthetic beyond typical “b-boy photography,” using the dancer to give an extra kick of flavor to what would already be interesting images.

Cruz’s latest set of images document his recent travels to Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and St. Louis. (And if you look carefully, you might see some familiar faces, huhuh.) His b-boy/b-girl portfolio has grown to over 120 finished pieces, more of which can be seen here and here.

Dude’s really chill and fun to work with, so be sure to check out his site and give him a holler in case he rolls through your city.

LINK: http://www.carlocruz.net/

Click here to download the gallery in higher resolution.

PRO-Keds Drops Spring 2011 Lookbook

Calvin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:02:38 +0000

PRO-Keds have long been a b-boy staple, but it’s certainly up to debate whether what the world needs is another kid stomping around in a pair of Royals.

The latest lookbook features an interesting concept exploring the connection between the sneaker’s history in hip-hop and the present. Inevitably, there are some pictures and clips of some halfhearted b-boy stances and freezes.

What do you think — worthy of copping, is it just another example of what Celebreak called breaksploitation?

SOURCES: Hypebeast, Freshness Mag

Paranoid Android Invites You On His BC One Journey

Paul — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:07:20 +0000

I am the best at what I do, and I intend to prove it.

- Paranoid Android

It’s easy to watch the competitors at an event like Red Bull BC One and think, “those guys are just born dope, I’ll never be that good,” never realizing that it’s countless hours of practice, not genetics, that bring them to that level.

It’s also easy to watch a b-boy with a completely different style than you and think, “I could do that — all he’s doing is flailing his legs around and twisting his foot,” never realizing the difficulty of what you’re seeing. Not to mention the shit-talking the b-boy endure just to be able to express that style to peers.

Paranoid Android is out to set the record straight with his blog Road To BC One. The first post documents his development as a b-boy, his relationship to Thesis, and the problems he’s faced as a result of being labeled an “abstract” b-boy.

Defiantly labeling himself the “True American B-Boy,” he invites his readers to follow him as he spends “the entirety of 2011 training towards BC One,” promising to update daily and provide footage every week.

Thanks to Timothy Madrill for the heads up.

LINK: Road To BC One