I would like to personally thank a few people for helping me out throughout my documentary-making process:
First & foremost, a BIG THANK YOU to Allan for helping me out with pre-production, production & post-production stuff. Let’s just say, if it wasn’t for you, this documentary wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you for enduring my nonsense and putting up with me, being fussy & fickle during the whole process but most of all, thank you for allocating your time between me and your other work especially since we are both working on our thesis.
I would also like thank Cultural Infusion and most of all, Samantha (who plays a big part in representing Cultural Infusion) who has helped in terms of sourcing materials that I could use for the documentary. Thank you for always replying my emails so promptly and helping me get in touch with the FreeZa boys. I appreciate all your efforts and time taken to help despite having your thesis to complete. Thank you also for your motivation and critical feedback in regards to my documentary.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the FreeZa committee/my interviewees- Lama, Philly, Alan, Rob, Ros & Margarita. This documentary wouldn’t have been possible without your cooperation. I appreciate your patience and time in answering my questions and most of all, allowing me to interview/film your group.
My journey towards making this documentary a success has taught me a lot especially since I was inexperienced to begin with. I hope that this documentary would not only help in terms of my assessment but also help the Cultural Infusion FreeZa members gain some exposure within the Hip Hop community and the general society.
Before Freestyle@Fedsquare, I had no idea there were so many elements within Hip Hop dance itself. The most commonly known term is Bboying. For those who don’t know, Bboy-ing is also known as Breakdancing, and is a street style dance that evolved as part of the Hip Hop movement during the early 1970s. Breaking became popular in the West when disc jokeys (DJs) would take the rhythmic breakdown sections (or “breaks” of their records and string them together with other elements of the melody. This raw rhythmic base was then improvised with further mixing, and it allowed Hip Hop dancer to display their skills during the “break”. Hence, these dancers became known as “Breakdancers”.
Historically, Breakdancing begun as a method for ghetto rival gangs to mediate and settle territorial disputes. In a turn-based showcase of dance routines, the winning side was determined by the level of complexity and creativity in displaying a set of dance moves. Now, Breakdancing exists as part of youth culture and also a form of art which is often common free of race and gender boundaries of a subculture, and practiced by many different countries across the world.
Battles are an integral part of the Bboying culture. They can take the form of a cypher battle and an organized battle. Both types of battles are head to head confrontations between individuals or groups of dancers who try to out-dance each other. Bboying or Breakdancing is still often used as an umbrella term which includes all forms of popping, locking, and breakdancing.
B-boy battle: KO Crew vs Mass Mayhem
There are a few elements of Hip Hop dance:
Popping
Popping is a street dance style based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause ajerk in the dancer’s body, referred to as a pop or a hit. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in, combined together with various movements and poses.
Many believe that Popping evolved in Fresno, California in the 1970s, greatly inspired by Locking, another street dance style. The spread of Popping to mainstream media was made famous by a group called The Electric Boogaloos. They were a popular Popping group who made their appearance on a television program called Soul Train. The Electric Boogaloos created a set of movements that evolved into the styles known as Popping and Boogaloo, after being inspired by a a famous locking group.
A video from Freestyle@FedSquare of some contestants in a Popping battle
Locking
Locking is a style of street dance and funk dance which relies on fast and distinct arm and hand movements combined with more relaxed hips and legs. Locking movements are usually large and exaggerated, and often very rhythmic and tightly in-sync with the music. It is quite performance-oriented, with lockers often interacting with the audience.
The history of Locking can be tracked down to one man, Don Campbell. In the late 1960s, Don put together several fad dances adding moves of his own, notably the “Lock”. The original “lock” was created by accident when Don couldn’t do a move called the ‘Robot Shuffle’ and stopped at a particular point. The only reason why he was unable to perform the move fluently was because he could not remember the next step. When the audience started laughing at Don because of his peculiar moves, he responded by pointing at them. These halts soon became popular as Don added them into his performances which led to his dance being named ‘Campbellocking’, shortened later to Locking.
Locking then became part of the growing Hip Hop dance culture and has influenced many other dance styles such as popping and breakdancing.
Locking battle at Freestyle@FedSquare
Krumpin
Krumpin is an urban street dance-form that began in the ‘Bay Area’ of San Francisco. It is characterized by free, expressive, and highly energetic moves involving the arms, head, legs, chest and feet. Krumpin is believed to vent anger and stress, also known as an art to express emotions. It has become a major part of hip hop dance culture and used frequently in hip-hop street dance battles. Dance “battling,” a form of dance where competitors face-off in a direct competition, it is an integral component of krump, with heightened moments of frantic, aggressive arm gestures (known as “flares”) and chest movements (known as “bucks”) being extremely common.
Krumpin battle between Fly Boi & Erupt v Blitz & Ruff
Emcee
Emcee or Master of Ceremonies (MC), also known as that of the rapper, became associated with the role in hip hop music and culture in the late 1970s. An MC uses rhyming verses, whether pre-written or freestyle, to introduce and praise the DJ he or she works with, to hype up the crowd, to pay homage to his own stature, or to comment on society.
Emceeing came into existence prior to the days of slavery, even way before civilization blessed mankind with a microphone. African griots or poets, who delivered their rhythmic folk tales over drums and other forms of instrumentation, are often cited as the innovators of what is now known as rap.
The way an emcee flows may depend on his cadence, speed, melody, intonation, rhythm, enunciation, and even accent. This is known as delivery.
Emcee battle: Defron vs Yung Philly at Freestyle@FedSquare
Now, who would’ve thought there would be so much to Hip Hop dance than just Breakdancing/Bboying?
During the course of my documentary, I have incorporated Tonnies’ theory of Gemeinschaft. According to Tonnies (1957), “A community can be maintained through a common will which is the binding force that keeps a number of individuals together. It is based on the fact that these individuals share the same beliefs, values and ways of behaving”. I chose to do my documentary on ‘The Cultural Infusion Collingwood FreeZa Hip Hop Community’ because to me, they are a group of people who come together because they share one thing in common- their love for Hip Hop. The FreeZa members see this community as a safe community where they can develop their skills and maintain friendships and a with one another through music, dance and other Hip Hop related stuff.
However, Tonnies’ theory of Gemeinschaft has also been criticized for being too traditional and not adaptable towards a modern community. In Delanty’s (2003) article, Durkheim argues that a community cannot be defined exclusively in terms of tradition. In this post-traditional era, communities can still exist non-homogenously, that is share common beliefs and values despite being different. Members of the FreeZa committee share something in common but they also have very diversed backgrounds in Hip Hop. As we know, Hip Hop can be divided into its different elements (and sub-elements) and having said that, the FreeZa members represent these different elements. They also have different skills and interests in specific areas such as production, art/graphic design, sound & lighting etc. Contradictory to Tonnies’ belief of homogeneity, Durkheim argues that “the notion of individualis, interest and diversity is not necessarily bad”. Hence, part of the issues in which are explored in my project is how the FreeZa committee functions as a diversed group of people who embrace their similarities and also one another’s differences.
The concept of “community” is held very strongly among the FreeZa members. This is because for most of them, this community gives them a sense of belonging and this community is definitely one in which they are proud to belong to. After interviewing some of the committee members, the answer to my question was very obvious. They all agreed that its not only their similarities that brought them together, but also their differences. They also pointed out that these two are codependent and cannot live without one another. It is what brings them together and thus makes them who they are today.
Hip Hop is a cultural movement that began among urban African Americans in New York City in the early 1970’s, and has since spread around the world. It is a popular urban youth culture, closely associated with Rap music and with the style and fashions of African American inner-city residents. The term Hip Hop also refers to the speech, dance, and personal style adopted by many youths today.
Hip Hop can be divided into 4 elements: DJ-ing, MCing, Graffiti & Breakdancing
DJing (Turntablism)
Kool Herc is well-known for being the first person to come up with the concept of using two turntables to play the audiences’ favourite part of the song – the break-beat – over and over, using two identical records. In the 1970’s, Kool Herc held street parties in the Bronx, where he would DJ using his technique which ultimately lead to other DJ’s holding parties and evolving the art of ‘Turntablism’. Traditionally, a DJ will use two turntables simultaneously.
These are hooked to a receiver, an amplifier, speakers, a mixer (or fader) and various other pieces of electronic music equipment. The DJ will then perform various tricks between the two records currently in rotation using the beneath listed techniques. The result is a unique sound created by the seemingly combined sound of two separate songs into one song.
MCing (Master of Ceremonies/Mic Controller)
Rapping or MCing is often the most misrepresented art-form associated with the Hip Hop culture. It originally contained catchy rhymes that encouraged the audience to get up, dance and have a good time. An MC had to possess knowledge of subject and language, good punctuation, charisma, and the ability to turn words into a rhythm that flows with music. As the art-form developed, it took on many different forms and styles.
The most well-known styles are ‘Gangsta Rap’, and the combination of ‘R&B/Rap’. Detractors have criticized most rap music as a boastful promotion of violence and misogyny; others have admired it as an inventive manipulation of cultural idioms and credited many rappers with an acute social and political awareness. However, this only portrays parts of an MC’s skills and abilities. Freestyling for example requires an enormous skill level and vocabulary. When freestyle, an MC rhymes spontaneously, coming up with stories and metaphors through a rhythmic flow of words.
Graffiti (Street Art)
Often seen in a negative light, Graffiti or Street Art is a very honest expression of Hip Hop and is used by many as means to make a political statement in a society in which young people are often deprived of their own voices. These days, street art is often exhibited in galeries, in publications and artists are often commissioned to enliven public spaces through the vibrant colour and style of their designs. Graffiti is used by way of an exception to engage at-risk young people as it is a mode of expression they identify with.
Beatboxing
Beatboxing, considered by many to be the ‘fifth element’, is the vocal percussion of the Hip Hop culture. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats, rhythms, and melodies using the human mouth. Beatboxing is Hip Hop’s vocal percussion. The term ‘Beatboxing’ is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. The internet has greatly aided the rebirth of modern Beatboxing – on a global level never seen before – with thousands of beatboxers from over a dozen countries interacting. The art form has radically evolved, extending its reach to include physical theatre routines, and has integrated itself into Hip Hop (and other forms of theatre). While some consider Beatboxing the fifth element of Hip Hop; others might add political activism, Hip Hop fashion, double dutching (an urban form of rope skipping or other elements as important facets of Hip Hop. The term has since come to be a synonym for Hip Hop music and rap to mainstream audiences.
Breakdancing
What most people know as Breakdancing is a street dance style that was created in the Bronx New York City in the late 1970′s. The original term used by founders of the style was ‘B-Boying/B-Girling’ or ‘Breaking’. The word ‘Break’ was adopted as the dancers would only dance to the break of the funk music they listened to. Breakdancing became popularised in the 1980s through films such as ‘Breakdance’ and ‘Flash Dance’ which helped spread the dance style worldwide, including Australia Nowadays Breakdance is still very popular, with B-boys and B-girls embracing its foundations while creating their own new moves and techniques and keeping the art form fresh and innovative.
Some of the most well-known Breakdance moves are:
6-step: The B-boy/B-girl uses his arms to support his body above the floor while his legs walk around in a circle
Windmill: The B-boy/B-girl rolls his body continuously in a circular path on the floor, across the upper chest/shoulders/back, while twirling his legs in a V-shape through the air
Headspin: The B-boy/B-girl is making a headstand, striking out with their legs and spin at least 360° on their head
The Worm: The B-boy/B-girl lies on the floor and creates a rippling motion through his/her body, creating a wave similar to a worm crawling
FreeZa is a program sponsored by the Victorian government which provides opportunities for the youth to enjoy drug, smoke and alcohol-free events. FreeZa events are beneficial because it allows young people to get involved in planning and delivery of these events with the assistance of community organizations. FreeZa gives young Victorians aged 12-25 the chance to participate in events such as live band gigs, dance parties and other recreational, cultural and artistic events.
There are about 78 FreeZa committees in Metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria who will run over 450 events with an attendance of over 130,000 young people in over 110 venues over the State.
Photo: Courtesy of Samantha Jim
