Nothing changes....

I actually wrote this almost 2 years ago back in December 2007...Unfortunately It appears that not a lot has changed....

You know, there was once a time when an underground dance competition attracted volumes of talented dance performers from across the country. They would arrive in their hundreds to watch a bboy perform a windmill and a popper do 'The robot', and try to out do them with fancy footwork and smooth steps. The appreciation for the art of street dance was second to none and battles provided the ideal platform for young and old to show off the moves they had spent hours perfecting in their garage. This era gave birth to some of the most influential dance styles and footage to date. Now, coming into 2008, Where has this appreciation gone? What happened to the drive and the passion that made Street Dance one of the most powerful dance styles ever??

I'll tell you what happened - The youngin's got cocky. The whole dance hierarchy has been thrown out the window and the respect for the 'old school' has been trashed. We now have a whole new school of 'Choreographers' - kids barely out of school who don't know their Fresno from their top-rock, attempting to take the crown by biting obvious styles, throwing on a different colour hoodie and making out that they are the pioneers of hip hop....

WHAT THE BACKSIDE IS GOING ON???....

Back in the day you became a known as a 'Choreographer' after assisting an actual professional choreographer for a few years and getting your name on the industry circuit. You respected those who had the knowledge and industry experience and if you begged them enough they may have even taken you under their wing. Unfortunately now, things seem to have become a little confused. The new kids on the block don't seem to realise that by putting a crew together, biting dance styles and making everyone wear matching shirts, this does not actually put you on par with the likes of Marty Kudelka (even though i keep meeting dancers who think they are!) - How can they both have the same title as a 'Choreographer'? One of them needs to fold, and i'll be damned if the Director of Justin Timberlake's sell out world tour is retreating anytime soon......

My point is this...

DO:
1. Share your creativity and work with your friends and family to create NEW and EXCITING EVOLUTIONS of Street dance.

2. Put a stamp on your dope INNOVATION and let it take you to the places you dream of.

3. Become INSPIRED by your favourite performers and let them cultivate YOUR PERSONAL EXPRESSION.

4. Take classes/train REGULARLY. You need to stay on top of your art form and keep a check on where it is going/how it is EVOLVING in order for you to stay innovative.

DONT:
1. Run before you can walk. Learn your HISTORY and understand where everything came from, only then can you take it forward with the RESPECT it deserves.

2. RIP OFF other dancers and choreographers and try to pass off their hard work as your own - you will come UNSTUCK...

....and if everybody followed something akin to the points above, maybe we would stop seeing continuous clones of KMK, Plague, Boy Blue, Dance2XS, Zoonation and Flawless. Maybe we could actually bring it all back to the way it used to be, where performers=talent and battle=outstanding show...

Ah well, we can all dream I suppose.

Thanks for reading, that's the end of my rant....