Let's start street dance

This is the last article of this blog. I want to spread the enjoyment of street dance through this blog. So, I want you start street dance!

I have introduced some styles of street dance in former articles. In the first place, I advise you to watch videos in You Tube and find your best street dance style. I taught you some features of some styles, but I think that it is better to watch videos.
When you start dancing, you don't have to prepare anything except music for street dance at first. Basic training of street dance are uploaded in You Tube so, you can get some techniques your own self.

You must release the stress from your body by stretching every time before dancing. Stretch will prevent you from injuries. And stretch expands the range of motion of your body. The range of motion of one's body is important for street dance. Your motion looks bigger and stronger if your range of motion is broader.

When you want to know more about your best style, I recommend you to belong to street dance club or go to street dance school.
If you belong to street dance club, you can get seniors and friends. Seniors teach you some techniques and simple routines free. You can be a member of team of your best street dance style with your friends easily. You will train with your friends and grow technique of street dance. Many street dance club has club twice a week st a set hour, but you must train more for regularly-scheduled performance of your club or street dance competition.
If you go to street dance school, you can be taught by great street dancers like you have seen in You Tube. You can training at good studio with large mirrors when you are taught your teachers lesson. They don't demand so high monthly fee. You can learn your best street dance style properly in street dance school. Teachers tell you many technical advice and interesting routines. Other students will be your friends.

You can dance anywhere and anytime. This is good point of street dance. But you want to train hard with your friend, it is difficult to find the place for street dance. If you dance on street in building estate in Japan, you should draw complaint from tenants. Some people dance in station, shopping mall, park at night. If you are student, you may use classroom, gym, hall in your school for street dance. You must not cause trouble anyone.

If you continue dance for a while, you would want to buy shoes for street dance. At first, I recommend basic and good basket ball shoes, for example AIR FORCE 1. Good shoes help your growth of street dance.
You don't have to think about training wear of street dance so much, but it must be easy to move. You can learn the fashion of your best street dance style from seniors, friends, teachers and your recommend dancers.

Let's enjoy street dance!

Street dance in Japan

Street dance is danced in all over the world. There are many street dancers in Japan. In this article, I'll tell you street dance in Japan.

One of the great Japanese street dancers is KENZO. He is a Locking dancer. He has got more than 50 titles and he has won in global competition many times.  His dance technique, sense and entertaining are top level in the world so, he is invited frequently to dance events as a gueast dancer around the world. He was accepted as a family of LOCKERS which is the team of originator of Locking. He is well known as a performer of DA PUMP which is famous performance group in Japan. He is also a member of SHUFFLE!!.

This is the video of KENZO's dance. I think that his dance is powerful, technical and interesting.

KENTO is also famous Japanese dancer. He is a great hip hop dancer. He was gotten offers from Chris Brown, Cirque du Soleil, Ne-Yo, Ciara, Austin Brown around the same time. He has been danced as an exclusive dancer of Madonna, Chaka Khan and Chris Brown. He respects

Michael Jackson. He auditioned for "THIS IS IT" which was Michael Jackson's the last project and survived this audition but he was an exclusive dancer of Madonna at that time so he could not join in "THIS IS IT". As you know, Michael Jackson died before "THIS IS IT". After Michael Jackson died, Madonna gave KENTO chance to dance for Michael Jackson at her tour. This is it.
  

In Japan, many street dance competitions are held every year. "JAPAN DANCE DELIGHT", "BIG BANG", "DANCE@PIECE" and "DANCE@PIECE" are major street dance competitions and battle events.

A large number of students enjoy dancing in Japan. Many of them are university students. They belong to street dance clubs. In Tsukuba University, there is a street dance club too. Its name is Real Jam. These students enjoying dance are train hard everyday. So, their showcase are great.

By the way, how did street dance come down to Japan? There are various theories as to it. There were some fans of hip hop culture before it had not come down to Japan but it was minor boom at that time. American dance TV program "Soul Train" leaded to explosive diffusion of first street dance boom. Soul Train was popular TV program in America in 1970's. It was broadcast in Japan too. Many Japanese young are fascinated by hip hop culture and start street dance.
Second catalyst of street dance movement is the movie "Flash Dance". This was not hip hop movie but street dance was used in some scenes. It had great shock to Japanese young enough to start street dance. After this movie, "Wild Style", "Beat Street", "Breakin 1" and "Breakin 2", etc. were screened. These movies spread hip hip culture and street dance in Japan.
In 1980's, many famous street dancers in America came to Japan, for example, Poppin Pete, Skeeter Rabbit, Rock Steady Crew,  Boogaloo Shrimp etc.. They contribute to familiarize hip hop culture in Japan very much.

Street dance as competition

There are many street dance contests, and now, many dancers are competing their techniques and senses on Battle all over the world.

Battle is the competition form of street dance. 1 on 1 and 2 on 2 are major types of Battle. When Battle is held, DJ plays music, and dancers are split into two teams and dance freely to the music one after the other. After a few rounds, judges or audience determine which team is cooler than the other and which team is winner.

Battle can be held whenever and wherever but there are large contests of battle. For example, JUSTE DEBOUT. JUSTE DEBOUT is worldwide Battle contest. It has been held every year since 2002. Dancers are divided into four styles (Hip hop, Locking, Popping and House) and EXPERIMENTAL (which is original and creative dance). JUSTE DEBOUT has eliminations in America, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Italy, Estonia, Greece, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, UK and France. The championship rounds of JUSTE DEBOUT are held at BERCY which is the biggest indoor stadium in France. This video is JUSTE DEBOUT 2012 Hip hop final. These girls are Japanese junior high school student! Many people around world  would be surprised.


Of course, there are showcase contests. For example, JAPAN DANCE DELIGHT. JAPAN DANCE DELIGHT is the biggest street dance showcase contest in Japan. Not only Japanese dance teams, but also many foreign dance teams put in it. The form of showcase contest is that performers dance their showcase in decided time and judges decide which team is the best. This year, DANCE DELIGHT will be held in Los Angels for the first time. DANCE DELIGHT will be also held in Paris, Helsinki, Germany, China, Taipei, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines.

Street dance is widely recognized as show business now.
In Britain's Got Talent (which is homage to America's Got Talent) George Sampson who is the winner in Briten's Got Talent 2008 is a B-boy and Diversity which is the winner in Briten's Got Talent 2009 is the hip hop dance team. As you recognize, street dancers win show competitions frequently. This video is the final performance of Diversity in Briten's Got Talent 2009.
 
George Sampson and Diversity appear on the movie "STREET DANCE 2"which is themed on street dance.


When top street dancer Ash (Falk Hentschel) is humiliated and laughed off stage by American crew Invincible, he sets off to gather the best dancers from around the world to take them on - with a dance style they weren't expecting. With landmark locations, a spectacular fusion of dance styles and an unparalleled vibrancy, the sequel to StreetDance sees our hero fall in love with a beautiful salsa dancer as he discovers the magic, power and passion of dancing for the ultimate global dance off.

 (from official web cite) 

I will watch this movie because I loved "STREET DANCE". :)
There are so many street dancers around world and all dancers challenge to competitions and want to get the fame. It is so exciting!!

Street dance and culture

In this article, I'll tell you Hip hop culture.

At first, the etymology of Hip hop.

Hip hop is the combination of two separate slang terms—"hip", used in African American English as early as 1898, meaning current or in the now, and "hop", for the hopping movement.

Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been credited with coining the term in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.　Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into his stage performance. The group frequently performed with disco artists who would refer to this new type of music by calling them "hip hoppers". The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect, but soon came to identify this new music and culture. (Wikipedia)

So, Hip hop have to evolve any time.

Hip hop culture is not only Hip hip dance. Hip hip culture consists of almost all street dance (mainly B-boying), DJing, MCing and Graffiti. They are said to be related to culture of street gangs in the United States and they used to end the conflict bloodless. There are form of battle in street dance and MCing called free style battle.

DJing is manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer or computer and DJing software. There are some techniques in DJing. Scratching is technique which is scratching turntable to wind back music and controlling speed and pitch of music. DJs' main work is spinning music without pause continuously. DJs have to choose musics to suit the atmosphere in the dance hall and they must spin musics running on each other naturally.

MCing is speaking or chanting rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment. When MCs put on a MCing to tunes, it is called rapping. MCs use MCing to prompt audience,to get at the government, to mickey other Hip hop communities, and to represent their feelings.  They are spokespeople of their community, so they put their lives in danger in struggles between Hip hop communities.

Graffiti is painting which is painted on wall in street. At the beginning of Graffiti, it was only political activity. But today, they sometimes include the meaning of patch. It is considered modern art today, but many people consider it mischievous thing.

These four elements are essential in Hip hop culture.I will tell you other two elements, they are music and fashion.

Hip hop music is thought to be born in the early 1970s. It was spread by three great DJs Cool Hark (the inventor of break beat) , Grandmaster Flash (the founder of Scratch)  and Africa Banbata (the creator of the word Hip Hop) beyond the community.

Hip hop fashion is divided into two ages. They are old school and new school. In old school age (1970-1980), people in Hip hop culture wear gold accessories, jerseys made by Adidas and athletic shoes. In new school age (1980-), they wear silver accessories with diamonds which have the figure of successful people, oversized clothes and athletic shoes.

Techniques of street dance

"The Dancer believes that his art has something to say which cannot be expressed in words or in any other way than by dancing... there are times when the simple dignity of movement can fulfill the function of a volume of words. There are movements which impinge upon the nerves with a strength that is incomparable, for movement has power to stir the senses and emotions, unique in itself. This is the dancer's justification for being, and his reason for searching further for deeper aspects of his art." ~ Doris Humphrey, 1937

For dancers, move is language and their bodies are musical instrument. Today, I will tell you some techniques of street dance.

In all styles of street dance, Dawn, Up and 16 beats are common and important basic moves.

Down means "bend one's knees and down one's upper body". You get counts in music by downing your upper body. Up is similar to Down but If you want to do Up, you get counts when you straight your knees. In short, Down and Up are simple squat motions. When you do Down, you have to down your upper body, and When you do Up, you have to up your upper body on counts.
16 beats is wiggle bouncing. At first, you let down in your body and stand with placing your legs shoulder height. And you make wiggle bouncing twice in counts. When you do it, you have to be vividly aware of this bouncing is from your chest.
In Almost all steps, these moves are used.

Wave is great important move especially in Popping, Hip Hop and Jazz. Wave is move waving your body. When you do Wave, you have to move your body parts separately. It is most important point to show Wave well. There are two types of Wave. These are Body Wave and Side Wave. Body wave is waving your body like ducking under bar which move downward without bending down. ①Put your face forward. ②Put your chest forward and put your face backward. ③Put your waist forward and put your chest backward. ④Put your waist backward. These are most simple routine to do Body Wave. When you use this move in street dance, you have to do this routine smoothly. Side Wave is similar to Body Wave. You change "forward" into "one side" and "backward" into "other side", you can know how to do Side Wave. I give you a Body Wave tutorial video.


Turn is essential move in street dance. Beautiful Turn fascinates audience. Turn is simple move. Every one can turn in anytime and anywhere. In this article, I will tell you Cross Turn. Cross Turn is brief. You cross your legs and turn with your soles touching on floor. How to cross your leg and how to move arms are free. One example is following. ①Jump and cross your legs. ②Open your arms and hands when your legs touch on floor. ③Turn with your soles touching on floor. When you do Turn, you have to aware of your body straighten.

These techniques are very small part of all street dance techniques. In the Internet, you can get many tutorial videos, so if you are interested in street dance, you can view these videos and learn techniques.

This is my favorite street dance lesson channel. Check it out! :) 
http://www.youtube.com/user/RISINGDanceSchoolCh?feature=watch

Appeal of street dance

Perhaps fittingly, given its humble beginnings as a street dance, hip hop has become increasingly popular in the past two decades. Thanks to irresistible rhythms and eye-catching steps that break many of the conventions of classical dance, hip hop has caught the attention of the modern public. Hip hop started on the streets in some of the United States' ghettos, and has made its way to illustrious performance venues across the globe. In a short period of time, hip hop has carved a substantial chunk of dance culture out for itself, and dance lovers celebrate the innovative nature of hip hop choreography and style.

(cite from http://dance.lovetoknow.com/History_of_Hip_Hop_Dance)

In former citation, "hip hop" is almost all style of street dance. The number of street dance lover is increasing day by day. In this article, I will tell you what's great about street dance.

As you know, street dance is cool! It can be a reason to start street dance. I think almost all street dancer start street dance by this reason.

Do you like music? Street dance make your music life better. You become to enjoy music with your body and share your enjoyment with other street dancers by starting street dance.

Today, many children enjoy street dance and hard work to get fame. Children can get sense of sports and music through street dance. They become express themselves well and they perhaps make good friends with other kids dancers. Also, children can make their body flexible and they become able to control your body well by dancing street dance. it is good for preventing injury.

When you get old, you can enjoy street dance yet. Street dance is always advancing, so it doesn't have goal. You can be advancing everyday too unless you continue training. So, you cannot lose interest in street dance. Also you can keep appropriate amount of exercise by enjoying street dance. It is good for your physical and mental health. It is true that so few people can earn money enough to live by street dance. But you can continue to enjoy street dance, because you can dance street dance whenever and wherever. Street dance can be your lifelong hobby.

You can make friends with many people through street dance. Street dancers looks fearful, but almost all of them are gentle and earnest disciplinants. When you want to be taught about street dance, they will teach you with pleasure. Also you can communicate with foreign people through street dance, if you cannot speak foreign language. Street dance is one of nonverbal communication tool. So many people around the world are dancing street dance, you can communicate with them through street dance. Isn't it exciting?


Today, I will introduce my favorite Japanese dancers.

Beat Buddy Boi is new school hip hop dance team. Their techniques are so great. They particular about music so much too. They always searching new style of street dancer as artist.



Hitoridedekirumon is free style dancer. His move is strange. He makes show case to break up audience. You'll like it.

Great persons in street dance

Street dance has been created and advanced by every street dancer but there are some great persons who raise a revolution. So, Today, I will introduce such some great persons in street dance.

At first, I cannot set aside James Brown when I write about street dance. He was not street dancer but great singer and entertainer. People call him "King of Funk". As it describe, he is one of creators of Funk music and the most famous Funk singer. He has African and Native American and Asian ancestry. He was born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3, 1933. When he was child, his family was very poor, so he worked hardly to support his budget. During his hard work, he sang in local talent contest and sometimes he captured the victory in it. he debuted as a member of The Famous Flames the Gospel group in 1954. His sing style was changed little by little. Eventually, He started solo activity and created Funk music. He and his performances and his music impinge greatly on market of music and show business. Michel Jackson was one of his great fan and affected by him in many aspect. His music are loved by many street dancers mainly old school dancers. Because, all of old school street dances were danced with his songs like Good Foot in early times.

Second, Don Campbell contributed to street dance. He created Locking. He was born in 1951 in Saint Louis, Missouri. When he was young, he couldn't dance Funky Chicken well which was popular dance in Los Angeles at that time, so he thought to make his original dance. It was the begging of Locking. In 1970's, he succeeded to create his style and formed Locking dance team "The Lockers". He and his team made a major breakthrough on show TV programs like Saturday Night Live and Soul Train. They became famous and got influence in the field of street dance.

Third, "Hip Hop Legend" Mr. Wiggles is also great person in street dance. He is a South Bronx Puerto Rican. He is a member of "Rock Steady Crew", "Electric Boogaloos" and "Zulu Nation". These street dance team are all legendary. He can dance B-boying, Popping and Locking so well. He started dancer life from dance battle on street in New York. In his middle age, he became famous street dancer around world. He appeared on movies which focused on street dance and contributed to create hip hop culture "Beat Street" and "Wild Style".

Forth, Boogaloo Sam and Poppin Pete brothers. They are the originator of Popping. They grew up in Fresno, California. When they are children, they are enjoyed robot dancing. They developed robot dance and created Popping and formed Popping dance team "Electric Boogaloos". This team is known as gold standard of Popping.

This image is Electric Boogaloos.

These great persons are a little part of all but they are the most greatest people in street dance.

Today, I'll give you world best b-boys in 2012. check it out!