-Just interesting... check it out. It's an article from a BBoy blog. A lot about the director as well as the relationship between the dancing seen in "Rize" and how it effects the lifestyle in the areas where that dance is present. Helped me out a bit on the last question of the worksheet.
Thanks for sharing that article-it definitely helps me put clown dancing and krumping in perspective and allowed me to reflect on everything shown in the video RIZE. While b-boying occurs all over, I didn't realize that krumping and clowning were only centrally located in the general LA area. It's interesting that it is geographically segregated and hasn't caught on elsewhere, especially since it is a good way to express oneself in a nonviolent method.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I understand why Tommy Johnson created the Battle Zone after teaching more people about clowning, but I wonder how much that has changed how krumpers or clowners feel about the dance. While they were always battling, now they're doing it for the purpose of entertainment; audiences vote on who won the battle. The "fight" is taken off the street and put on a stage in a competition format. Is the dance still personal? Does that change how a dancer thinks and feels when he performs, has the purpose changed?
Thoughts?
I can understand how taking the clown and krump dances to a more public platform could potentially depersonalize the dance by putting a greater emphasis on audience entertainment over self-spirituality. However, I feel it is the logical next step for a dance form that celebrates communal interaction from dancers and spectators alike. After all, while the krump and clown styles draw on individual emotions like frustration and anger for inspiration, they also rely heavily on observing and responding to other dancers. This interaction ranges from collaboration (small groups of performers taking turns within a cipher, dancers reacting to others’ motions during a stylized “fight”) to controlled antagonism (the integral dance battles), and a dancer must therefore be keenly aware of his or her surroundings while simultaneously expressing individuality. After all, while many of the dancers in Rize emphasize the importance of dance to the individual, they also express its benefits to a community that is too often plagued by poverty and gangs. Dancers take up the role of a clown or krumper in lieu of these alternatives, and by doing so, express individual identity through association with these communities.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, clowning and krumping are just as much about the individual as they are about the community, and I believe this falls right in line with the Battle Zone mentality. The Battle Zone may attract a wider audience than Tommy the Clown’s birthday parties, but even his parties and street performances are conceived as entertainment in some way. The basic concept hasn’t changed. If anything, it adds credibility to a movement that is mainly underground and give participants a greater goal to strive for. Whether on the street or on the stage, the dancer has to find a balance between extroverted showmanship and introspective concentration.