‘Breakin” barriers community style

By Greg Zeman
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A sea of arms and legs flashed and popped like firecrackers to the rhythm of blaring speakers at the Ocean campus Student Union last Friday. About 120 people, including veteran B-boys and newcomers, came together for a night of competition at a battle organized by “CCSF Breakin’ Fridays”, a student club that has been representing City College since 2003.

The briskly pounding breakbeat was the pulse of the crowd, and their collective breath hung mid-air to match the limbs of dancers who flipped and stalled with robotic precision. Steady tension of the open exhibition was punctuated by the crackling electricity of one-on-one combat each time dancers squared off at the center of a ring of rapt spectators.

The interaction between “up-rock” contestants incorporated inventive pantomime with blink of an eye timing, sent shockwaves through the crowd and elicited united screams of “Oh!” from those watching.

B-boy Rob Nasty, one of the event’s organizers and emcees, was pleased with the vibrant turnout. “It’s just a beautiful thing that all these B-boys … can have a community and come together for events like this. I’m really excited about it,” Nasty said.

People of all ages were present, including an enthusiastic group of children enjoying the high energy and positive vibe. B-boy Dre Boogie said the event was an important cultural lesson for the kids.

“I’m working at the Hunter’s Point Boys & Girls club, and we basically pulled them into a culture they might not be so familiar with, even though they’re so close to it,” said Boogie.

Some kids tried a few flips and handstands in the middle of the cipher, and one boy even called out a grown dancer to battle him. Other children were less confident, “I would break my head trying to do that!,” a young girl said.

Old school style was seen in several aspects of the event, like vinyl turntables, T-shirts representing various crews, and even a few pairs of fat-laced sneakers on people doing the moonwalk. It was an obvious devotion to the craft and culture of hip-hop that connected this battle to those of the past.

B-boy Jackal summed up the goal of the night, “People think that breaking is dead, but it’s still around, it’s not dead yet … we just want to represent that knowledge and put it out there to let people know.