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Dance to the Drummer’s Beat: Competing Tastes in International B-Boy/B-Girl Culture Mary Fogarty Submitted for the Degree of PhD The University of Edinburgh 2010 I declare that this thesis is my own work, and that it has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Signed________________________________________________________ Mary E Fogarty Dance to the Drummer’s Beat: Competing Tastes in International B-Boy/B-Girl Culture Dedication Acknowledgments i Abstract ii Glossary of Terms iii Section I: Introduction Chapter 1: Breaking Worlds 1 Chapter 2: Hip Hop Culture, Then and Now (Literature Review) 13 Chapter 3: Recording Tastes (Methods) 45 Section II: Collective Standards Chapter 4: Musical Taste and Competence 67 Chapter 5: Crews (An Extended Family Affair) 95 Chapter 6: Towards an International Aesthetic 119 Section III: Dance as a Performance of Musical Tastes Chapter 7: Master Classes 151 Chapter 8: Hip Hop Theatre 177 Chapter 9: Video Mediation 223 Section IV: Criteria for Judgement Chapter 10: International Competitions 257 Chapter 11: Online Representation and Reputation 285 Section V: Conclusions Chapter 12: Steadily Building 313 Works Cited: Bibliography, Discography, Filmography 323 Appendix A: Ethnographic field notes: Edinburgh, Scotland 2007 345 Appendix B: Ethnographic field notes: Berlin, Germany 2008 351 Appendix C: Ethnographic field notes: Hip Opsession, Nantes, France 2009 359 Appendix D: Britcore Rap 379 Appendix E: Musical wastes & tastes: Experiencing music in urban dance practice 383 For my parents, John and Liz Fogarty, with love and gratitude Acknowledgements A SSHRC Fellowship from Canada allowed me to study overseas and an ORSAS from the University of Edinburgh also assisted in the third year of this study. Edinburgh University’s Music Department also provided funding for my North American research trip. Having spoken to over a hundred b-boys, b-girls and DJs formally and informally for this project, there are too many to name here. Of special mention: Colin Millar, Gino Stornauiuolo, Emma Hamilton, Aidan Leacy, Shelltoe Mel, Sideshow Maule (Flyin’ Jalapenos), B-girl Firefly, Forrest Getemgump, Jonzi D, Karl “Dyzee” Alba, Ken Swift, Peter Maniam, Robby Graham, Niels “Storm” Robitzky, Sara “Ms. Mighty” Fenton, Jacob “Kujo” Lyons, Mouse, Lazy Legs, Stephen “Buddha” Leafloor and DJ Timber. Rest In Peace Frosty Freeze - the b- boy with original flavor– who provided me with an eXtensive interview in New York City years ago that continues to inform my understanding of character and presence in hip hop culture to this day. My fellow graduate student, Kyle Devine, provided comments on drafts of the dissertation that were greatly appreciated. He also generously offered to dig through a Canadian archive for some source materials I required whilst overseas. Darcy Obokata, Lance “Leftelep” Johnson and Marsali Wallace also commented on early chapter drafts. Kerrie “Sauce” Taylor was also a key commentator on the process. Thank you to Kevin “DJ Renegade” Gopie and Marc “Scramblelock” Sakalauskas for reading through the PhD manuscript before submission and providing feedback, insights and crosschecks on the information that I’ve gathered here. My former colleagues, including our eXtended family of Visiting Lecturers and Technique Teachers, from the Institute for Performing Arts Development at the University of East London provided encouragement through the final stages of writing up as did those popular dance scholars in the UK that I met through PoP Moves. A special note of appreciation is also required for Griffith University’s Centre for Cultural Research for inviting me to the Creative Communities II conference that provided stimulating conversations and support. Thank-you to Andy Bennett, Jill Jones, Brady Robards and Jodie Taylor for the hospitality. Finally, thank-you to my advisor, Simon Frith, and second supervisor, Nick Prior, internal eXaminer, Nigel Osborne and eXternal eXaminer, Sherril Dodds, alongside Melissa Avdeeff, Adam Behr, Matt Brennan, Clare Parfitt-Brown, Anna Buonomo, Ella Chmielewska, Martin Cloonan, Robert Dow, Isabelle Dupraz, Alison Easter, Jan Fairley, Don Geraghty, Scott Henderson, Isabelle Kauffmann, Elaine Kelly, Eric Laurier, Karen Ludke, Peter Nelson, Katie Overy, Mark Percival, Vivienne Perry, Susen Rabold, Luis Sanchez, Roberta Shapiro, Tess Takahashi, Inez Templeton, Pablo Herrera Veitia, Sean Williams, Lauren and Richard Worth, and Michael Zryd. I cannot thank you enough. i Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between musical tastes and dance practices in a popular dance style known as breaking or b-boying/b-girling. It is based on a multi-sited ethnography involving the participation in and observation of the practices of breaking, as well as interviews with individual b- boys and b-girls, who often travelled between cities as part of their practices. Although there were many interesting and contradictory observations and participant responses provided by this multigenerational, multicultural scene, one theme emerged as central. 'Vernacular' or street dancers make consistent claims that "it's all about the music." This is to challenge assumptions in current academic writing on the relationship of music and dance. On one hand, many contemporary dance writers argue that musical tastes have little to do with choreographic practices and the meanings of dance performances. On the other hand, sociological accounts of musical tastes rarely consider dance practice in their analyses. The result is that musical tastes are under-theorised in accounts of dance performance, and vice versa. Hennion's (2007) assertion that taste is an activity provides a foundation for a new argument. I propose that taste is an activity that, when theorised in terms of music and dance practices, suggests new epistemological avenues for studies of popular dance. Put simply, I argue that, in breaking practices, dance is a performance of musical taste. This performance of taste has a variety of avenues - from hip hop theatre performances, to international battles, master class workshops, club nights and local events – and in each new context, the relationship between music and dance transforms. These shifts in selection reveal that the dance is not just “about the music,” but also about how tastes are mediated, negotiated and competed over. ii Glossary of Terms Battle: The competitive activity of the dance. To battle someone is to treat them as an opponent whose skills are going to be compared to your own. Whether this is judged or not, everyone knows that it is a competition. Break: The instrumental, percussive break of a song dominated by the rhythm section. The break occurs in most songs only once somewhere between a chorus and a verse. Breaking: A term used interchangeably with ‘b-boying/b-girling.’ What the media once called ‘breakdancing,’ although this was an umbrella term given incorrectly to dances that originated on both the East and West Coasts of the United States (such as popping and locking). Breaking, in its original context of New York City, was not only a dance style, but was also a slang term to describe someone ‘going off’ or flipping out. B- boying/b-girling refers specifically to the act of breaking; a style where one ‘goes down’ to the floor to dance. This style has specific genre conventions and cultural practices, which include the music that it is typically done to: the instrumental break of a record. B-boy: Someone who breaks. Originally in hip hop culture this meant a ‘break boy’: someone who ‘gets down’ (dancing) to the break of a record. In breaking culture, a b-boy is someone who does a style known as breaking or b-boying/b-girling or ‘break dancing.’ In some countries, iii Glossary of Terms such as Germany, a ‘b-boy’ means a bisexual boy, which is a different meaning from what dancers mean. Similarly, in Toronto, Canada (in the 1990s) and in various cities in Japan, the local terminology of ‘b-boy’ means something other than a dancer. However, in international breaking culture, a b-boy is a male that breaks. B-girl: a female that breaks. Same as above only used to distinguish the female sex of the participant. Biting: Stealing or copying a move of another b-boy or b-girl without crediting the person or having permission from them to do their move. Cyphers: The circle that forms in breaking when b-boys and b-girls are taking turns, sharing moves to music. The term ‘cypher’ is derived from rap music. Many of the early rappers were Five Percenters and the term ‘cypher’ was originally used by the Five Percent Nation. According to Miyakawa (2005), “Five Percenter theology is multiply grounded in Black Muslim traditions, black nationalism, Kemetic symbolism, Masonic mysticism, and Gnostic spirituality” and, “the Five Percent Nation’s history is also tightly entwined with hip-hop’s history” (5). Footwork: The name used often to describe what is known to b-boys and b- girls as ‘downrock.’ This involves the steps done while the torso is close to the ground and generally involves hands touching the ground. ‘Rep’: This word has many meanings. ‘Rep’ is short for represent, and reputation.