This study guide was designed to help teachers prepare their classes to see a performance of BREAK! The Urban Funk Spectacular The guide describes the history of the company and includes a series of discussion questions, some activities you may want to do with your class as well as a few terms to remember. We hope it will be useful, and that you and your class find this performance both entertaining and educational.

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WHAT IS URBAN DANCE?

URBAN DANCE or STREET DANCING, as we know it today involves Locking, Popping, Breaking, street style jazz and other forms of dance that developed out of urban culture rooted in American cities. It is deeply connected to Hip-Hop music and has become accepted as a legitimate art form seen across the world on television, videos and on theatrical stages as well as utilized in choreography by major dance companies.

Locking Locking style involves a “clown look” fun movements like “the funky chicken” and other comedy moves. This was a dance style that was originally a “goof” dance or a “mistake” that became a media sensation with early 1970 TV shows based on unique characters and style. Some teachers out there might remember charactors like Re-Run! The significance of “Locking” was that it was the first style of Urban Dance gathering media attention.

Robotics and Electric Boogaloo This style of dance became popular with the electronic funk sound and drum beat in songs in 70’s and 80’s. Many of you might have seen videos of “Michael Jackson’s Dancing Machine” and other Robotic dances of that era!

WHAT IS BREAK DANCE?

Although the exact beginning of Break dance is unclear, it seems to have emerged as a style of street dance during the 1970's. Involving a variety of footwork patterns and style such as spinning and various gymnastic-like actions, it was heavily influenced by a number of sources. The structure of Break dance performances is attributed to African influence. Basically dance groups or “crews" competed against each other by forming a circle and having the dancers perform in the middle of the circle. The objective in these “battles” was for the dancer to outdo his opponent by being more creative with his movements. This "dancing in the circle" as a means of competition is attributed to similar styles in African dance.

Among the theories of the origins of break dance, many consider James Brown and his 1969 hit "Get on the Good Foot" one of its starting points. Inspired by his energetic and almost acrobatic dance on stage, many people began dancing on the "Good Foot", often incorporating moves that involved drops and spins. Other attribute the extreme popularity of martial arts films during the 70's to the beginnings of break dance since elements of these types of movements are also prevalent.

The term “Break Dancing” actually arose with the growing recognition of this art form in the media. The early 80's battles between dance crews attracted the attention of the media. B-Boying also known as Breaking or "Breakdance," "Electric Boogaloo," "Popping," and "Locking," was featured in major films such as "Flashdance," "Breakin," "Breakin' 2," and "Beat Street." Street dancing has increasingly grown, receiving worldwide attention over the past 20 years. These various dance styles demonstrate a distinctive American art form that finds its roots in the streets of the inner city.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

• BREAK! has been regarded as the cutting edge of dance at the dawn of the 21st century

• It incorporates various styles of dancing such as "Breaking," "Locking," Popping, and Electric Boogaloo.

• The show consists of a company of supremely talented performers in different areas of street dance & percussion.

• The dancers and musicians were brought in one arena by artistic director Steve Love.

• The dancers’ explosive performances of Power Tumbling, Break Dancing, Robotics, Locking and Popping have thrilled audiences on five continents.

• The dancers use elements of footwork, freeze techniques and power moves.

• Cast member of BREAK! have exciting styles creating an amazing audience

POST PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES

1. Name some of the sources accredited with having an influence on non-traditional dance forms such as Break Dance & Locking tap dance and Break Dance.

2. Discuss some of the moves commonly used in Break dancing. Have the students explain and/or demonstrate their favorite movements.

3. Discuss some of the places they have seen Break dancing and who are their favorite dancers.

4. Discuss the future of urban dance

5. Have the students show in movement what they think street dancing will look like by the time they reach college.

6. Discuss the history of dance and see if the class can discover other times in history when a dance form evolved from the streets of the community For example, in Africa where “Dance Circles” involve the various dancers trying to outdo each other with creative and acrobatic movements.

7. Explore which different cultures express themselves by openly dancing in the streets.

POST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONS

1. How was this performance of BREAK! different from any other dance performances you've seen ? How was it the same? How was the music different or the same?

2. Remember the movements of the dancers. What did the dances remind you of? Did you recognize in these movements elements of other kinds of activities (sports, exercises, etc.).

3. Which segment did you find most enjoyable? Discuss why.

4. Define the following terms & moves:

Hip Hop MC (Master of Ceremonies) DJ (Disc Jockey) Graffiti Break Dance Tumbling Power Move Robotics Popping Locking Bucket Drumming Windmills Flairs Air Flairs Footwork Head Spins Back Spins Turtles Top Rock Floor Rock Hollows 90’s 2000’s Rap Dance Battle

RESOURCES for STUDY GUIDE

Information for the BREAK! complementary Teacher's Guide was compiled from a variety of sources including various websites, Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation, and Grollier Encyclopedia © 1997 Grolier, Inc.

Also information gathered from interviews with master dancers from The Electric Boogaloos, The Rock Steady Crew, New York City Breakers and The Dynamic Rockers.

BREAK Dance and Street Dance Movies

KRUSH GROOVE BREAKIN BREAKIN 2 BEAT STREET Flash Dance

CONTACT WWW.LOVEPRODUCTIONS.COM for more information 212.714.9197

HISTORY OF BREAK DANCING

BEGINNING

B-Boying began in a recreation center in the South Bronx of New York City in the early 1970’s. Street gangs and violence was at an all time high but was about to start its decline, mainly due to the introduction of a new culture that would later be dubbed "Hip Hop" by Afrikaa Bambaataa. This Hip Hop culture would give inner city youth a way to make a name for themselves and escape the anonymity of urban life, by battling other youth with creativity and style instead of violence.

It was a young Jamaican immigrant named Clive Campbell (aka Kool DJ Herc) who was primarily responsible for the birth of this culture. Kool Herc developed a revolutionary new way of spinning records using two identical records. Instead of playing the entire the song on a record, he would only play the very upbeat and percussive breaksection of a song, known as the "breaks." Since the breaksection of a song is only seconds long, after the breaksection was through playing on the first record he would start playing the same section on the second record while managing to match the beat seamlessly . By repeating this process, he was able to play a continuous song of nothing but breaksections.

Along with DJing, these "breakbeats" laid the foundation for the two more elements of the Hip Hop culture: MCing and B-Boying. It became the MC’s (Master of Ceremony) job to amuse, excite, and motivate the crowd to dance by using Rhythmic Accentuated Poetry (RAP) over those breakbeats. B-Boys were the ones who would dance or "freak out," "bust moves," and "go-off" on the dancefloor with their steps and freezes. These three elements along with graffiti art or writing are what make up the hip hop culture.

INFLUENCE

Most heads consider James Brown’s hit "Get on the Good Foot" the starting point for B-Boy culture. After its release, people started mimicking Brown’s footworks and began dancing the "Good Foot." Early B-Boying was based largely on an extended version of the Good Foot, also known as Rockin’. So essentially, James Brown was the first B-Boy.

The word (B-)Boying most likely came from the African word "Boioing" which means to hop or jump, and is just one of the indicators of the influence African dance. It was the African people’s dance culture which brought the heavy rhythm and the idea of dancing in a circle, but it was definitely a variety of influences that made up early B-Boying including gymnastics, Eastern martial arts, tap dance, Salsa, Afro-Cuban and Native American dances. One of the most influential dances was a South American martial arts/fighting dance known as the Capoeira. Contrary to many rumors, B-Boying didn’t originate from the Capoeira but it played a large role in its early development.

The Capoeira originated in the 16th century and was practiced by many of the millions of African slaves brought to Brazil. Since fighting was not allowed but singing and dancing was permitted, the slaves prepared for their resistance by incorporating fighting moves into their dancing. The fight-dance was performed in a circle with a crowd surrounding it, and as soon as a guard or official came close, the fighting would turn into a dance again. Eventually the dancing the Capoeira became forbidden and most of the slaves who practiced the Capoeira died after their five years of service, yet a few managed to escape into the forests of Brazil. The Capoeira lived on in the forest villages of the escaped slaves and Brazilian slums throughout the centuries until it became legal again in the 20th century. When B-Boying started to become popular, a lot of the Capoeira moves, punches, and spins were integrated into B-Boying.

PROGRESSION

In the early 1970’s B-Boying was also referred to as rockin’ or breakin’. At first breaking mainly consisted of toprocks, floorrocks (footworks) and other steps that always ended in a freeze (no spins). Different B-Boy crews were formed who would often battle each other--the main point of the battle being to be more creative than the other crew and by doing better and faster moves. Toward the late 70’s a lot of the early B-Boys retired and the new generation of B-Boy’s combined the early moves with spins and power moves on different parts of the body.

Popping was a west coast dance form in the late 70’s that eventually made its way to the east coast around 1980 where it was called Boogaloo or Electric Boogaloo. B-Boying should not be confused with poppin or lockin. The breakers and boogaloo dancers both ended up sharing the B-Boy name, but poppin and lockin are definitely danceforms of their own and should be treated as just that.

Breakin’ started blowing up in the early 80’s as a lot of the top crew rivalries were beginning to attract media attention. Early performances and battles of crews like the Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers were aired on nationally TV. In 1983, movies like Flashdance and Buffalo Gals which featured the Rock Steady Crew broke the scene wide open when breaking could finally be scene internationally. The media made up the name "Breakdancing" and the world went rap dance crazy.

Over the next few years, breakdancing became the trend. Some of the more famous crews were featured in movies (Wildstyle, Beat Street, Breakin/Breakin 2), commercials (milk, Right Guard, Burger King…) and TV shows (Fame, That’s Incredible!, David Letterman, and as regular contestants on Star Search). When the Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1984, the closing ceremonies featured a performance by over 100 B-Boys and B-Girls.

In 1987, after years of being gimmicked and ridiculed, "Breakdancing" was completely played out and the media had completely trashed the entire B-Boy culture. Very few dancers continued practicing and dancing seriously, and the one’s who did were often met with ridicule when it was revealed that they still breakdance.

Today the breakin’ name has been cleared and is continuing regain its reputation as a respected dance form. It has evolved into the dancing that is seen today in music videos and rap. The "boy band" phenomenon and leading pop stars like Britney Spears use elements of breakdancing in their work. Breakdancing brought new ideas onto the world of social dance. It indicated that full body- contact with the ground was ok, spinning and other moves were possible through careful manipulation of the body and fighting moves could be part of dancing. Dancing is freer, more pumped-up and less controlled because of this. It is safe to assume that social and nightclub dancing throughout America since has never been the same.

Information provided by Jam2Dis.com

For more information on break dancing and hip hop and to see a video, visit www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/

BREAK DANCE AND CAPOEIRA

Break dancing was an influential form of dance in the urban minority populations of New York City during the end of the 1970's and early 1980's, that was familiarized in part with the competitive and athletic moves of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that was popularized during this same time period. I argue that both break dancing in New York City and capoeira in Salvador, Brazil emerged as nationally identifying factors for populations of African descent (and populations of Puerto Rican descent in terms of break dancing), as ways of representing themselves through dance that allowed them to voice their struggle against oppression.

Both forms of dance were unifying within the founding populations, allowing the participants to form groups with small amounts of members that became like a second family. Both styles of dance eventually rose to international popularity around the 1980's. Yet regardless of this fact, each form of dance leaves with it a nationally identifying factor in that it spread from minority populations to be recognized nationally by populations within each country and then became an identifying and unifying factor for people especially of the marginalized classes.

CAPOEIRA AND BREAK DANCE AS NATIONALLY IDENTIFYING FORMS OF DANCE

Break dancing became popularized nationwide during the late 1970’s and early 1980's after receiving media attention in New York City from such publications as the New York Times. Through videos such as the underground classic Wild Style, the documentary Style Wars, and popular classics such as Flashdance, break dancing became internationally intriguing. In Japan for example, "hip hop came via bboying because it was the visual aspect," (Mitchell 2001: 227). Today, although still a largely unrecognized form of dance, break dancing encompasses underground hip-hop circles internationally as a form of unification within the culture.

During the late 1920's in Brazil, Mestre Bimba revived the once illegalized capoeira by forming a style called Regional which was more acrobatic in nature than the original form of capoeira, Angola. By forming an academy and taking the once street oriented game of capoeira into a defined space, Bimba attracted students of middle to upper class socioeconomic standing. Although Angola was also being taught, which emphasized a player's individuality and kept the dance as an art form, Regional capoeira was a major influence on the proceeding evolution and nationalization. By the 1950's, Bimba's students began to open capoeira schools throughout Salvador and capoeira was recognized as a national sport by the early 1970's. Like wildfire, capoeira spread to the U.S by the mid 1970's where it would begin its climb to international popularity.

As break dancing and capoeira became nationally identifying forms of movement for many youth of marginalized and low socioeconomic status, they also became recognized or at least noticed by the middle and upper classes of each country. Through recognition of the two in popular media forums such as newspapers and TV, they both became influential to populations outside of their originating founders. Although this did occur, by staying with their close ties of a family oriented structure and the foundations of athleticism and competition which stretch back to the beginnings of both capoeira and break dancing history, they have become identifiable of each particular founding population. Break dancers and capoeistas alike encompass their own realms of familiarized identity that are associated with the cultural context that each group functions out of, leading to a unified and similarly perceived national identity.

SIMILARITIES OF CAPOEIRA AND BREAK DANCING

Within both break dancing and capoeira, two major themes prevail which are essential to the understanding and evolution in both. Athleticism is a fundamental base because of the athletic maneuvering of one's body while dancing. In capoeira this concept is more drawn out because the movements are not considered a dance, but a martial arts or a sport. In break dancing, athletic maneuvers ground the dance form in difficult posturing that requires flexibility, agility, balance and strength, as does capoeira. The need of athletic strength in both are possible reasons why both are male dominated. The second theme that runs between the two is competition. Capoeira entails players that detail how they would fight their opponent in non-aggressive maneuvers while break dancing as said by Nelson George is "spectacular, dangerous, and in its heart grounded in a commitment to competition" (George 1998, 14). Evidence for the root of the natural competition can be seen in the territorial and battle oriented history of break dancing. Both of these art forms although having origins in aggressive behavior, through their evolution have become physically non-aggressive. In breaking you are showing off your moves and in capoeira, demonstrating how you would trick your opponent while fighting.

Both of the populations that originally dominated capoeira and break dancing were of African descent coming from, in the case of capoeira origin, slave backgrounds and in break dancing, poor urban neighborhoods. Both gave their respective founders the ability to combine forces with others in their neighborhoods to develop groups or crews that became like second families. In capoeira, the slaves who originated the art form, trained in small groups and during its course of evolution, capoeira was picked up in the poor neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro by street gangs and then eventually formed into many separate schools or academies worldwide. Break dancing also has its history rooted in the group structure, originating in New York street gangs then being transformed into crew's of people who would dance together as a form of unity. In both break dancing and capoeira, nicknames that reflect a persons personality or skills are used that help to further the development of a family like structure. The formation of these family structures enabled support, friendship and a common bond for marginalized youth that predominated both capoeira and break dancing.

DIFFERENCES OF CAPOEIRA AND BREAK DANCING

Although both break dancing and capoeira were born from marginalized populations of African ancestry, capoeira was developed as a means to train for fighting and survival whereas break dancing was initially a dance form that somewhat deterred violence and allowed for non-aggressive battles or competition. Coming into evolved phases, both now serve the functionality of competition and athleticism, yet capoeira is different from break dancing in that it is more regulated and follows certain strict rules. People are trained within a school or an academy, whereas break dancing is still a mainly street oriented dance, with few people actually teaching it on a professional level.

Another major difference between capoeira and break dance is how the other artistic entities they are associated with came to evolve with them. In break dance, as stated before, the dancing preceded the DJ and MC aspects because the dance evolved from street gangs before the concept of hip hop was alive. In capoeira, the three main art forms, which share equal importance, are the dance, the music and the song. All three evolved together and it could be said that without one, the other two would have much less meaning. These differences in the evolution of separate art forms in each culture show that while capoeira culture was born with three intimately connected art forms, break dance developed and originated prior to hip hop being considered either as an inclusive concept or a defining culture of urban America.

REFERENCES

Browning, Barbara. Samba: Resistance in Motion. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1995

Condry, Ian. “A History of Japanese Hip-Hop.” Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA. Tony Mitchell, ed. Pp 222-247. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.

Fernando Jr., S.H. The New Beats: Exploring the Music, Culture and Attitudes of Hip-Hop. New York: Anchor Books, 1992.

Fricke, J. and C. Ahearn. Yes Yes Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2002.

George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.

Lewis, J. Lowell. Ring of Liberations: Deceptive Discourse in Brazilian Capoeira. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Lingo, Kaira. The Politics of Race and Power in Capoeira: A Cultural Thermostat or Thermometer? M.A thesis, Department of Anthropology, Stanford Univesity, 1996.

Lipsitz, George. “The Hip Hop Hearings: Censorship, Social Memory, and Intergenerational Tensions among African Americans.” Generations of Youth: Youth Cultures and History in Twentieth- Century America. Joe Austin and Michael Willard, eds. Pp 395-411. New York: New York University Press, 1995.

Nehring, Neil. Popular Music, Gender and Postmodernism: Anger is an Energy. London: Sage Publications, 1996.

Nelson, Havelock. Bring the Noise. New York: Harmony Books, 1991.

Potter, Russell. Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.

Roda de Rua: Capoeira Angola. Pelorinho-Salvador/Bahia/Brasil, 2000.

NOTICE TO ALL TEACHERS AND CHAPERONES

¾ PERFORMANCES BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 10AM OR NOON. Many of our performances sell out. This means we can have up to 1,600 students to seat. Please help us by arriving 30 minutes prior to the start of the performance. This will allow our ushers to get everyone seated and for you and your students to visit the rest rooms and get settled. It is important that we begin our performances on time so that all schools can meet their lunch and/or dismissal times.

¾ PLEASE CHECK LOCATION OF PERFORMANCE WHEN MAKING YOUR BUS RESERVATION.

¾ The staff of the Fine Arts Center needs your help! An increasing number of students are coming into the performance space with gum, food, beverages and portable music players. None of these items is allowed in the halls for performances. Many of these items are stowed in backpacks and are not easily noticed. Our goal is to offer high quality performances for young people. In order to enhance the experience, we ask for your cooperation in preventing these items from entering the hall.

¾ For the comfort of all concerned, we ask that backpacks, lunches and other gear be left on the bus. Our long-standing policy of no cameras or tape recorders still is in effect.

¾ At the conclusion of the performance please remain in your seats until your school group is dismissed.

We hope that you and your students enjoy your theatre experience!

PARKING AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE FINE ARTS CENTER CONCERT HALL

School Bus Parking: Students should be dropped-off at Haigis Mall off of Massachusetts Avenue. University Security will direct buses to an appropriate parking lot during the performance (typically by the football stadium). PLEASE BE SURE YOUR BUS DRIVER KNOWS THAT ALL PERFORMANCES LAST APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND THEY SHOULD RETURN A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED END TIME. If drivers are not with the buses, they may miss the radio call from security asking them to return for pick-up, resulting in unnecessary delays returning to your school.

Individual cars: If necessary, individuals may drop-off students with a chaperone at Haigis Mall (you will be directed by security to the mid-point turn of Haigis Mall – see map) prior to parking. We recommend parking in the Campus Center Parking Garage to avoid searching for a metered space. It is a five-minute walk to the Concert Hall. All other available parking during weekdays is at meters. Available lots and pricing (current as of 9/1/04) are listed below:

Parking in the Garage is available to our patrons at a discounted rate of $1. To receive this rate you MUST give the Garage attendant a parking pass. To receive your pass, please call our office to let us know that you will be arriving by car. Parking passes are sent with the invoices. (413)545-0190

Parking meters are enforced Monday – Friday, 7AM – 5PM. Meter rates are $1.00 per hour.

Parking Garage – near Campus Center, across from the Mullins Center off Commonwealth Avenue Lot 34 – Behind Visitors Center with 3, 5 & 10-hour meters available Haigis Mall – 2 hour maximum on meters Lot 62 - Adjacent to Fernald Hall with 3 hour maximum on meters, limited spaces available.

From the North: (Vermont, Greenfield) I-91 south to Route 116. Follow signs on 116 “To the University of Massachusetts.” Exit ramp leads to Massachusetts Avenue. Turn left (east) on to Massachusetts Avenue toward the campus. Continue through one light and watch for Lot 34 by the Visitors Center on your right and the entrance to Haigis Mall on your left.

From the South: (Springfield, Holyoke) I-91 north to Route 9. Turn right (east) on Route 9 over the Coolidge Bridge and through Hadley. Turn left (north) on Route 116 (across from Staples) heading toward campus. Turn right at first exit at “University of Massachusetts,” then bear right onto Massachusetts Avenue toward campus. Continue through one light and watch for Lot 34 by the Visitors Center on your right and the entrance to Haigis Mall on your left.

From the West: (Northampton, Pittsfield) Route 9 east through Northampton and over Coolidge Bridge. Follow remaining directions from “From the South” above.

From the East: (Belchertown, Ludlow) North on Routes 21, 181 or 202 to Route 9 into Amherst. Right on to North Pleasant Street (main downtown intersection), north through center of town. Turn left at Triangle Street (Bertucci’s Restaurant on your right), rejoining North Pleasant Street. To reach Lot 34 and Haigis Mall continue on main road, which becomes Massachusetts Avenue. Haigis Mall will be on your right, Lot 34 on your left.

Bowker Auditorium (in Stockbridge Hall)

Concert Hall & Rand Theater (in Fine Arts Center building)

For Concert Hall, Rand Theater and Bowker Auditorium – Patrons traveling by car are encouraged to park in the parking garage. Discounted parking is available in the garage for $1. A parking permit is required for discounted parking in the garage. Call the Programming Office if you require permits at (413) 545 – 0190. All other parking on campus is at available meters at the rate of $1 per hour. Parking is enforced Monday – Friday, 7AM – 5 PM.

Buses will drop-off students as indicated on map. Buses will be given parking instructions by Campus Security.