Beijing adds local flavor to the electric bugaloo
Breakdancing has come a long way since the 1970¡®s, where it began in New York City as a way for gangs to settle territorial disputes by showing off artistic skill rather than by giving in to violence. Three decades later and half a world away, pop rocking and body locking is alive in Beijing. Though Beijing’s B-boy skill has not yet reached that of South Korea or the United States, factions of Beijing B-boys are adding Chinese flavor to the art.

“There are kids incorporating a lot of wushu and acrobatics,” says Helen Hoi, one of the founders of the Beijing Hip-Hop Collective, a group that puts on regular breakdance competitions at Yugong Yishan. Hoi, a B-girl who hails from Atlanta and started the collective, notes that there are several kids from the acrobatics school in Beijing who’ve started breakdancing. “They have a strong sense of who they want to rep, and they want to be different,” Hoi says.

In the face of a new style developing in China, the Beijing Hip-Hop collective wants to establish a foundation as to what breakdancing and hip-hop are really about.

“We want to explain our vision of breaking-how we lived it and learned it,” says Edu Bertard, another collective founder who's been breaking for nine years. “For me, hip-hop is a desire to do something artistic that comes from the people. We see hip-hop as way more than just the usual four elements: DJ, MC, graffiti and breaking.”

While some may be mixing in their own flavor in China, the scene is still dominated by moves brought over from the U.S. “Here the style is a lot like the U.S. style,” says Beijing B-boy Crazy, or Guo Feng, who now teaches breaking to teenagers in Beijing and next month will represent China in an international competition in Korea.

Whatever the style, the Beijing Hip-Hop Collective has brought the local breakdance scene out into the open with its monthly contest, Cipher Dynasty, the best place to witness Beijing’s finest B-boys in action. The next contest is slated for Thursday, June 12 at Yugong Yishan.

Edu stresses that breakdancing is fundamentally about art and expression. “It’s an artistic manifestation that is rooted in the people and in the community,” he says. “We want to say this is what we learned, this is what we were taught it is supposed to be... Whatever you do from here is up to you.”

Mary Dennis

Details

Cipher Dynasty

Where: Yugong Yishan
When: Thursday, June 12, 6pm
How Much: ￥35