The Evolution of Urban Dance

Edwin Flores, Benjamin Hom, and Aleksandr Batac

Goals Discuss the origin of different dance styles How and Why they emerged Influential figures that contributed to its

evolution The way in which they evolved What it is today

1960’s South Bronx Overrun with youth gangs

The Fordham Baldies The Fordham Flames The Bailey Gang

Youths looking for an outlet for aggression Out of this chaos, something new was about to

emerge that would transform American pop culture forever

The Birth of Breakdance Out of the chaos caused by gangs in the

South Bronx, young black men and women were beginning to perform a new type of dance that distracted them from the violence in the streets.

These youths were exposed and inspired to dance by iconic African American Entertainers such as James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Isaac Hayes.

How did it start? James Brown

1950s to 1960s James Brown was the center of American pop music

His new and erratic dancing spread the dance craze all over the nation, reaching everyone from the including the youths of the South Bronx

The Birth of Popping On the other side of the country another, different

style of dancing, known as popping was being born.

Created during the era of Funk in the 1980s. Unlike how the media portrayed it, popping, which

includes several other sub-dances such as locking, boogaloo, and other funk styles, is not the same as breaking.

Popping vs. Breakdancing Popping is what it sounds

like. The dancer “pops” different parts of his body in short quick succession by contracting and relaxing his muscles rapidly

Breakdancing consists more of dangerous aerial moves that requires flexibility, strength and balance.

Cont’d One very important difference between the two

style is the type of music that was associated with them.

Break dance was associated with hip hop music and groups such as Rock Steady Crew. The point of the dance was to prolong the breaks in the music, hence the dances name.

Popping was associated with Funk music and groups such as Electric Boogaloo.

Civil Rights Movement The Black Power Movement

instilled a sense of pride in Impoverished blacks.

They were proud to be black and wanted to convey their culture to the rest of the world. Dance was a way of doing this.

Black leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated, creating widespread anger throughout the black community.

The Hip Hop movement In the 1970s, hip hop

was on the rise with rap music and DJing becoming much more mainstream

Along with this, break-dance was becoming popular in the underground

Why did it become popular? As African American music icons became

more and more influential, whites took more of an interest in black culture

They saw that they could commercialize it and make money from it

Young Blacks in the ghettos that caught onto the dance craze were just looking for a way out

Rock Steady Crew This group was

established in 1977 and was the first breakdance “crew”.

This crew was recognized for their innovation in the style.

Soul Train Soul Train facilitated

the rise of black culture and thereby the commercialization of Dance

African Americans were proud to show of their culture to the world.

Don Campbell His group, “The

Lockers” were the first to perform locking on television, on the show Soul Train. They accredited with the creation and popularization of the dance.

Electric Boogaloo With its leader Electric

Sam, This group was the first innovator in the style of popping.

Popularized the style through movies and television shows.

Influence of the Media The media played a pivotal role in the

integration of the East coast and West Coast styles of Dance

Movies such as Electric Boogaloo, based off of the dance group, and Breakin’ spread and publicized both styles of dance.

Cont’d Eventually, young inner city kids on the

East coast saw these new types of dance either through shows like soul train or at the movies.

When the original type of breaking and popping became old, these kids stated to mix them combining both styles into what is seen today.

Modern Era of Urban Dance In the beginning, Urban dance had meaning.

Inner City kids danced for a purpose. They were angry and wanted do something about their socioeconomic situation.

Nowadays, urban dance has lost this purpose. Now they just dance for the fame or the money. People have forgotten why street dance was so influential in American culture.

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