Five Things on Freestyle: Vocabulary (New School Hiphop)

New School Hiphop Dictionary:

1. Monastery
2. C-Walk
3. Bankhead Bounce
4. Walk It Out
5. Harlem Shake
6. ATL Stomp
7. Tone Whop

Five Things on Freestyle: Vocabulary (Middle School Hiphop)

Middle School Hiphop:

1. Party Machine

2. Running Man
3. Roger Rabbit
4. Steve Martin
5. Bart Simpson
6. Pepper Seed
7. BK Bounce
8. Butterfly

Five Things on Freestyle: Vocabulary (Old School Hiphop)

In connection with the "Five Things on Freestyle" by Buddha Stretch, I am determined to share what I have learned from the Dance Dictionary. I've seen some of these steps in movies before when I was younger. I just didn't know then that they had names, and they actually are part of the vocabulary of Hiphop (lol)!

More than just a type of dance, hiphop is a culture. Without knowledge of the foundations and vocabularies, one can NOT claim that he or she is dancing hiphop. So I hope this can help you on your journey to real hiphop. Peace!

Hiphop Old School  Dance Dictionary

1. Smurf

2. Prep

3. Reebok

4. The Wop

5. Cabbage Patch

6. Happy Feet

7. The Fila

Watch the video here:

Difference Between LA and New York's Style of Hiphop (by Bobby Mileage)

Bobby Mileage of Elite Force Crew shares his opinion of the difference between LA and New York's style of hiphop.

At the end of the video, he emphasized the following:
1. "Learn your history. There are documentaries out there. There are 'Suns of James Brown', 'Everything Remains Raw', 'Respond to Sound', 'Reckin Shop: Live'."
2. "Hiphop does have history, it does have steps, it does have technique"
3. "...And for all you people who claim you're hiphop, if you don't know who the originators are, stop calling yourself hiphop. Go out there and research."


This video from Youtube is not meant to offend anyone, just sharing legit stuff. Peace!

Dance is Inspired by Music First (from Brooklyn Terry)

Brooklyn Terry of the Elite Force Crew shares his connection with dancing. Here are the highlights I noted from the video:

1. "The way I approach dancing? I don't approach it actually, it approaches me through music. I don't consider technique first because what matters is what the music is making me feel. Before these things (techniques) ever existed at all, we were just dancing, just moving to the music."

2. "People call me a house dancer which I think is funny. But I'm just a dancer. When I'm out there on the dance floor, I'm just dancing to the music...whether it be funk, hiphop, house, breaks, whatever. I'm just dancing."

3. "Some of them dance-dance first, not music first. They see someone dance and get inspired by someone dancing, that's why they dance. While on the other hand, most of us we were first of inspired by the music that's why we dance."

5."Is there a way to get people to understand that? People only listen to music while they are dancing. I listen to music constantly. That special connection between you and the music, that time where you just close your eyes and you forget that anyone is there, that's the special thing."

6. "Everyone is focused on being the 'best'. Once you're the best, where you gonna go? Instead of focusing on being better, they focus on by being the 'best'. That's why they spend too much energy on battles, and not on music first."

Five Things on Freestyle: Rhythm (vs. Musicality) by Popula

After watching the video of Buddha Stretch regarding the Five Things on Freestyle, I was inspired to know more about them. I found videos of Popula on Youtube. In this video, he talks about the difference between Rhythm and Musicality.

This came in prefect timing for my dilemma. As I've noticed in recent battles that I've joined at or served as prod staff, it's no doubt that the crowd cheers for a dancer who kills the beat, a throwdown that's hard to battle with.

This video explains that a dancer must NOT ONLY hit the beat, but also DANCE THE BEAT.  Things to ponder on:

1. "So what if you hit the beat? If you hit the beat but you didn't dance in it and out of it,it doesn't matter."
2. "Rhythm gives you the flow into the beat before it breaks"
3. "If you try to hit EVERY BEAT in every 8 count outside of the boom-clap,then you don't have rhythm, only musicality."

So before the concept of musicality and trying to catch all the different throwdown beats, remember the basics and essence of dance. Every dancer has his or her rhythm. It's your own flow to the music, regardless of musicality. If not, then everybody can hit the beat and claim they're a dancer, don't you think? Hence, rhythm and musicality must blend and work together to have a good flow and break to your freestyle.

Watch Part 2 of the video in here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWV19BluK04&feature=related

"Five Things on Freestyle" by Buddha Stretch

Buddha Stretch of the Elite Force Dance Crew is the OG (originator) of hiphop. In this video, he shares the different elements of freestyle which are:

1. Rhythm
2. Technique
3. Vocabulary
4. Style
5. Character

Listen and learn from this. Peace! :)

The Cycle

I came to the realization that life is a cycle of ups and downs. Sometimes we're on top, sometimes we're at the pith bottom. As a dancer, I've had a share of this cycle even in dance.

There are times that we are on our fast track. Everything seems to be inspiring-there's no other way but to go up and to keep on improving. However at times when the wheel rotates, a different feeling corrupts this drive. Nothing can seem to inspire us. Our minds are cluttered that no movement can flow freely. This may have us reach to the point of doubting our own craft. We may question our passion and ask ourselves what went wrong or how come we're not improving at all. Seems like we're stuck in a box and we do not know how to make a jump start.

I know exactly how that feels.

I am at this point of my cycle. It's not my first though, I've had plenty of this. It's hard to force myself to dance. It kind of feels awkward, especially when faced in a cypher or freestyle session.

This is an excerpt from my diary way back. I wrote this after training with Pinoy Funk'in Styles (PFS) for an upcoming battle called Funk For Life Vol.1.

It was time for individual freestyle. We flipped our hands to see who came first and I think I was second to the last. So when it was my turn, I decided to freestyle locking instead of popping. Since I barely practiced at all, I wanted to see how free I could be.

So it was an unfamiliar music. I felt a familiar stiffness in my heart and in my mind. I wasn’t dancing at all. It felt as if I was forcing the steps to the music. I felt horrible inside and I wanted to cry. And it was PFS’s turn to rate me or share their comments. Some of them were about fixing my form and having variety with foundations. Don’t get me wrong though, I love criticisms. If there’s one thing I am proud of, I perceive criticism positively, for I am nothing compared to what I can learn. But for some reason, what Joi said struck me the most. This may not come accurately, but it goes something like “Luke, you can do better than that”. That line got me thinking and baffled the whole night. Even Jemie noticed it when we were talking after the practices.

I was lucky to hitch a ride with Miko on the way home. Toni and I sat at the backseat, and something urged me to ask Toni “Toni, anong ginagawa mo pag uninspired ka?” He immediately answered “Nanonood ng videos, kukuha ng inspirasyon sa mga masters.” I did that already. But sometimes, no matter how you look for inspiration outside, you can’t seem to grasp it.


So the biggest question that I had to face was hurting. Is funk for me, or am I just daring to be different? Some people might not understand why dancers hurt so much for their passion. They never will unless they hold a valuable purpose for it. Some of us dance because it is our talent, some because it provides us physical and emotional stability…but for some, it is what saves them. So I sat ‘til morning thinking and thinking. I felt a part of me died. I was so thankful to my friends who talked me out of it. These are private conversations with my friends, but it so saved me that I wanted to share.

Jemie:

“love the style.. love the music.. then maybe you'll find ur way back”

“Keep the funk alive! Its starting to bloom. Dont drown urself in that feeling or else.. you wont   be able to see just how funk is growing.. am sure ayaw mong mangyari un.. Im not a funk person but I love how it has bloomed... pano ka pa”

Dean:

“pagnafeel mo ulet ito, PRAY ka lang. bgay mo lahat sa kanya. hindi ka nya iiwan sa stage”

Alex:

“don’t be pressured. Maging free ka lang”

After what seemed to be the end of my drive, my partner (James Wong) and I won the Funk for Life Vol. 1 2 on 2 Locking Category and was able to represent the Philippines at Juste Debout Singapore 2011, an international dance festival.


Reading the excerpt and thinking of everything that happened at that point of my life, I am assured now that what I am feeling is just a phase. This will soon pass. The wheel turns to bring us to the top again, now even more driven to conquer anything.


I guess if you're faced with the same situation as I am, remind yourself to HOLD ON. As the line goes "The night is darkest before dawn." Meaning, you won't remain uninspired forever. This is just something you must always encounter to realize the worth of what you have and to appreciate the craft even more. It may also happen because we are being redirected to notice other things in our lives, or to keep us striving for excellence. As we all know, one must sometimes step back in order to step forward. ;)