The Rolling Stones
in retrospect,
see page 5B.
Friday, May 11, 1984
ay Edition
The weekly arts and entertainment newsmagazine
Dancing in, and
on the street
"Break-dancing is a phase, a
fad," says Michelle Powers, co
director of a local jazz dance
company, Powers and leans.
"Whether people in Eugene
know it or not, we're at the tail
end of it."
Not everyone agrees — at
least here in Eugene, where the
word has suddenly become hot.
Break-dancing has become a na
tional pastime as well as a recur
rent password.
Both break-dancing and pop
locking are experiencing sud
den resurgence with the advent
of movies like "Flashdance,"
"Footloose" and Michael
Jackson's "Beat It" video, even
though the dance form has
been around since the 1960's.
"Movies make it look like
anyone can succeed at it," says
Caroline Shell, University dance
department head.
Break-dancers not only spin
around on their backs and
shoulders, Shell says, but they
Story by Jolayne Houtz
Photo by Ken Kromer
also use body-waving and danc
ing with a backward motion. "A
lot of what you see in Michael
Jackson's 'Beat It' video is
break-dancing," Shell says.
In pop-locking, dancers stand
and move robotically, isolating
parts of the body and snapping
them in ways that they haven't
been snapped or locked before.
Shell attributes these two
dances' sudden popularity to
movies, which "open up the im
aginations of everyone who en
joys movement."
"It's a natural outgrowth from
the music of our time and a
natural development of social
dance forms for the last 20
years," Shell says.
"I think it's more of an expres
sion. It's a great deal of fun, and
people just enjoy doing it," says
Tim Ryan, a member of the
Eugene Ballet. He recently
taught a break-dancing
workshop that kept 10 people
on the waiting list.
Break-dancing will also be
part of University Theatre's up
coming "West Side Story." Cin
dy Cummings will use her new
skills in her role as the young
tomboy, Anybodys. Break
dancing may be popular, Cum
mings says, because it's easy to
learn.
"Anyone can do it — it's a
street dance. I learned a lot just
by watching, and once I started,
it was a lot of fun," Cummings
says.
Michelle Powers recently us
ed break-dancing in "Azz Izz," a
Powers and jeans dance concert
at the Hult Center which was
the first Eugene production to
incorporate break-dancing.
Powers placed an advertise
ment for break-dancers in the
Register-Guard, "not knowing
what to expect."
Tim Ryan, virtuoso breaker, is a University student and a member of the Eugene
Ballet. He recently taught a break-dancing workshop that had a long waiting list.
'Whether people in Eugene know it,
we’re at the tail end of break-dancing.’
— Michelle Powers, dancer
The next day, 40 people, most
ly local high school students,
lined up at the studio doors
before they opened. She only
used six main dancers in the
break-dancing sequence.
Powers' production helped to
introduce Eugene to break
dancing and the dancers were
asked to continue the
phenomenon in local modeling
shows and other productions.
“We were inundated with calls
from people who wanted to
learn it," she says.
Break-dancing, however, is
more than a dramatic techni
que. It has sociological impact.
"It's changing the threat of
violence in the streets," says
Shell. Some street gangs gave
up knives for break-dance com
petitions two decades ago.
"It's now helping us to accept
street gangs as loveable kids.
Now they immediately set up a
challenge for break-dancing,
which is really an endurance
challenge because it's very
aerobic and takes a kind of con
trol," Shell says.
One New York gang, Shell
recalls, challenged the U.S.
Men's Olympic gymnastics
team to a break-dancing en
durance test. “It's beginning to
bridge a gap — bringing com
munication, and it's bound to
draw all sorts of social groups
together," Shell says.
Powers believes the positive
social effects of break-dancing
may be wishful thinking. "It's
up to people to open up to
others, but the amount break
dancing is used to do this is
questionable," Powers says.
Shell still sees some far
reaching implications of the
dance.
“As long as it keeps creating
this mental activity as well as a
sense of worth, we'll see impor
tant changes in street gangs,"
she says.
Though its origins are hum
ble, break-dancing still requires
certain skills, such as body
strength, in order to change
positions so often.
"The hardest thing is finding
your timing. There's no right
way of doing it — a lot is you,
finding the way your body
works," Shell says.
"It's really aerobic," says
Cummings, who began break
dancing last fall.
"We started playing around
with it and said, 'Hey, I can do
this !' " Cummings says.
Although it's easy to learn,
Powers says break-dancers have
trouble with traditional dance
forms because they don't have
the necessary training. "I think
it requires more strength and
rhythm than flexibility," Powers
says.
jiicii :> mam wmi me
dance is that is can cause possi
ble damage to untrained
dancers."There are a great
many knee and back injuries
happening to break-dancers
and pop-lockers," Shell says.
Another danger comes when
dancers spin on the ground and
add weight to body parts that
are not used to that much
weight. Shell says this drills too
much force into the vertebrae.
She suggests break-dancers
stretch and warm up before
dancing. Ryan agrees. As a train
ed dancer, he considers what
goes into break-dancing just as
important as what comes out.
For experienced dancers the
chance of injury is not so great.
"We've learned to analyze
movement," Cummings says.
"It lessens the chance of injury
because we know our own
bodies."
In Los Angeles and New York,
break-dancing is more spon
taneous — dancers jam on street
corners at anytime. Eugene's
most informal studio is the
basketball court under the Jef
ferson Bridge, where most of
Powers' dancers practice.
Workshops are popping up
everywhere. Parks and Recrea
tion will sponsor several this
summer, and Powers will teach
break-dancing May 18-19, at
Hayward Field as part of the Im
agination Celebration.
Whether a fad or trend,
breakin' has captured the na
tion's imagination, though few
believe it will continue as a
lasting art form.
"It will die out in a year or so,
or take a new form," Powers
says.
Shell agrees, but also believes
that it will leave an impact."lt
will probably dwindle out as
quickly as it came," she says,
"but not before we have some
far-reaching sociological
insights."
Related story Page 8B
"Breakin'" reviewed
Page 4B