NUS students were treated to a masterful display of flips, head spins and fancy footwork by renowned local breakdance group Radikal Forze at a workshop held at the Cultural Activities Club Dance Studio on Mar 9.
Organized by the NUS B-boy Club in conjunction with Red Bull, the workshop aimed to educate newcomers and enthusiasts alike on several basic moves in breakdancing, also known as B-boying.
Approximately 20 participants were taught basic skills in Toprock, Footwork, Power Moves and Freeze – all essential components in B-boy battles, while crew members also shared their experiences on battling in competitions as well as performances to the enlightened crowd.
Business freshman Matthew Kang reflected well on the workshop, which was the first of its kind on campus. Being a neophyte to the B-boy concept, he felt a need to learn from the best.
“I think it’s (the workshop) cool, and as for newcomers to B-boy, I believe that you require expert advice and guidance during lessons like these in order to get the most out of the learning curve,” said Kang.
NUS B-boy Club President Dennis Ong was satisfied with the turnout of the event.
“This is a very good outreach programme initiated by the Red Bull people to all the universities,” said the mechanical engineering freshman. “It allows us, university students, to understand more about street culture because I believe there are still some misconceptions about the idea of street culture.”
Ong pinpointed parents’ stereotypical association of B-boy with delinquency as one common misconception.
He said, “Because street cultures evolved mainly from the ghettos of the South Bronx in New York, people still have a lot of negative connotations relating street culture to delinquency.
“Actually some parents are still against the idea of letting their kids learn breakdancing as they believe it is a ‘gang-oriented’ form of activity. We are here to clear the air of misconception amongst the parents.”
Ong also highlighted that there had been problems organizing B-boy events on campus in the past, adding that it was only recently that the university administration had approved the creation of a B-boy club.
“My seniors tried to found a B-boy club in NUS but sadly, NUS was very much against the idea.
“I guess they (university administration) were not convinced that the club could add value to the students,” said Ong.
While Felix Huang, crew leader for Radikal Forze, concurred with Ong, he remained positive on the future of B-boy culture and said there is a need to impart knowledge and skills to younger generations of keen learners.
Huang said, “The response has been not too bad. It’s not big amounts of students that we’re getting. At least it’s something that we can help to spread – the right B-boy techniques and art form to the right people.
“B-boy has been in Singapore since the 80s. Although it died down after awhile, the second wave has revived the scene. Definitely, our dance is growing a lot and some new kids are really good.”
Red Bull Student Brand Manager Delroy Fong said that although similar workshops are unlikely to be held on campus anytime soon, Red Bull and the NUS B-boy Club aim to work together in the future to garner more support from enthusiasts and newcomers alike to expand the B-boy network on campus.
“There are four parts to this – we are pretty much at the end of it already. Unfortunately there will be no B-boy workshops soon.
“I think this event was very specific as we are targeting the B-boy scene. Since the scene is relative small in NUS, I was very much satisfied with the turnout,” said the mechanical engineering sophomore.
The workshop was part of a university series which included workshops held in Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University. |
