If you don’t know what a monkey flair or a broken banana is come to the Recreation Hall on Albany Road today to see these and other gravity-defying breakdancing feats.
In this Valentine’s Battle, a local breakdancing crew the Bionic Breakers will compete against other local groups as they show off their breakdancing and krumping skills
.
If you don’t know what a monkey flair or a broken banana is come to the Recreation Hall on Albany Road today to see these and other gravity-defying breakdancing feats.
In this Valentine’s Battle, a local breakdancing crew the Bionic Breakers will compete against other local groups as they show off their breakdancing and krumping skills
.
Founded by learners form Mary Waters High School the Bionic Breakers have been gaining recognition since they became Border champions in 2007.
They were placed eighth in the Hip-Hop Indaba held in Cape Town in 2008 and in 2009 performed with Grahamstown Pantsula Jive on the Fringe programme at the National Arts Festival.
Together with Pantsula Jive the Bionic Breakers created Revel 8. This dance drama tells the story of a young man struggling with the temptations of drugs and alcohol after leaving his home in a rural area. While breakdancing is generally associated with guns, drugs and money the experience of the Bionic Breakers tells a different story.
Rhodes student Lauren Kent is a student at the Bionic Breakers’ dance academy which they founded in September last year. She is learning to dance while the crew helps her with her fieldwork for her Honours degree in Anthropology.
“The music industry has perverted what hiphop is really about,” she says, “it’s a non-violent way to express your frustrations. A crew is like a family, it’s a positive thing.”
Kent is exploring the interaction between dancers and their space and how life in Hoegenoeg and Extension 9 influences the way these dancers express themselves and how they influence others.
Breakdancing emerged in Harlem, New York in the 70s. Frustrated by poverty and segregation, youth turned empty parking lots and street corners into venues to express themselves.
It borrows from a variety of dance and storytelling styles transferred by the slave trade from West
Africa and the Carribean. It draws particularly from capoeira, another popular dance form born in Angola which was transformed into a martial art form by slaves in South America.
Currently the Bionic Breakers are preparing for the Battle of the Year. After qualifying nationally South African entrants have the opportunity to compete for the international title in France.
Meanwhile the crew continues to perform locally to fund their travels. The Valentine’s Battle starts at 7pm and is expected to run until late.
