Enjoy!
Watch Glow-In-The-Dark Dancers on CollegeHumor
Monday, March 30, 2009
Who Needs Light Design ...
... When you glow in the dark? Fantastic, creative choreography and synchronization. A cross between that infamous Japanese ping pong levitation skit and the Din & Tonics' black light serenade in Sanders Theater.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
GET YOUR DANCE FIX: Breakdancing in the Raw...
We invite the Harvard Breakers to perform at Eastbound almost every year and we are often guests performing at the very same shows. Yet, after so many years performing together, we've yet to scratch the surface of understanding what breakdancing is all about!
Breakdancing has flooded pop culture through TV dance shows So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew. The shows do a wonderful job highlighting and showcasing the tricks, stunts, and styles of breakdancing, but doesn't quite pick up on the culture of breakdancing.
Thanks to Curtis Chan '08, former Harvard Breakers President, I went to a breakdancing battle in Cambridge. The battle was called Battle Boutique and was hosted in a shoe store called The Attic in Central Square. Local breakdancers and breakdancing fans all streamed into the store carrying their breakdancing gear (knee pads, wrist bands, bandannas, hats, sweats, beanies). The store installed a small woodden dance floor and set up DJ turntables in the corner. With just those three elements (dance floor, music, and dancers), the battle was ready to begin!
The judges were two universally acknowledged and understood top breakers today and from way back when (Old G's). This particular battle had two sections: B-Boy and Pop and Lock. The B-Boy section was teams of two battling against each other (2v2) and the Pop and Lock section was individuals battling against each other (1v1). Almost all of the dancers were affiliated with crews and are all familiar friends and faces. Competing dancers signed up to compete and then warmed-up in turns on the dance floor waiting for the official battle to begin.
What struck me as strange was how the breakdancing world felt like a club or tribe with an understood hierarchy and way of doing things. There's a common style of dress and affinity for unique names like Megatron, Flow Boy, Gyro, Snap, O-Sheet, A-Boogie, Lady Beast, etc.) Breakdancers are true artists who respect and celebrate the art of breakdancing through dancing alone. Perhaps to subvert the potential for individuals to assume a superego, applause and cheering was rare, until a huge crowd was finally gathered. Though the battles had an implied sense of aggression and confrontation even in the more informal cypher (circle) battles, each breaker exhibits a understood respect for the other and his or her skills. The hardest thing for me to wrap my head around was the fact that nothing was choreographed! Music just continued to play and you danced however you wanted! It's difficult to explain this in words, but simply put, the breaking culture is completely different from the ballet world. Rather than continuing to drone on and try to capture my impressions in words, enjoy these videos instead! I would highly recommend going to a battle and getting a sense of breakdancing in its truest form!
Cyphering (note that there are b-girls in the bunch!)
Popping
Popping Battle (the little kid won!)
More Popping
B-girl Lady Beast Poppin'
Breakdancing has flooded pop culture through TV dance shows So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew. The shows do a wonderful job highlighting and showcasing the tricks, stunts, and styles of breakdancing, but doesn't quite pick up on the culture of breakdancing.
Thanks to Curtis Chan '08, former Harvard Breakers President, I went to a breakdancing battle in Cambridge. The battle was called Battle Boutique and was hosted in a shoe store called The Attic in Central Square. Local breakdancers and breakdancing fans all streamed into the store carrying their breakdancing gear (knee pads, wrist bands, bandannas, hats, sweats, beanies). The store installed a small woodden dance floor and set up DJ turntables in the corner. With just those three elements (dance floor, music, and dancers), the battle was ready to begin!
The judges were two universally acknowledged and understood top breakers today and from way back when (Old G's). This particular battle had two sections: B-Boy and Pop and Lock. The B-Boy section was teams of two battling against each other (2v2) and the Pop and Lock section was individuals battling against each other (1v1). Almost all of the dancers were affiliated with crews and are all familiar friends and faces. Competing dancers signed up to compete and then warmed-up in turns on the dance floor waiting for the official battle to begin.
What struck me as strange was how the breakdancing world felt like a club or tribe with an understood hierarchy and way of doing things. There's a common style of dress and affinity for unique names like Megatron, Flow Boy, Gyro, Snap, O-Sheet, A-Boogie, Lady Beast, etc.) Breakdancers are true artists who respect and celebrate the art of breakdancing through dancing alone. Perhaps to subvert the potential for individuals to assume a superego, applause and cheering was rare, until a huge crowd was finally gathered. Though the battles had an implied sense of aggression and confrontation even in the more informal cypher (circle) battles, each breaker exhibits a understood respect for the other and his or her skills. The hardest thing for me to wrap my head around was the fact that nothing was choreographed! Music just continued to play and you danced however you wanted! It's difficult to explain this in words, but simply put, the breaking culture is completely different from the ballet world. Rather than continuing to drone on and try to capture my impressions in words, enjoy these videos instead! I would highly recommend going to a battle and getting a sense of breakdancing in its truest form!
Cyphering (note that there are b-girls in the bunch!)
Popping
Popping Battle (the little kid won!)
More Popping
B-girl Lady Beast Poppin'
2005 - The year with the amazing emcees and the innovative breakers
Sadly, you can only see these amazing emcees and the breakers if you get the DVD ;) For all the other acts... they're now available on youtube!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
"Single Asians" (parody of Single Ladies)
So there's this amusing video of Yale's Mixed Company's parody of Beyonce's Single Ladies. Some interesting stereotypes mentioned.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Keep us updated!
Hey fellow alums,
In case you have performances (dance-related or otherwise) coming up, let us know!! And post pics and YouTube videos!
For example, I heard that Lisa Leung does a law school show called The Libel--go Lisa!!
This is not necessarily something to be extremely proud of, but I choreographed and taught a routine to my coworkers in Hong Kong for our company Olympics' "cheerleading competition."
The video is here: http://viv-wu.blogspot.com/2008/09/no-consolation-prize.html
-viv
In case you have performances (dance-related or otherwise) coming up, let us know!! And post pics and YouTube videos!
For example, I heard that Lisa Leung does a law school show called The Libel--go Lisa!!
This is not necessarily something to be extremely proud of, but I choreographed and taught a routine to my coworkers in Hong Kong for our company Olympics' "cheerleading competition."
The video is here: http://viv-wu.blogspot.com/2008/09/no-consolation-prize.html
-viv
Sunday, March 15, 2009
EASTBOUND 2009 DVDS....Order them Now!
Missed Eastbound 2009 or just want to keep watching your favorite dances over and over again? Order a DVD today! Click here to order!
Please make checks payable to Harvard Asian American Dance Troupe and mail the check to:
Moonlit Wang
358 Kirkland Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
Please also add $5 for shipping! E-mail mmli@fas.harvard.edu if you have any questions!
Please make checks payable to Harvard Asian American Dance Troupe and mail the check to:
Moonlit Wang
358 Kirkland Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
Please also add $5 for shipping! E-mail mmli@fas.harvard.edu if you have any questions!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Reminisce with a taste of Eastbound 2004
Hey,
I'm slowly converting old Eastbound DVDs into youtube video. 2004 (the year in which Jiajia and Mindy were captains) has just been posted up to youtube. Go check out old dances and reminisce about the good ole days at:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E329840006C26FB6
Lisa Leung
AADT alum '07
I'm slowly converting old Eastbound DVDs into youtube video. 2004 (the year in which Jiajia and Mindy were captains) has just been posted up to youtube. Go check out old dances and reminisce about the good ole days at:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E329840006C26FB6
Lisa Leung
AADT alum '07
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