Culture
A way of life.
“Neither society nor culture could exist without the other.”
The dance community is a lifestyle within society that focuses on the interpretation of music, sound with movement. Digging deeper within that community, different genres of dance focus on particular meanings of dance. If the dance community is a culture of a group in society, a dance style would be a culture of the dance community, a subculture.
Subculture, a cultural group within a larger culture, may have similarities but still carry a variation with its culture.
Breaking is a dance style of the dance community. As a specific street dance style, it has many differences from modern dance or contemporary. No matter the type of dance, they are all still members of the way of life in the dance community.
So why is culture so important? It is influential in defining values and viewpoints. These definitions provide an identity and character that anchors a feeling of belonging. When we are united, a sense of security. Having basic human social needs and safety grants time and room to focus on personal growth and elevated thinking.
There are rules, prototypes, and customs that identify a part of the community in hip-hop and breaking culture. From how we dress to regulations and mannerisms in competition, abiding and participating in these patterns shows others outside our culture.
Hip-hop, coming from ghettos and poverty neighborhoods, often exaggerates or boasts our ego, encouraging dancers to behave braggadocious demeanors or movements. A confident or arrogant approach diminishes the history of poverty and empowers dancers in the present that we are the best or most significant.
Being dressed to impress also shows off our successes. When we feel good, we dance well. The fashion is not only supportive to the athleticism of breaking. It is a badge of belonging. Proving you are the best by dressing the part continues to support the idea of being confident and accomplished.
The music supporting breaking is originally soulful funk breaks from music in the late 60s and 70s, such as James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire, and more. Breaks or breakdowns in songs were looped by DJs in the hip-hop community, providing looping rhythms for dancers to express themselves. Knowing the music and studying the sounds you “break” shares the culture of these musicians, often minorities, and their own lifestyle. In the dance, we begin to mimic the music for the instruments and the lyrics as well. When hip-hop artists began rapping, the words can be interpreted by breakers, telling the song’s story and the dancer’s own interpretation. Music is the language that speaks to our dance.
As music speaks to us, we must have a vocabulary in our dance to express ourselves. Establishing skills and techniques builds a foundation to be able to communicate with one another. The moves and movements are words to speak for our history, character, and beliefs. Building the skills in breaking is like learning words to a language to speak, and the ideal or story you tell with your dance is the sentence for others to understand. When you have the technique and skills, concepts are grasped by others in the culture.
All of these parts come together to cultivate hip-hop and breaking culture. While breaking is a part of the hip-hop culture, they are also a subculture of society’s dance culture and community.
“Culture opens the sense of beauty.” — Emerson
Existing in life can be dull if we do not have a culture to sharpen our view.
