a quick thought
a friend of mine once said that bboy txt (Angels of Death, SLC) told him that in order to get past prelims, you had to differentiate yourself from the pack. you had to prove to the judges why you deserve a spot in the top16 - why the judges should want to see you continue to dance.
strangely, my friend specifically mentioned “being funny” and having a character in order to move on.
while i don’t disagree that you need to stand out in order to get past prelims, i pose this question: why do bboys think that being “funny” is the best way to stand out? when we think of unusual styles, many of them tend to be humorous (i.e. wealthy’s wave, isaiah’s foot-head pushing move, atasuki’s…entire style, shangri-la crew’s “sushi style”). perhaps some unusual styles are humorous because they are unusual rather than the other way around, but in theory a style shouldn’t require comedy to stand out.
if dancing is to reflect our “inner-self”, doesn’t that mean that our styles should indeed all be unique?
i think i will spend some time tomorrow to think about what it really means to be me.
