Rock City Crew

Last updated

The Rock City Crew (also known as the X-Treeme Team) were a group of breakdancers based in Nottingham in the 1980s. The crew was founded by Rock City [1] nightclub DJ Jonathan Woodliffe. Woodliffe was involved in starting the successful Saturday afternoon hip hop jams at Rock City [2] as well as the club night on Fridays which attracted people from across the UK. The Saturday afternoon jams were initially set up at the request of Trent FM, who later pulled out, and provided an opportunity for young kids to display their dancing skills.

The Rock City Crew battled against breakdancing crews from across the country including crews with then to be legends such as drum and bass producer Goldie [3] (West Side Crew and Bboys) and Take That member Jason Orange [4] (Street Machine and Broken Glass Street Crew).

The 1983 crew members were:

Members of the Rock City Crew were reunited during the making of the documentary film NG83 - When We Were B Boys which charts the rise of hip hop culture in 1980s Britain. They are also mentioned in John Robb's book 'The North Will Rise Again' [5] which charts the history of music in Northern England.

Trix (a.k.a. Albert Thompson) went on to present the Channel 4 programme 'Trash Talk' [6] and is regarded as a breakdancing legend. He continues to host breaking competitions around the world. Pepper T (a.k.a. Priscilla Angelique) went on to dance on TV shows like Dance Energy [7] and Solid Soul. [8] She became an academic, studying at Cambridge University among other universities and is a singer songwriter and dance music producer.

Related Research Articles

<i>Kung fu</i> (term) Martial art

In general, kung fu/kungfu refers to the Chinese martial arts also called wushu and quanfa. In China, it refers to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial arts. The Chinese literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" would be 中國武術 zhōngguó wǔshù.

<i>Beat Street</i> 1984 film by Stan Lathan

Beat Street is a 1984 American drama dance film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s, breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti.

Korean hip hop, also known as K-hip hop, is a subgenre of hip hop music from South Korea. Korean hip hop is distinguished from American hip hop by not only sound and language, but also by the culture from which the music is made.

New Zealand Hip Hop derives from the wider hip hop cultural movement originating amongst African Americans in the United States. Like the parent movement, New Zealand hip hop consists of four parts: rapping, DJing, graffiti art and breakdancing. The first element of hip hop to reach New Zealand was breakdancing, which gained notoriety after the release of the 1979 movie The Warriors. The first hip hop hit single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, became a hit in New Zealand when it was released there in 1980, a year after it was released in the United States. By the middle of the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti art were established in urban areas like Wellington and Christchurch. By the early 1990s hip hop became a part of mainstream New Zealand culture.

Chinese hip hop

Chinese hip hop is a relatively new phenomenon in Chinese music. Some of the earliest influences of hip-hop in came from films such as Beat Street (1984) which entered China on video tape via embassy workers or foreign businessmen and their families.

Hip-hop dance street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music and a unique dance form

Hip-hop dance refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles primarily breaking which was created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop mainstream exposure. The dance industry responded with a commercial, studio-based version of hip-hop—sometimes called "new style"—and a hip-hop influenced style of jazz dance called "jazz-funk". Classically trained dancers developed these studio styles in order to create choreography from the hip-hop dances that were performed on the street. Because of this development, hip-hop dance is practiced in both dance studios and outdoor spaces.

<i>Breakin</i> 1984 film by Joel Silberg

Breakin' is a 1984 American breakdancing-themed comedy-drama film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Charles Parker and Allen DeBevoise, based on a story by Parker, DeBevoise and Gerald Scaife.

Mr. Wiggles Street dancer

Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente is a street dancer, noted for his popping skills. He is a member of the Rock Steady Crew, The Electric Boogaloos, Tribal Click, Zulu Nation, and TC5, also known as The Cool Five or The Crazy Five. Wiggles has been active as a dancer, actor, choreographer, dance instructor, music producer and graffiti artist.

Breakdancing Style of street dance

Breaking, also called breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance from the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, breakdancing mainly consists of four kinds of movement: toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes. Breakdancing is typically set to songs containing drum breaks, especially in hip-hop, funk, soul music and breakbeat music, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.

Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, also known as The Freeze To Please, was an American old school hip hop b-boy known as a member of the second generation of the hip hop/breakdancing group, Rock Steady Crew.

Ken Swift is a second generation B-boy, or breakdancer, and former Vice President of the Rock Steady Crew of which he was a longtime member and key figure. He is now President of the Breaklife and VII Gems Hip Hop movement in NYC. Ken Swift began B-Boying in 1978 at the age of twelve when he was inspired by dancers on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Widely known in the B-Boy world as "the Epitome of a B-Boy," he is universally considered by B-Boys to be the individual who has had the greatest influence on break dancing. Ken Swift is credited with the creation of many dance moves and terminology. His original footwork and "freeze style" became a foundational part of breaking, which were considered new concepts at the time.

Asian hip hop is a heterogeneous musical genre that covers all hip hop music as recorded and produced by artists of Asian origin.

Hokuto Konishi, also known as Hok or Hawk or Falcon, is a member of the American hip-hop dance crew Quest Crew and was a finalist on the third season of the American reality television show So You Think You Can Dance.

Dominic Kyle Sandoval, better known as D-Trix, is an American dancer, YouTube personality, and dance competition judge. He is a member of Quest Crew and former member of Fallen Kingz.

America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former American Idol judge Randy Jackson. The series premiered on February 7, 2008, on MTV. It was originally developed for NBC as World Moves.

Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew. They made their first few appearances individually on shows like So You Think You Can Dance and at events such as Kollaboration 8 and World of Dance. They helped with the choreography for well-known artist LMFAO and have previously toured with them as well. On August 29, 2015, Quest Crew was declared all-star champions of Season 8 of America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC) receiving $100,000 and the ABDC trophy again. This is the crew's second time being declared champion of MTV's hit show.

Hip-hop theater theatrical genre

Hip-hop theater is a form of theater that presents contemporary stories through the use of one or more of the four elements of hip-hop culture—b-boying, graffiti writing, MCing (rapping), and DJing. Other cultural markers of hip-hop such as spoken word, beatboxing, and hip-hop dance can be included as well although they are not always present. What is most important is the language of the theatrical piece and the plot's relevance to the world. Danny Hoch, founder of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, further defines it as such: "Hip-hop theatre must fit into the realm of theatrical performance, and it must be by, about and for the hip-hop generation, participants in hip-hop culture, or both."

History of hip hop dance

The History of Hip-Hop dances encompasses the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of early hip-hop dance styles, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. African Americans and Latino Americans created uprock and breaking in New York City. African Americans in California created locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping—collectively referred to as the funk styles. All of these dance styles are different stylistically. They share common ground in their street origins and in their improvisational nature.

Ana Garcia, better known by her stage name Rokafella, is a breakdancer, dance teacher, poet, musician, and entrepreneur. She has been credited as being a female break dance pioneer and influencing the new generation of B-Girls and B-Boys.

Feminist activism in hip hop is a feminist movement based by hip hop artists. The activism movement involves doing work in graffiti, break dancing, and hip hop music. Hip hop has a history of being a genre that sexually objectifies and disrespects women ranging from the usage of video vixens to explicit rap lyrics. Within the subcultures of graffiti and breakdancing, sexism is more evident through the lack of representation of women participants. In a genre notorious for its sexualization of women, feminist groups and individual artists who identify as feminists have sought to change the perception and commodification of women in hip hop. This is also rooted in cultural implications of misogyny in rap music.

References

  1. ↑ "The History of Rock City". Leftlion.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  2. ↑ "Left Lion Interview with DJ Jonathan". Leftlion.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Drum n bass producer Goldie". backtotheoldskool.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  4. ↑ Robb, John (2006-10-24). "Guardian Newspaper Article: Jason Orange". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  5. ↑ "John Rodd: The North Will Rise Again". Aurum Press Ltd. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. ↑ "BFI Database Entry for Trash Talk". ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  7. ↑ "BFI Database Entry for Dance Energy". ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  8. ↑ "BFI Database Entry for Solid Soul". ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.