Michi Kasuga in India!

Our old friend Michi Kasuga posted a new practice session clip that he recorded in India on his blog . He was in the middle of his engineer’s training for his new job when he got the urge to dance. He’s still hitting hard, doing great slides, and I had forgotten that he could do arm- and hand waves.

Madd Chadd’s real name

A lot of traffic for this comes from google searches for Madd Chadd’s real name, so let me spill the secret.

Madd Chadd’s real name is Chad Smith.

Yes.

Raw interview: Taeko “Koi” Carroll

This is an interview with Taeko Carroll, a contestant on the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew, who runs the entertainment- and dance blog koifysh.com. She is currently a member of the crew BeastMode Crew.

How did you get into dancing, and what led you to the various styles of streetdance?

How I got into dancing and what led to my various styles of streetdance are very different (haha). My mother is a Balkan folk dance Teacher, so I grew up following her around to all her workshops and was raised in that small dance world. At 10 I told my mother I wanted to fallow her footsteps and she and my father told me if I was serious about being a dancer I had to take ballet. I hated that idea, being a tom boy as a child, but did it anyways to be able to follow my mothers path. I did ballet until I got in high school and was introduced to Hip Hop. I immediately fell in love and knew that this was what I really wanted to do.

I chose to move to LA after my first year of college to pursue dance in the industry. After 3 years of moving up in the industry Sho-Tyme stumbled upon me. He saw potential in me to be more than just an industry dancer and asked if I was interested in doing more with my dancing. Sho-Tyme was always someone that I aspired to work with because I loved his work, so I was more than ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with him.

He began to train me. First he had to strip me of all the dance info I had been installed with from the industry to be able to truly grasp the concepts of the street styles. It was a fascinating experience.I’m still to this day at the early stages of being able to do true street style dances, but Sho-Tyme was what led me to the various styles of streetdance. The only style he doesn’t train me in is Breaking… and honestly I’m cool with leaving that for all the amazing Bboys and Bgirls out there to handle 😉 I give them mad props. It’s just too much on my body… i don’t know how they do it sometimes 🙂

What led to you interview dancers and other entertainment figures?

While I was on Americas Best Dance Crew, Yuri Tag (Kaba Modern) and I were trying to figure out a way to stay in front of the camera once the show ended. We decided that we could have our own internet talk show, so thats what we did. Yuri decided after a while that she wasn’t moving in the direction she wanted to go in, so I ended up taking over and creating Koifysh.com. At first it was a way for me to stay in touch with my fans from the show, but now its more about entertaining and educating myself and my viewers.

How have your family and friends reacted to your dancing? What about your blogging and interviewing?

My family is 100% supportive. I don’t think it’s anything that they didn’t expect, considering that my mom is a dancer. I’m so grateful for them to be the biggest supporters and fans that I have. My friends also aren’t too surprised, since I’ve been dancing since I could walk, but I think its cool to them how serious I took it, and didn’t just leave it as a childhood dream or activity.

The Blogging and Interviewing on the other hand is more impressive to my family than my friends, I think I would say. I don’t think my parents realized how comfortable I was in front of the camera and how much I wanted and could create my own as a blogger/interviewer. My friends though… I think they saw more of that side of me from my social events in school and after school activities, so I think for them, it’s a natural part of me that I just put in a blog/interview form.

What are some of the most surprising pieces information or wisdom you learned by interviewing dancers?

Dang… thats a hard one… I think… the most surprising piece of information that I learned by interviewing dancers is how uneducated we all really are? Including myself. Being able to interview up and coming dancers and then going and interviewing more OG dancers… I get to really hear how the youngsters think and feel and how the OG’s think, know, and feel. Everything seems to be so jumbled these days and the true essence of what Hip Hop and all the other streetdance styles are get lost through the grapevine… This is a really deep subject… and I could go on forever and ever… but I think I’ll just leave it there and hopefully you understand what I’m trying to say.

I’ve come into contact with a lot of talented dancers from Canada. Is the Canadian dancing scene particularly vibrant?

Canadians are hungry! I love them. They care to know the truth. Take Canada’s SYTYCD, for example. compared to the [american] SYTYCD, here they have real streetdance choreographers and dancers coming in to work with the kids. I think that since they are just across the border from us, its easier for them to get opportunities to work with the best from the US… but I don’t know if I would call the canadian dance scene particularly more vibrant than the dance scenes of other countries.

Any shoutouts to any dancers we should know better?
Sho-Tyme above all. He is the truth when it comes to hip hop and streetstyle dances.

What led to the ABDC interviews, and what was the experience like?
I think I pretty much explained that in the second question… But yeah, its just a way for me to stay involved with ABDC and also be there as a support system and advice system for the new crews. ABDC was probably the best experience of my life. The 1st season was something special. There was nothing to live up to, we didn’t really know what the show was going to be like, the producers didn’t really know either. And for a lot of us, it was the first time we were exposed to all these different styles of dance.

All the crews became family instantly, all amazed by what each other could do and just being a huge support system. For us, it was about the love of dance and less the competition. We pretty much hung out and danced all day every day, unlike a lot of the crews in the seasons today where its work work work, rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal, until the day of the shoot. We had nothing to live up to, so we had more freedom to love and chill. I kind of feel bad for the crews now of days, because they have 5 seasons worth of crews to live up to and it takes that much more work to wow the viewers now.

What led to the MTV projects like your participation in MTV Made?

I was referred by the casting director of ABDC to MADE because they were looking for a Hip Hop Coach. Im actually under their usual age limit for a coach, but I think I had enough experience under my belt for them to let it slide. They contacted me, and the dates worked out, so I thought I would give it a try.

What mistake do beginners make most often in dancing, and what one advice would you give them?
Now this is something I can speak on, because I was one of these beginners who made this mistake… Know your history, search for the truth. We tend to just believe what ever is shown to us, and thats how improper information gets around. The beautiful thing about today is that we have the access of the internet to be able to research for ourselves. Be curious, and always search to find out if the information thats being provided to you is correct.
[Liquid Metal: I say Amen to that.]

What are some of the most important principles in creating a succesful internet platform for entertainment news?

Well, I could give you two answers.
One would be to say drama and gossip, because of how our society is today. People love drama and gossip. But for me, I think its time we make a change, and I think there’s a large enough mass of people who want positivity and the truth to make this change. I would say always search for the truth and always give news on what you are passionate about. People can feel the difference between news on subjects that are of no interest and B.S., compared to news given about something that is passionate and truthful by the Blogger/Host/Reporter.

What are some of your upcoming gigs and projects?

Right now I’m moving forward on my dreams of becoming a recording artist. I’m in a group called Problem Childz with a fellow dancer Sir Charles. We are in the works of releasing our first 3 singles with in the next several months. Other than that, I plan to keep training in streetdance and auditioning and booking jobs in the industry. I have some other things in the works… but they’re a secret for now 😉

Hardest question: What was your most memorable moment in dancing, and your most memorable interview moment?

My most memorable moment in dance (Other than the whole 3 months of ABDC and 3 months of being on tour with Ludacris) I would have to say was the moment I had my biggest break through in House at Deep in LA… Sho-Tyme was there and was helping me get in touch more with house, and it was just like it finally clicked, and I wasn’t just doing House vocab to the beat. I was actually DANCING house to the music. It was an amazing feeling to feel the music completely take control of my body and to just have the dance style of house come out freely. I’ll never forget how good that felt.

Check out Taeko’s accounts at Myspace and Facebook. ALso support her crew BeastMode Crew.

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New list of inspirational quotes

I’ve started putting up a list of my favourite inspiring quotes. They come not only from dancers but from all kinds of creative fields. That’s a lot of condensed wisdom. I’ll update it frequently, so check in once in a while.

New Otis Funkmeyer article on Westcoastpoppin.com

Our old friend Otis Funkmeyer started writing popping articles on westcoastpoppin.com again. You can read the entire article here, but let me give you a reader’s digest version with these three quotes that really blew my mind.

I realized recently that the way I was taught waving, the way I teach waving, the way every single person I have ever met (except PacMan) teaches the arm wave, is wrong. It’s not how the best wavers wave. Simple as that.
And it got me thinking. The best dancers are the best DANCERS. They aren’t necessarily the best teachers. But eventually, people come along and they go, shit, how do you do that?!!? And so the best dancers are forced to become teachers. But they don’t actually know how they do what they do, so they just try different ways of teaching. Eventually, one of them sticks, and they just run with it. Then their students get good and become teachers and this method, which was not necessarily even a good method, let alone the best method, becomes the standard way that things are taught.

What I’m trying to say is this. We all got taught popping wrong. The way I got taught is wrong. The way you got taught is wrong. It’s all wrong. You want the proof??? The way that people teach is NOT the way that people dance. When I was in Calgary in 2004 learning Electric Boogaloo Style Popping from Boogaloo Sam himself, he doesn’t dance like that. He doesn’t just do the fresno. He doesn’t actually dance like that. That’s just some routine he came up with. When you seen him dance, boy, that man was GANGSTA BOPPIN. Hard ass robot. Hard ass dimestops. Clean. Quick. Shakes. Everything HARD. The fresno doesn’t teach you that. It teaches you to be on beat. On rhythm. On time. Loose and funky. But not HARD.

The arm wave is the same way. All the best wavers I know curl their fingers as the wave comes out. Nobody does that dorky upside-down-V thing that is how the wave is always taught. Why? Because it doesn’t look as good. It looks better to curl your fingers on the way out.

See, the way I teach popping, the way I was taught popping, is that you should be loose and relaxed and then when it’s time to hit, you QUICKLY tense and then QUICKLY relax again. See, this is actually a very good way to teach Japanese people who can’t dance and White Americans who can dance even less than that. Because when we see popping, we get so damn tense it looks uncomfortable. But the problem is that the baby gets thrown away with the bathwater. The best dancers ALL have that tension. That’s part of the unreal looking of popping. Even boogaloo at its highest levels is dope because it DOESN’T LOOK REAL. If you don’t have the unreal, robotic, animated, gangsta look with your popping, you are partially missing the point.

Showcase: Paulo Genovesi (a.k.a. Hitman)

For some reason, I keep coming back to Canada. I was just rounding up my contacts with the Canadian lockers when I happened to catch a video of the Canadian based group The Moon Runners. They are an amazing crew, and each individual member holds up in their own unique way. The group deserves a proper introduction (and I’ll give it to them soon), but let’s focus on one of its members: Paulo Genovesi, a.k.a. Hitman.

You can see from his above videos his incredible isolation control, his waves that creep through his body, and his ability to make his botting movements look unreal. I don’t think it’s wrong to compare his qualities to those of heavyweight botters like Madd Chadd and Tyson Eberly.

The following clip not only shows Hitman’s talent, but also the spot-on choreography by the entire group. They describe the type of music that they dance to as glitch hop. The music is defined by sound effects, and the group interprets these sounds with their unreal movements.

The following clip showcases Hitman’s command of speed changes. He alternates slow movements with quick bursts of explosive movement, which then come to a dead halt just as quickly as they started. I found this his most impressive solo.

There are many other videos of him and the crew Moon Runners, and I’d advise you to check them out. You won’t regret it. Also check out Hitman’s youtube account and facebook page. The youtube account of the crew Moon Runners can be found here.

Youtube quickie: Popin Pete at Old School Night vol 10

You know what? I don’t think I properly understood how good Popin Pete’s dancing really is until I saw this clip the other day. Credit goes to hanx036 for putting this up.

Raw interview: Scramblelock (part 1)

Meet the great locker from Canada, Scramblelock. From teaching classes to organising events like Funk Fo Yo Feet, he has done so much for the dance community and deserves our gratitude. Some of my favourite dance battles came from the events he organised, and he has helped me realise how important it is to dance to the music.
The interview is divided into three parts. A link at the end of each post directs you to the subsequent part.

You write that you started bboying in 1998 as a result of facing bullying in school. How did dance help you deal with conflict?

It’s funny, one of the kids I grew up with in elementary school went from being a close friend to a bully once we got to high school. The first school dance I went to, I witnessed a bboy circle and was blown away. I knew about breakdancing since I was really young, my uncle introduced me to it in the 80s through Michael Jackson, but I had never seen it live and with that kind of energy. Then I saw that one bully go in and was really surprised. The next day he got all sorts of compliments and respect from people and it really frustrated me. I said “if he can do that, I can do it better!” Long story short, after a few months of practicing on my own when we came back to school the next year people were shocked to see I was able to break. I remember at one point even that bully came up to me and gave me props. After that I never really got picked on as much as that first year so to answer your question dance was my escape and it served to diffuse what could have been a really negative situation throughout high school. Some of my best memories in high school were meeting a really good group of friends and all of us used to practice in a hallway during lunch. That was where I formed my first bboy crew: Rubber Soulz! Much respect to those guys!

What roles do you believe that ego, competition, and aggression play in bboying and other streetdances?

First off, ego to me is a negative thing. Having an ego blinds you from seeing where you really stand skillwise. Honestly, in the street dance world, you got to be able to check your ego before you can really start learning from anyone, including yourself. However, I believe having confidence is something very different and much more important. Having confidence in yourself is one of the gifts one can gain from studying bboying, locking, popping, whatever dance you pursue. If you are honestly aware of your own abilities, I think it helps you see much more of the big picture and where you fit into the scheme of things.

As for competition and aggression they play an important role in all street dances as well. Having competition can be very motivating. It can push you to reach new levels so long as you keep it positive. I’ve always liked battles and contests not necessarily for the winning, prizes, recognition, etc. but being able to test yourself. Winning is dope but walking away knowing what you need to work on and improve is way more rewarding.

I think it’s ok to be aggressive too but there’s a time and a place for it as well. Battles can get intense sometimes whether in a contest or in the circles so sometimes you need to step up that power in your dance. Sometimes when Im dancing there’s so much going on in my mind (stress, frustration, etc) that letting out that aggression through dance is almost therapeutic too. It really comes down to knowing how to handle the aggression and being able to channel it constructively.

What were the reactions of your family and friends? Did any of them provide an influence in your dance?

Well my parents were always tough on me for wanting to dance, they always stressed me to focus more on school. They were right, of course, and I’m glad I listened to them. Finishing off my Masters in Chemistry last year was a huge accomplishment and I couldnt have done it without them. But like I said they always gave me a hard time when it came to dancing. In a way, that was really motivating though. It made me work harder to show them I can do something with dance and when they see I’ve been able to travel, teach, etc I think it really opened them up to it a bit more. We made a deal back when I was in school: Finish school, then do whatever you want. So here I am finished with school and I’m really trying to do something positive with dance.
As for the rest of my family, they were always supportive of what I was doing so I’m very thankful for that and of course I have a lot of close friends who have shown nothing but love and support since the beginning. My girlfriend has always been supportive of what I do and that also means a great deal to me.

Click here for part 2 of the interview!

Raw interview: Scramblelock (part 2)

What led you to pursue locking in 2000?

At the time locking was a mysterious dance. People were talking about it and there were a few videos I managed to find (VHS not youtube!) but there was still very little known about the dance. It was through the bboy.com forums where I first saw some interesting discussions of locking from Gemini, Richie Rich and Sundance and that really sparked interest. I wanted to learn more about this mysterious dance and see what it actually looked like as opposed to reading about it. I saw a clip of Loose Caboose doing a showcase at Freestyle Session 3 and when I saw this energy and funk, which was something very different from bboying, I was sold! A few years after I met the Fantastic Poppers from Toronto and those guys showed me tapes of The Lockers and really broke down the basic foundations of the dance. After that it was on!

You took classes from such prominent lockers like Don Campbell and Skeeter Rabbit. Which locking dancers were the greatest influence on you, and from which did you learn the most in the classes.

Much respect to all the lockers Ive been fortunate enough to have met in the last few years. They have all influenced and taught me many valuable lessons. The ones who have had the greatest influence on me are as follows:

Licorice Lloyd – my first locking teacher. He was the one that put me on to the foundations and history of locking

Richie Rich – Richie was the first locker I met when I visited LA for the first time. He told me “don’t ever let anyone tell you you are doing anything wrong, but always remain open and learn from everybody!”. Richie has a really positive approach to locking and he’s been more than just a teacher, he’s become a mentor and friend. He’s taught me a lot about battling and just getting down too.

Gemini – Gemini has been a huge influence on me. He’s like the Obi Wan Kenobi of locking. He’s done his homework and I think one of the few out there that truly understands the full picture of locking. The level he is at is ridiculous! He’s travelled and learned from many different dancers and that really inspired me to do the same. Again he is someone else who has become a mentor to me and is now a good friend too.

OG Skeet – I got in touch with the original Skeeter Rabbit late 2004 after he returned to the locking scene. The stories he’s shared and the feeling he has when he teaches/locks has really opened me up to the real roots of this dance and the true power of locking.

Loose Caboose – Caboose taught me to take my time when I dance. Many people rush through their moves but Caboose taught me to breathe and really take the time to complete my sets. He can take a few moves most people can do in 30 sec and stretch it out to 1-2min. Caboose is full of funk and when he gets down you can really feel it!

Greg Campbellock Jr (RIP) – I think he’s touched everyone in some way before he passed away earlier this year. I managed to meet up with him several times in between 2005 and 2008. He was another original in the game and everything he shared I consider gems!

Also have to mention Flo Master, Suga Pop, Fluky Luke, Don Campbell, Peekaboo, Jazzy J, Frank Boogie and Disco Dave. Much respect!

I have found a large number of talented dancers that live in Canada. Is the Canadian dance scene particlarly vibrant? How much private support and government support do the dance events receive in Canada?

Canada has a lot of talented dancers. From Vancouver to Calgary/Edmonton/Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and even out east in Halifax and Newfoundland there are dancers growing and developing. I can’t speak for the West Coast or the Maritimes since I havent been out there in a while, but I can tell you there are a lot of dope dancers in Toronto, Ottawa and especially Montreal. From bboys to poppers, lockers, waackers, krumpers, hiphop dancers and house dancers. Montreal is particularly vibrant. As for support, there is and there isn’t support for events. Just last weekend in Montreal there was a really cool Hip Hop festival called Under Pressure that unites Graf writers, MCs, DJs and bboys/bgirls. Every May there is an event called Bust A Move and it got sponsorship from the City of Montreal this year which was pretty cool. Slowly things are growing!

Click here for part 3 of the interview!

Raw interview: Scramblelock (part 3)

What is your daily training regime (including supplementary training like exercise and stretching), and has this changed significantly over the years?

Ever since I was in high school I had different training routines. Initially it was just stretching daily and doing pushups, situps, etc as well as practicing almost every day. As I got older I had more on my plate so I had to manage my time more effectively. Nowadays I try to get in 2 or 3 practices a week plus going out dancing at clubs on weekends. Montreal is pretty dope for funk jams and such, so there’s usually always somewhere nice to go dancing on weekends. In addition I had some bboys put me on the conditioning tip and Ive also been doing a training program called Insanity. The name speaks for itself.

You regularly teach classes in Montreal. Does teaching the dance to others improve your own understanding of the dance?

Absolutely! From teaching I’ve learned many many things. Not just about dance but also on how to deal with people of all sorts of age groups/backgrounds etc. From teaching others I’ve learned how to develop my own techniques for teaching, routines (and remembering routines!) It also gives you perspective and can help you see where you once may have stood as a dancer starting out. In a way it gave me a greater appreciation and respect for my teachers and the patience they must have had to school me! Teaching is a big responsibility and I take it very seriously. You can learn a lot from your students as well. I’m still a student of the dance and have my elders that I look up to and turn to for advice/support and so the motto “each one teach one” is something I try to keep in mind along this journey of dance!
I’ve also been fortunate to have taught in countries across Europe as well and out there, I learned that even if you can’t speak a certain language you speak through your dance and that is something very powerful!

What mistake do most beginners typically make, and what one advice would you give them?

“Funky” does not equal “Funny” all the time! Locking is as serious of a dance as bboying and popping and Im not saying you got to be angry but you got to be true to yourself. Dont fake the funk! Funk comes in all forms, feelings and emotions. Learning how to bring that funk out from within is something very difficult and takes years of work!
In relation to this: BE HUMBLE! Many people think they just need to learn a few moves in locking and they’ll get it, but locking is really really hard! Again, it takes years of practice and straight schooling, if you don’t stay open it’s going to be a lot harder to really develop.

Are there any dancers from the Canadian scene you would like to give a shout out to?

Shoutout to my locking partners in funk:

Treklock
Loose Canon
Boombeast
Baby L
Funky Miko
Sun

I also got to mention a slew of other dancers. Here we go!

Frank Boogie, Tony Three, Licorice Lloydd, Boogaloo Storm, Neo, Bonez, Funk Mystic, Sirreal, Popsikal Pete, Fon, Monstapop, Venom, Sam I Am, Dazl, Namo, Tash, Rick Slade, Bag of Trix, Boogie Brats, Supernaturalz, Stylordz, Canadian Floor Masters, Famous Circle, Treble, Tabu, Lazy Legz, Illmask and Fresh Format.
I also have to shout out Son of S.O.U.L., Alan Cross, Frank BLVD, Professor Groove and DJ Static of WeFunk Radio, Ruby Jane and all the Toronto and Montreal funk DJs who have been a huge influence.

Finally, the hardest question: What was your most memorable moment in dancing for you?

Most memorable would have to be the first time I went to LA on my own in 2004. I really got to see what the international dance community was all about and it was the first time I went to the Bboy Summit and Freestyle Session. After going to those two events, I knew I wanted to make dance an important part of my life, beyond just a hobby. I think it was the most memorable because it was one of the first powerful moments next to maybe the first time I decided I wanted to learn to break or lock.

Lots of memorable moments have happened since then. I have never travelled as much as I have this past year and I met so many wonderful people through dance. Being at BOTY or Juste Debout and seeing the amount of people who unite for dance is very awe inspiring. Even just simple moments like hitting up a funk club with your friends or getting a compliment by a teacher you look up to and have them say “you’re on the right track, keep it up!” is pretty memorable.

Be sure to visit Scramblelock’s website, and also take a look at his amazing Love City video.

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