Category Archives: Bboy

Dance Connects Cultures- Interview with Masanori Fujita

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Masa8Where did you learn to dance? And which style of dance did you start with?

I started breakdancing nine years ago in Osaka, Japan.  From the first time that I saw the amazing technique put in the dance, I was totally hooked.  So, the next day, I went to a dance school to learn and I also practised on the street.

After I came to Canada, I just practised breakdancing first.  I didn’t know Hustle at that time. But at some of the events, some of the dancers were doing hustle. I saw it and thought I really wanted to learn to dance it. Everyone looked like they were really enjoying it. So that’s what made me start dancing Hustle. Continue reading →

World Dance- by Ryan Morrissette

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“My goal is

just to make

the whole world

dance”

~ Ryan Morisette

 

 

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La Época Interview- Part 2

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Part 2- Josué Joseph- On Family, Freedom and Inspiration

(Click here to read La Época Interview Part 1- Josué Joseph- On Faith, Music and Talent)

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In Part 1 of this interview, you talked about growing up with the influence of your father- the great bassist Alfonso Panamá. You mentioned how he was always practising and surrounding you with music, making it just a part of your everyday life.   But did you ever go through that stage of NOT wanting to be a musician BECAUSE your father was one?  Often, kids try to purposely get away from doing what their parents did.  Did you ever go through that or was it always just something that you wanted to do?

I feel like I’m in that movie Slumdog Millionaire, because every answer that I give you comes from a story (laughs).  So here’s another one:

When I was growing up, my parents did not force any of us to study music.  But when I was four years old, we moved to a new house. And in this new house, there was a piano already there.  So music just came to us.  Taking piano lessons was just normal. My brother did it, my other brother did it, and it passed down to me. It became something that I thought was just something you do.

Continue reading →

Help Send Ryan to Italy!

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DANCING WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS
Ryan2 - 2015
Ryan Morissette is truly an inspiration to us all. This young dancer not only
rips it up on stage when he performs, but he spends time sharing his art through teaching other kids. He also helps raise money for various charities, AND, what a powerful role model he is to guys who might want to dance but are not always encouraged to because of old gender stereotypes.
Ryan dances at a very high level, competing, training, performing, all the while battling a disease that he has had since he was a child.  But Dance, for Ryan, is healing. It is his medicine.
“I have tattooed on my arm ‘Music is my cure’ and that’s exactly how I feel when I am dancing,” says Ryan Morrissette.
[When I am dancing], “I feel like I don’t have CF. I can just be myself.”

Continue reading →

“My goal is… just to make the world dance.” -Ryan Morrissette

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“Those who say it cannot be done shouldn’t interrupt the people doing it.”

– Chinese Proverb

This is definitely one of my favourite quotes because it continues to remind me of the power of our own inner strength, despite the obstacles we might face.  But what I love the most is meeting people who prove to be amazing examples of this- those individuals who, because of their own will, passion, and courage, manage to go beyond what they might normally be thought capable of doing, and then often inspire others to do the same.

Little did I know that one of these individuals, who I had the pleasure of meeting  recently, Ryan1would be a young teen- Ryan Morrissette.  Ryan, a member of the hip hop crew Freshh,  is a talented, charismatic dancer whose energy is well, … contagious, to say the least.  His hard hits, quick and clean moves, and overall enthusiasm on stage definitely draw the attention of his audiences.   But even off stage, Ryan seems to often be found smiling and sharing a positivity with friends and strangers alike that is truly refreshing.  So when I heard that this young dancer has been dealing with a serious health condition since the age of two, I couldn’t believe it. You’d just never know that Ryan has Cystic Fibrosis if you saw him out there – the way he always seems to be giving it his all- whether on stage dancing, or co-emceeing and event, or just hanging out with his friends.

But that’s what Ryan does- he gives his utmost to this passion he has for dance, and to life in many ways, it seems.  In fact, rather than letting CF stop him from pursuing his love of dance, Ryan uses dance as a way to heal his condition and to reach others out there to remind them to live life to the fullest. “I wasn’t supposed to be able to do a lot of cardiovascular exercise,” says Ryan. But if you saw him out there, training, leaping, doing flips and tricks- well, Ryan has pushed through many physical obstacles that might otherwise cause another person in his shoes to not even attempt any of it.  And that kind of perseverance is extraordinary . Continue reading →

The dancer in me…- by Devan Isaac

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Devan2“Ever since I was five, maybe even younger, I guess you could say my parents saw the dancer inside me.  They’d walk into the room and I’d always be trying to do headstands or backflips on their bed.  So they said, “Why not dance?”

They enrolled me in classes, and I took to it and I just fell in love with it.

The dancers I look up to are bboys in general.  Bboys Devanand breakers all have their own style.  They all have their own flow.  It’s the way they dance and express how they feel, and just their moves in general, that is so great.  That’s hard to achieve now, since there’s Youtube and all that.  You have everyone coming up with the same style, the same kind of flow.  But with breakers, they keep it original, and that’s what inspires me.”

-Devan Isaac- age 15

-member of The Freshh Crew

Dancing Makes My Day!- by Justin Nicolas

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“The way I got into dance was through watching movies and TV shows.  I’d see all the mainstream dancing and I thought it was really cool.  So I started dancing and training. And sure, it sucks sometimes when I make plans with my friends from school and then I remember I can’t hang out with them because I have dance practice.  But then, once I come to dance, well, I kind of forget about those other plans because dance is so much fun.

Justin

The feeling I get from dancing, well, I can’t really explain it. It’s always different.  I could be happy, I could be sad.  But each time I dance, it makes me feel really good about myself.  It just makes my day.  And in our crew, we get to share that feeling with each other, as a family. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it. Because even though we’ve reached a high level, there are others out there who are better than us.  And we don’t want to just stay at the same level.  We want to get better too and be good role models. ”

– Justin Nicolas – Age 15-  member of The Freshh Crew

Props to the Pioneers – by Cezar Tantoko

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Cezar Tantoco“I started dancing, as a bboy first.  Back then, in 1984, there was no Youtube, nothing like that.  We would just see something on commercials or on TV – some breakdancing moves- and dancing looked like a positive way for us to channel our energy.

That’s how we got started, and maybe also because we thought it would help us get the girls at first (laughs).  But later, you realize there is so much more to it.  And when you get into dancing so deep, it becomes your passion.

I love dance, but it is the pioneers of Hip Hop who really inspire me.  Crazy Legs, The Rock Steady Crew,  and all the others who, despite the criticism they faced from everyone that didn’t believe in hip hop and breakdancing at the time, just kept going with it.

If it wasn’t for those guys who paved the way for us, those artists who constructed the highway for us, we wouldn’t be enjoying what we enjoy right now.”

-Cezar Tantoko- dancer, coach and choreographer

Creator of Fresh Groove Productions

To be a Bboy…

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“You don’t need to be able to do a backflip or head-spin to be a Bboy or a Bbgirl.  When I teach, I tell my kids, “If you just wanna be an ‘ill top rocker, you go and do that.” Just make sure you have the understanding of the freshness aspect, the cultural aspect, of how to share your dance and your passion with other people, because that’s what it’s truly meant for.  Dance is just to express and to share and to inspire, to bring a balance to yourself and to the community.  So if you just want footwork, do footwork!  It’s all good with me.”

– Bboy Savage Rock

(Note: This quote came from an interview with Bboy Savage and the rest of the guys in the Now or Never Crew. To read the full interview, go to Industry Dance Magazine’s website by clicking here.)