Matching Items (2)
Description
This document outlines the formation and development of Worth the Weight, or WTW, a platform that seeks to sustain the Breaking community in Phoenix, Arizona and connect the generations by bringing them together in a newly and never before seen event in Breaking, an all weight class and division competition. In the last five to ten years there has been a noticeable decline in the local Breaking community, in part due to the introduction of new dance categories, economic and social changes, the cross over of academia and traditional studios in Phoenix; all combining to create a lack of longevity in veterans of the culture to pass on the tools of the trade to the next generation.
WTW is an event that occurs monthly for three consecutive months followed by a month off, totaling nine events and three seasons per calendar year. At each event dancers go head to head in battle in a single elimination style bracket, where they will add a loss or win to their overall season record. The goals of WTW are self-empowerment as well as ownership and investment in the community by those involved through participation in both the event and the planning process; all built on a foundation of trust within the Breaking community. This researcher has thirty years of direct involvement in the Breaking culture with twenty-two of those years as a practitioner in Phoenix, Arizona and co-founder of Furious Styles Crew, Arizona’s longest running Breaking crew. The development of WTW was drawn from this experience along with interviews and observations of Breaking communities worldwide. WTW intends to provide a reliable and consistent outlet during a time of instant gratification, allowing a space for self-discovery and the development of tools to be applied beyond movement. It is hoped that the format of WTW will be a model that can be adapted by other Breaking communities worldwide.
WTW is an event that occurs monthly for three consecutive months followed by a month off, totaling nine events and three seasons per calendar year. At each event dancers go head to head in battle in a single elimination style bracket, where they will add a loss or win to their overall season record. The goals of WTW are self-empowerment as well as ownership and investment in the community by those involved through participation in both the event and the planning process; all built on a foundation of trust within the Breaking community. This researcher has thirty years of direct involvement in the Breaking culture with twenty-two of those years as a practitioner in Phoenix, Arizona and co-founder of Furious Styles Crew, Arizona’s longest running Breaking crew. The development of WTW was drawn from this experience along with interviews and observations of Breaking communities worldwide. WTW intends to provide a reliable and consistent outlet during a time of instant gratification, allowing a space for self-discovery and the development of tools to be applied beyond movement. It is hoped that the format of WTW will be a model that can be adapted by other Breaking communities worldwide.
ContributorsMagaña, Jorge Edson (Author) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Thesis advisor) / Schupp, Karen (Committee member) / Gabbert, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
A Framework For Framing is an evolutionary outcome of the innovative continuum and creative energy of Hip Hop culture and street dance. Framing is a unique Tracing technique developed and codified by Vo Vera, a Bboy and experimental street dancer. Framing uses the hands as tools to interact with lines and points in space. An 11-rule framework identifies, defines, and distinguishes the vocabulary, technique, and theory from other techniques and movement practices. An intrinsic aspect of the technique is the act of constantly and subjectively changing the grid every time the hands Frame, which Vo Vera defines as Gridlining. Similar to the frameworks of Threading and Connects, Framing movement vocabulary may serve to add onto the Bounce, Rock, and Groove, and to add as layer over one’s own movement, such as over Top Rocks and Footwork. This thesis documents the process of Framing technique’s development, kinesthetically, somatically, pedagogically, theoretically, and methodologically. It explores the lineages, communities and practices that influenced and expanded the development of the technique, including Vogue, Hip Hop, Breaking, Trace Waving, Threading, and Connects. It also documents the roles that Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Forsythe Technique had in expanding the conceptualization process of development. As a qualitative research study, Framing was used in various instructional and performative settings as the staple vocabulary. The developments of the research were analyzed through the traditional street dance lens, and through the lens of LMA. Developments included over 100 Framing moves––or movement patterns that were generated in alignment with the rules, to provide an indubitable proof of concept that not everything in dance has been done, and that the expressionist, transformational spirit of Hip Hop continues to thrive.
Keywords: Breaking, Break Dance, Connects, Dance Technique, Dance Theory, Experimental Dance, Forsythe Technique, Framing, Freestyle Dance, Hip Hop, Improvisation, Laban Movement Analysis, Language Movement Synthesis, Movement Analysis, Somatics, Street Dance, Threading, Trace Vogue, Waving.
ContributorsSapienza, Angelo Vo Vera (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Magaña, Edson (Committee member) / Aprahamian, Serouj (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023