On monday September 20th! I discovered the HRC, a dance academy specialing in bboying, house dancing, locking, girl style, and LA style. Conveniently located 4 blocks from my hotel I was overjoyed to easily find it after looking it up on google maps.
I am suprised to recognize that since I began my bboy career at age 16 I have been participating in a global culture, interestingly enough I had early on recognized that there were bboys in other countries. Yet the mind frame that could hold what the rest of the available meaning in that realization was not only there. In fact only last night did I further that I realization in a way that I thought might have been possible. I hail from berkeley, in berkeley theres a well established session, I have mainly practiced there my bboy career. I orignially learned from someone whos is Japanese, met and battled a person from france there, remember enoying some nice fellows from canada. The two fellows from canada I distinctly remember hearing how they had been meeting bboys all along the way and remember wanting to do the same bboy tour. It is not uncommon for bboys to fly from home to be apart of a large gathering, a battle or a week of workshops.
It is even more common for american bboys to be flown out to judge or battle elsewhere, while I do not know how non american bboys are flown to other countries I had been aware of the international travel of certain accomplished bboys. Its as easy as www.bboyworld.com to find the international site and hub for bboy activities. Being here in taiwan and discovering the dance culture and participating from another side allowed me to really drop into the truth around what is it to have a global bboy culture. Not only that but what is to figure heads, people who rise up through the culture and the administer their bboy services, by judging for example. Walking into another near by dance studio I witnessed a poster for a recent battle only to notice a friend from the bay area had just been in town judging a competition here in Taiwan. Someone I've practiced with many times in the culture, immediately does not awaken me to the interconnectedness of the bboys around the world, but also the availability of a lifestyle. In the coming months a bboy holland is coming to taiwan to host a battle, a community of bboys I am familiar with due bboyworld.com.
Not only is their motivated citizens in this community, there is inter-regional, national networks, there is a translinguistic, kinesthetic language. Project funding, natural hierarchies, online social networking + information storage, a community of practice.
The level of skill present at the HRC was world class. One of the bboys I met, and a host of others had just come from california, namely San Francisco to battle in an event called All The Way Live, here the battled bboys familiar to me, and made it to the finals qualifying the bboys from Taiwan as top quality. One who I was talking to was one of the judges, and pointed out a younger fellow of 18 years old who "best bboy in taiwan." This man is quite obviously spectacular, I mention this for a specific reason, namely to feature the amazing tale of the contemporary bboys since the beginning even the drive to succeed, better ones self, increase complexity and capacity has been a individual drive. There is no formal higher education system for the bboy culture as of yet, though there is strong communal support, and an ability to thrive on ones own. The heights that individuals achieve through this artform is epic nothing short of remarkable. I asked the Taiwanese bboy just mentioned who judged the battle in San Francisco for better practice habits and he went to respond that hes been to 36 countries witnessing bboys and every where he went the practice habits are different, he further offered advice paralleling information heard many times over, namely find your way. And while what I was hoping for was an objective approach to skill building he offered me the inter-subjective in a way that was inspiring, I felt more relaxed and willing to rediscover my talents as a dancer.
More as the story unfolds...
