Earlier today, Phillip "Pacman" Chbeeb posted a video of a showcase he did in Canada. The video is titled "The Appetizer." For most of the dance-viewing public, Pacman has been seen on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance and has gained attention through his solo videos, collaborations with other dancers like Moon and Hok, and his affiliation with Houston choreo team, Marvelous Motion. The "Appetizer" video is hosted on Pacman's Youtube channel and the description details it as a demonstration of different styles. But is this a showcase of different styles or a fusion of styles creating something new?
You can see The Appetizer video here:
Is Pacman doing poppin'? Bone breaking? Waving? It's hard to categorize what Pacman does as poppin' according to foundation established by OGs from the LA scene. He doesn't display hitting technique - the constant tensing and relaxing of muscles to the beat - that you'd see in dancers like Frantick, Madd Chadd, Jrock, and Pandora who are visible in mainstream media. Without hitting, it's hard to get the feel of poppin' in your dance. Pacman shows great flexibility which could be influenced by the flexers from Brooklyn. But it's possible that the originators of flexing might question if he is just taking a flexible move and making it part of his set without including other elements of their dance. And when it comes to waving, Pacman has spawned many imitators worldwide on the Youtube landscape with his quick arm waves that ripple in and out, but the mechanics seem to be different from OG wavers like Mr. Smooth, Coco, and Waveomatic or newschoolers like PopNTod, Funktion, and Jsmooth. When you watch these other wavers, you'll see the smooth, deep waves that have clean isolations.
What Pacman has achieved as a solo dancer in terms of exposure and connecting with an audience is admirable. He has made all the right moves to get his name out there and to be seen. But it can be problematic if an uninformed audience starts to label what he does as solely "poppin" or "bone breaking" or "waving." Here's the issue. He may be doing moves that are similar to or inspired by these styles, but are the feels and grooves of these styles in his dance? Doesn't this cause confusion for a future generation of dancers when they want to learn the history and foundation of street styles and discover that Pacman is doing something different?
This is where we have to make a distinction and create a dialogue. Pacman has the freedom to dance anyway he wants to, but if an audience labels it as a particular established style, this will actually confuse the growth of our street dance and hip hop culture. It would be less confusing if we saw what Pacman does as a new style - something that isn't specifically poppin', bone breaking, or waving. Give it a new label. Allow it to grow and mature and establish its own foundation.
We're left with the realization that no style ever results from just one dancer's contributions. It always takes a community and a collaboration of many dancers working together. There may be individuals who stand out and become leading innovators, but creativity is never done in isolation. Poppin', lockin', and breakin' are all examples of this amazing growth. For Pacman, he is part of a new generation of dancers that aren't exactly representing these street styles. But they are taking influences from street styles while fusing it with other things that interest them. There are no OGs in their world to correct them, challenge them, or show them how it was originally done. This is symptomatic of the choreography world that Pacman inhabits. So without the guidance of a mentoring generation, these new dancers can do whatever they want to do. It's exciting and also potentially confusing for others.
If what they do becomes a newly established style, it will have to stand the test of time by creating foundation and a distinctive feel. The style has to be a unique expression of music that allows dancers to communicate with each other in a cypher. This is one of the key qualities that distinguishes street styles from the individual style of a choreographer. Breakin', poppin', lockin', waackin', house, krumping, flexing are all styles where their dancers can truly converse with each other. A choreographer who teaches in a studio can create their own style and flavor but it falls flat if two dancers don't know the "grammar" and can't converse with it.
So ask yourself this: can you have a dialogue with another dancer using your newly created style? And can an informed audience understand the dialogue as a true conversation?
I just like that he's getting down to dubstep music. That style needs its own dance. Maybe it will inspire some kids.
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