Let's rewind the clock and return to July 17, 2010. This was the day of the annual Homeland Jam in Wilmington, not far from Homeland's actual community center in Long Beach. OG BBoy Iceman, who started this event in 2005, approved the first Homeland waacking contest when it was reported that there would be a good turnout by waackers. Traditionally, we've only seen poppin' and lockin' at the Homeland Jam, which was started to give these street dancers an opportunity to shine in a scene packed with bboy jams. So on July 17, close to 40 waackers showed up at the Homeland Jam. Even girls from Osaka's Studio Myster showed up to enter as their group was visiting LA that week. In the finals, it was Ibuki from Studio Myster vs Raquel Cabrera (The Waackers) with Raquel taking the win. If you were there at the Homeland Jam, you knew this was the hottest contest at the event.
Even before the Homeland Jam 2010, waacking has been growing in popularity across Los Angeles and Orange County, especially among the new school generation of women rockin' in our scene. Kumari Suraj's group The Waackers have made themselves known at industry events, contests, and dance studios through consistent appearances and promotion in person and online. Based on the Facebook page for the upcoming Oct 29-31 LA International Waacking/Punking Festival, the Waackers and their close friends appear to be behind this event. At the weekly Homeland sessions, Tiffany "Jimini" Bong has taught waacking (along with lockin') classes, promoted by her affiliation with Culture Shock Los Angeles. Angel Ceja has also visited the open session at Homeland to teach what he describes as the punking style. In the collegiate choreography scene, dancers like Kaba Modern's Hikari Murakami are well known to include waacking-inspired elements in their routines, as seen in Boogiezone-sponsored classes and showcase performances.
So why is waacking enjoying this resurgence among a new generation of dancers? Poppin', lockin' and bboyin' have usually been male-dominated although we've seen a growth in the bgirl population from 2000-2010. Many of the new school waackers are female and are establishing their own presence and identities. The dramatic presentation, fashion, flavor, and effusive emotion behind waacking is different from what we see in other street styles. Waacking is offering something that poppin', lockin', and bboyin' haven't brought to the table. Maybe it's a unique fierceness that only waackers can understand. And because it has been championed by groups like The Waackers, this dance style can only expect to experience more growth in the future.
Can waacking grow faster than lockin' among the new school in LA? Anything is possible. Right now, we aren't seeing a consistent organization promoting lockin' in our scene. When was the last time you saw a jam that was solely devoted to lockers? We hope that these lockin'-only events are out there, but they've been hard to find. Lockin' is usually presented as a secondary contest to poppin' or bboy jams. There haven't been an influx of lockin' teachers from Europe or Asia coming to teach locally. And the most visible concentration of lockin' education has probably been Greg Campbellock Jr's lockin' camp held in Las Vegas during the summer. But with Greg's recent passing earlier this year, who will take on the lockin' cause?
This is where we could be seeing a shifting in the sands for our local street dance scene. Bboyin' remains the dominant street style and will continue to expand. Poppin' has exploded in recent years and is going strong with various promoters and top-notch crews representing. Waacking is now rapidly catching on. But lockin' remains at a status quo.
We hope that a solution is executed soon. Lockers, take notice. Who among you will champion your cause and community?
No comments:
Post a Comment