Changes: Street Dancers Crossing Borders

One of the brightest examples of today’s “Gen II” new school generation is the cross-pollination between different dance cultures. We’re seeing street dancers broadening their horizons by joining hip hop choreo teams. Culture Shock LA and Poreotics are good examples of teams with solid street dancers. And we’re see choreo dancers learning foundation to enhance their poppin’, lockin’, and bboyin’ skills. Kaba Modern and Pac Modern are teams who have shown these influences in their routines. Finally, we’re also finding more younger dancers embracing consistent training in several styles so that they have become monsters on the dance floor.

Several factors have led to this cross-pollinating phenomenon. First, we can take a look at the rise of the hip hop choreo community since the early 1990s with Kaba Modern, Pac Modern, and Team Millenia hitting the college circuit. This culture created the growing numbers of choreo teams that practice on campuses, compete at showcases, and are surrogate families for their members. Second, the street dance culture expanded from its obscurity in the early 2000s with the “Gen I” new school arriving. They paved the way for the Gen II new school to get exposed to street styles. With the hip hop choreo scene and the street scene growing in tandem, it’s obvious to see how dancers would start to jump between both worlds. Finally, the breaking down of geographic and cultural borders between dancers has helped new schoolers to not limit themselves in learning only one style. It’s as if we’re taking on these styles without any of the cultural or social baggage they had in the 1980s and 1990s.

Our Gen II new school is also capable of multi-tasking. They live in a world with constant visual media influences that bombard them from television, film, and the online world. Perhaps this hyper-visual sensitivity has encouraged this cross-pollinating phenomenon. Today, we want to learn as many styles as possible in the shortest amount of time. Our learning curves are more accelerated than our predecessors. Primed to receive multiple stimuli from their environment, Gen II dancers are changing the way we approach training in these styles.

The idea of an all-around street dancer isn’t impossible. While there will always be specialists in particular styles, a Gen II dancer can now aspire to be a well-rounded, all styles superstar. The opportunities to train in different styles are more available. And it’s perceived that more doors could open for you if you train in multiple styles. It’s a brave new world for Gen II.