Expanding The Scene: Gen 2 New School Dancers

What will it take to raise the skill level of street dance worldwide? Bboyin’, poppin’, and lockin’ are entering into our pop culture lingo. And there is a growing “laboratory” of dance ideas being exchanged online as filmmaker Jon M. Chu described at the LXD performance at TED 2010. But in today’s scene, it seems unlikely that a newbie popper can reach the level of a Madd Chadd or a Frantick without guided instruction and consistent training within a strong community. Even in southern California, the strongest and most progressive street dancers are being created through a combination of intense practice sessions, personal mentoring by the OGs, and regular battling experience. Can we expect a greater number of high-level street dancers to emerge now than in the past?

What usually happens is that a few, dedicated students will rise to the height of the their skill level because they persevered and pursued their craft no matter the cost. Everyone else who doesn’t commit falls to the wayside. We’re see this happening right now with the Gen 2 dancers coming from Orange County. Several of them started in the collegiate hip hop choreo scene. They got bitten by the bug and sought out sessions spots such as Homeland, J.U.i.C.E or Saint City Session to further their skills. Meanwhile, their less-committed peers don’t engage these resources and thereby fall behind in their growth as dancers. In the early 2000s, it seemed that several of the Gen 1 new school were coming from the rave and drum n’ bass scene. Now, it’s schools like UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton that are starting points for Gen 2 street dancers.

To expand our scene, we need Gen 2 to step up and seek proper instruction from the OGs. We need OGs to be more available and generous with their time to teach. Gen 2 can’t simply rely on Youtube for their street dance education. It’s a legitimate place to get your first exposure to the culture, but don’t limit yourself to viral videos. And there has to be more opportunities created for OGs to travel and teach worldwide. Right now, there are Gen 2 dancers in far reaches of the world who have no personal access to other dancers. They’re starving for truth.

Our OGs can play a crucial role in these Gen 2 dancers’ lives as mentors and creative inspiration. The future progress of our culture depends on how far these Gen 2 dancers can push themselves. Right now, it may by fun to just dance in a collegiate club without seriously challenging yourself. But if you want to grow and push the envelope, you have to treat it as seriously as finding a job. You must seek out OGs who are willing to teach. You have to challenge yourself. The future is truly in your hands.