I just found this rad video on one of my favorite blogs, A Time To Get. It's this crazy dance form called Turfing. It's like pop and lock x 10.
POP CULTURE LESSON OF THE DAY: Turfing
- TURF stands for "Taking Up Room on the Floor" and was coined by Turf dancer Jeriel Bey.
- It originated up north in Oakland, CA when kids were literally "Dancin' in the Street" in the words of Martha and The Vandellas. They would bust moves at house parties and in alleyways.
- It started in the 1960's and made a comeback with a fury in the 90's.
- Jeriel and his company The Architeckz promoted TURF dancing and started "Lourd of The Rings", the first 1-on-1 freestyle battle of Turfing between cities: Oakland vs. LA.
- According to an article by Lisa Hix in the San Fran Chronicle, it was used as a way to settle disputes between members of different turfs in the Oakland community. Nothing like a good old fashioned dance off to settle things right! If only a dance off could solve the problems we've got today.
- The first Turfing video sensations were Rawnay, Yun Shep and Dav 2.0 thanks to artists/filmers Keak da Sneak, Baby Bash and E-40.
- Turfing dance elements include popping, locking, miming, and optical illusions.
- It's basically awesome.
A fun little documentary about "The Architeckz."
Want to learn? Instructional videos here! I'm so watching these tonight. There's nothing like a good dance circle, and I can't think of anything that would make people want to form one more than this. I'm pretty positive my white hips and limbs won't move this way, but a girl can dream.
Listening to: The Black Angels' "Telephone"
These guys are an awesome gritty band from Austin. Why is Austin so cool? One day I will experience it first hand.
Listening to: The Black Angels' "Telephone"
These guys are an awesome gritty band from Austin. Why is Austin so cool? One day I will experience it first hand.
Amy: I notice you have an extraordinary grasp of the '60s era for a young person. How did you acquire this knowledge? Have you studied pop culture in college? Are you self taught?
ReplyDeleteI really just think it was one of the ultimate eras! So I like learning about it. I didn't take any pop culture classes, I just come accross the knowledge through music, documentaries, Rolling Stone articles, blogs, you name it! You teach pop culture right?
ReplyDeleteYes. However, you seem to know a ton on the subject, and you have the intrinsic artistic vision of the era that I can't express visually. The public should see more of your work!
ReplyDeleteJJ, thank you! That means a lot to me from a true scholar of pop culture! I wish your classes weren't all the way in FL so I could take one!
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