Krumping

Krump dancing is a dance style that originated in South Central, Los Angeles, California. This intense and aggressive dance style was majorly influenced by Clowning. Which is a dance style founded by Tommy Johnson, also known as Tommy the Clown. Clowning was founded in the early 1990’s. After clowning, Krumping originated in the early 2000’s and the main founders were Ceasare “Tight Eyes” and Jo’Artis “Big Mijo” Ratti. Krumping is an urban dance inspired from the African-American culture and community. Krump, which means Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, also has Christian influence. Krumping was made to be a dance that released frustration and anger in a non-violent way. It was made to go against the gang and violent street life that was going on at the time as well. The street dance is more of a freestyle dance. Unlike, ballet, Krump does not have specific set moves; however it is based on the freedom and moves of the individual person. Krump was made more known to the public by documentaries “Rize”, and “Krumped” by Dave Chappelle, and the movie “Shake City 101”.

Krump dancers have battles and competitions were they meet and individually dance. One dancer describes “krumpness is an abstraction of your inner being”. The movements in Krumping include arm, heads, legs, chest, and feet movements. Also arm-swings, chest pops, stomps, and jabs. Since Krumping has become more mainstream, people have dance competitions and use Krumping more in choreography and dancing. Krump is usually performed to fast and upbeat music. Now, Krumping is used in music videos, movies, such as “Bring it On: All or Nothing” and “Stomp the Yard”, and on TV shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Best Dance Crew”. The following video clip is of Lil-C and former So You Think You Can Dance winner Russell performing a Krump number. I enjoy this routine because it shows Krumping used to influence choreography but you are also able to see each dancers individual freestyle of Krump. 

http://youtu.be/y6THP9YHh6Q 

Response to 'To Dance Is a Radical Act'

           I thought the To Dance Is a Radical Act article was interesting. And it made me think about dance in ways that I have not before. I liked how the article was broken into different sections and then showed how it applied to dance being a radical act. However parts of this article were a little confusing because it looked at dance focusing more on a scholarly and psychological way. When usually I think of dance more as entertainment and performances, but not how it applies in everyday life.
          This article says that "the practice of dancing is vital to our survival as humans on earth". Dance is very important to dancers and a lot of people in the world but I do not think it is a major importance for survival. However I do agree that dance effects humans thoughts and feelings, and culture. In the Mind over Body section, it talks about how the mind controls the body and the actions it performs. This is true for dancers, because while we are dancing we have the ability to control our movements and what our body does. In the Write it Down section, the article talks about the importance of writing and words in our society. It also talks about how everything that is important can't always be written down. This section made me think of dance in a new way because you aren't really able to write down a dance, you have to see it performed. In the Sit Whenever Possible section it talks about how in our society we are trained to sit a lot and when you're dancing the movement is freeing, and good for you. Also it talks about how everyone should find the dancer inside of them, and to let dance bring you joy. I also never thought about how do people dance who have limited movement. Or people who are injured, sick, or paralyzed. The article responds to that question that "dance is creative movement." This made me think of dance in a new way. Because dance can be any movement that a person does it doesn't necessarily have to be a full choreographed routine.