Freedom to dance in style

Something new

The two-day festival, ‘B-Boy Battle Freeze 2013’, organised by Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan in the City recently, attracted a lot of young boys and surprisingly, a lot of girls as well.

   A common sight at every nook and corner was that of people throwing themselves on the ground and breaking into a dance. The girls were not far behind and they did just as well as the boys.

And all this action was happening right under the watchful eyes of Niels Robitzky aka Storm, the German hip-hop legend, who flew in just for the festival. Sharing his thoughts on the festival, Niels says, “The dance form has caught up with a lot of young Indians. It is still in its infancy but all said and done, the participants are good.”   

The crowd at the festival comprised youngsters who were professional B-boying dancers and those just picking up an interest in the dance form. Most of them are self-taught dancers but say the dance form requires one to build one’s strength especially that of the muscles. It served as the perfect platform for B-boying dancers to share their ideas. Naser M M Azzeh, the organiser of the fest, informs that there are more than 70 dancers participating from across the country.

“We organise this fest every year and we’ve noticed that the event has grown in strength. Most of the dancers were self-taught and now, even the girls are taking to B-boying,” observes Naser. He further states, “It’s tough for a woman but still, there are a lot of women trying to break new grounds in B-boying as well.” 

Sanjana Singh, a class 12 student at Narayana PU College, was introduced to
B-boying by a friend and soon, she picked up the basics and now, goes for regular classes. “The dance form is adventurous and if you have a passion for it, the possibilities are endless. You may end up having bruises on your hands and legs but it’s worth all the trouble,” she says.

Ambarin Kadri was the only Indian B-girl to participate in an international
B-boying festival in Germany last year. Sharing her experience of what it is like to be
one among the very few B-girls in the country, Ambarin says, “Long practice sessions of B-boying will render you with injuries but I must say that every new step you try gives you a high. Women are encouraged to experiment and explore new styles all the time.”