By Cathleen Rountree

Imagine: The presidents of the United States and Iran, increasingly irritated by and frustrated with each other’s policies, declare war. But, dig this, rather than across a battlefield, the combat goes down on a dance floor; and, instead of tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides risking their lives, limbs and conscience, only the heads of state clash. But their tête-à-tête is more a toe-to-toe in a symbolic duel of passionate b-boy moves. (Yeah, well, in another universe, maybe.) As hip young men and women in nearly every country in the world know, breakdancing is not only cool, it saves lives, both literally and figuratively.

Benson Lee [1] was recently in San Francisco accompanying his film Planet B-Boy [2], featured at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival [3] [where it just won the Audience Award for Best Doc - ed.] The film debuted last year at Tribeca [4] in the International Documentary Feature competition. Lee, born in Toronto, was raised near Philadelphia and attended NYU and the University of Hawaii. The first-time documentarian also wrote and directed the narrative feature Miss Monday [5], which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1998.

Planet B-Boy considers the international resurgence of breakdancing and closely follows five of the most prominent teams from Korea, Japan, France, and the US as they prepare for the annual Battle of the Year [6] (aka the “World Cup” of b-boying) at its home base in Braunschweig, Germany, which is attended by 10,000 spectators. Launched in 1990 by Thomas Hergenröther [7], the BOTY is recognized as the most important breakdance event in the world. Filmed in the desert outside Las Vegas, in a Jal Jang Buddhist monastery on the Oh Dae Mountain in Korea, on the back streets of Osaka, and the suburbs of Paris, the film covers the 2006 competition attended by teams from 19 countries, including Germany, France, Brazil, Hungary, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Australia, China, Thailand, Spain, Denmark, Italy, USA, Latvia, Belgium, Greece, Taiwan and Israel.

Part modern dance, part gymnastics, part martial arts, the entirely hip artistry of breakdancing explodes onscreen as we enjoy a front row perspective of the “battles” and, more poignantly, enter the personal lives of several b-boys. For example, Lil Kev, 14, one of the few white kids (and the youngest) among all of the troupes, is a member of France’s Phase-T from the suburb of Chelles, 25 kilos from Paris. “The guys are like brothers to me,” he tells the filmmaker. At first, his parents were against his joining P-T because, as his mother says, “They were all 6-feet tall and black, black, black! And he’s very small for his age and blond, blond, blond.” Lil Kev had thought he wanted to be a fireman before he discovered dancing. When his mother says, she would be proud of him, if he were a fireman, the boy waves his hand at her disgustedly, as he says, “Get over it.” In another case, a Korean father of a Last for One member wishes his son would become a professor or doctor. The boy’s mother died when he was a child and his father raised him on his own with great difficulty. Both father and son admit that their relationship is strained and they don’t know how to relate well to each other.

It’s fascinating to see how each crew internalizes and represents a cultural quality associated with their nationality, such as the individuality of Americans as epitomized by Knucklehead Zoo, and as with the group Ichigeki, the homogeneity of society that the Japanese prize so highly. Unsurprisingly, as Ken Swift, a famous b-boy from the 70s says, the French b-boys “dance more beautifully than anyone in the world.” But according to BOTY organizer Hergenröther, “on a technical level, there’s no one who can touch the Koreans.” However, recognizing the b-boys’ rebellion against a socially repressed culture, he continues, “Right now, it’s like South Korea is spawning new super hero killers. They’re inspiring a lot of people to go just ridiculously crazy!”

Planet B-Boy, which opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 21, and on March 28 in San Francisco, San Diego and Washington, DC, is all about the passion for dance. As a member of Phase-T says, “We’ll be France’s ambassadors of its hip-hop culture today and we’ll do our best to represent. We’ll wake up the audience and let them know that France knows how to dance. That’s for sure.” Or, as a member of Knucklehead Zoo puts it, it’s “just a bunch of amazing shit.”

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How did you become interested in the Battle of the Year? When did you first learn about it?

It was on a cold winter night in 1998 and I asked myself, “Whatever happened to breakdancing?" So I googled it and discovered an entire subculture that I had no idea still existed. That’s when I also discovered there was an annual World Cup of b-boying, where 10,000 fans came out to watch crews from 19 countries battle it out in of all places, Braunschweig, Germany.

Why is breakdancing an important art form?

Most people don’t know that this dance was originally called b-boying and that it came out of a gang style dance called “rockin” that started circa late 60s, early 70s. B-boying came into its own in the late 70s. It’s a legitimate dance form that has its own foundation of moves such as the six step, as well as various styles such as toprock, footwork and power. But unlike other dance forms, this is the only dance that’s core has a very serious competitive element that inspires self-expression. Furthermore, there are no real steps because of it. The dance is totally designed around the music and its mostly improvised. This is a dance that encourages individuality. A dancer can bring anything into the dance that he or she wants, but has to maintain the foundation to some degree, as well have b-boying “attitude,” which is basically being a warrior.

 

How did the term b-boying evolve from breakdancing? I’m assuming they’re synonymous?

The truth is, the terms “breakdancing” and “breakdancer” are sort of derogatory terms for b-boys. They were coined by the media that made all the old 80s exploitation films. For the dancers (and the general public), they revive images of street kids dancing with magical brooms, dancing with nunchakus in West Side Story [7]-like choreography, while wearing parachute pants that would make MC Hammer [7]’s eyes roll! So it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every b-boy or breaker. It’s politically incorrect. It’s like calling an Inuit an Eskimo. They would appreciate it if you called them b-boy, b-girl or even breaker. The correct term for the dance is b-boying, b-girling, and breakin.

What, in your opinion, accounts for the globalization of hip-hop culture in general, and breakin in particular?

It’s for the simple reason that it is an art form and culture that provides different categories for people to express themselves. For example, if you’re into the art aspect, then do graffiti. If you like music, you can rap or DJ. If you are more inclined to dance, then break. Back in the day, it was common for kids to do a little bit of everything because it was all related and relative to living what is called hip-hop culture. This culture is for people who reject other similar forms in self-expression that are deemed more mainstream. This is a voice for the kids who can relate to the voice of hip-hop which says that it is misconstrued by most as "Check out my bitches and my ho's."

Do you consider yourself a hip-hop head? Do you perform any b-boy moves yourself?

No, I’m a just a hip-hop enthusiast, and when I was younger, I was a closeted breaker. But, I do plan on taking some lessons and learning breakin the proper way. To be a hip-hop head, you need to have put in some major time and been recognized as an authority in any of the hip-hop elements (i.e., m’cing, graffiti, djing, b-boying, beatboxing). This can take a lifetime of achievement and dedication.

Your film points out the paradox that b-boying inspires both nationalism and global unity. For example, a member of Knucklehead Zoo, the US team from Las Vegas, says about breakin, “We [Americans] created this thing. We gotta bring it back to the States. The last time the US won was in 1998. That’s a long time, man.” And one of the members from the Korean team, Last for One [vying for first place with the Japanese team Ichigeki], referring to Korea’s troubled history with Japan, remarked: “We can’t lose, man. We might forgive, but we never forget.”

Nationalism is one of the driving forces, and it has a lot to do with the competitive element of the dance. Like I said, it’s the World Cup of B-Boying. Whenever you get people from different countries in a room to compete or debate, they’re always going to bring their cultural and political differences with them. Imagine if the UN had b-boy delegates! Those battles would be off the hook!

 

I got that the elimination rounds take place throughout 23 countries, but I wonder, does each country have its own selection system, or do the organizers of the Battle of the Year in Germany go to every country and participate in the elimination process?

The BOTY has promotional partners in every country that holds eliminations. All the partners have to do is register with the BOTY and organize the event in their respective countries. They are then responsible for flying the winners out to Germany for the finals.

Tell me about “Crazy Grandma,” the 66-year-old Swedish breaker, who you briefly highlighted in the film. Did you find many older or old dancers? The boys seemed very affectionate and positive toward her.

She is an amazing person. She used to professionally compete in Judo. She actually started breakin in her early 60s and she is at the BOTY every year! I’ve seen b-boys cry from watching her dance. They realize that if they really wanted to, they could dance for the rest of their lives.

How did you select your “characters,” which stories to tell, dancers to follow and care about?

We followed the top ranked countries (Korea and France), but we also followed what we considered were countries that would provide compelling cultural stories (Japan and the US).

Where are all the b-girls?? What’s the reason for the dearth of female representation in break-dancing, do you think? Is this just inherently a guy’s world?

The b-girl movement is large! The truth is, the dance was started by the boys, but the b-girls are some of the most beautiful dancers I have ever seen. Because their bodies are different and they have a little less testosterone than the guys, they have an elegance and style that is mesmerizing to watch. Be on the look out ’cause the b-girls are coming up!

Because of my own interest in hip-hop culture - besides loving it, I’ve included a unit on it in my Writing in a Multicultural Society course at the University of California, Santa Cruz - at film festivals I seek out docs on the subject. At Sundance this year, I saw Slingshot Hip Hop [8] – about Palestinian hip-hop. What struck me the most about these Palestinian rappers was that they were influencing young men and women to turn away from the potential tragedy of becoming suicide bombers. Did you find during filming that the young people you met were, in a sense, dancing for their lives? That their breakin saved them from joining gangs or becoming delinquents or worse?

I met several b-boys who said that the dance saved their lives, either from the law, or their community, etc. The dance definitely gave them a purpose, and more importantly something to love, be good at, and get respect from their peers.

It was interesting that one of the participants poetically likened b-boying to fighting without touching. So, would you say it’s as if the emotion of the “challenge” [the breakin moves] is released without the violence?

Yep. You can definitely call it an outlet for them. We all need that!

Then, during the battle for third place between Korea’s Gamblerz and France’s Phase-T, one of the French crew says, “Hip-hop can be peace, love, and unity. But during the battle, ‘Fuck you, no peace and love, fight!'” Such remarkable passion and devotion these kids display.

Absolutely.

 

Now that the “Battle” is over and your film is completed can you say if you had a favorite band you wanted to win?

I would have been stoked by any one of the crews that we covered, winning BOTY. I became good friends with all of them.

What was the most important thing you learned from hanging with b-boys?

That macho, hetero men can dance!

How did making this film change you and your life and your filmmaking?

This was seriously the best film school I never went to. Man, fug film school, Make a documentary! That’s what the real world is about!

I mean, really, how much fun did you have making this film?!

I had mad fun! Yet, I also worked my ass off like a creative donkey!

Did you come away from the filming experience with any sociological observations or interpretations that you’d like to share?

Yeah, if it weren’t for hip-hop, there would be more cars burning in the suburbs outside of France. If it weren’t for hip-hop, Barack Obama would probably be behind Hillary Clinton. If it weren’t for hip-hop, there would be more kids committing suicide in Asia because they didn’t get into the top university. If it weren’t for hip-hop, I wouldn’t be answering your questions today.

Did I hear correctly that you are creating a stage version of the film?

We’re gonna make as many versions of this film as possible! We’re gonna make candy bars, a cigarette brand, Planet B-boy snowboards! Just kidding. We’re currently in the works to make this into a feature film. Be warned, this ain’t gonna be no film about a street dancer from the wrong side of the tracks falling in love with a ballerina bullshit. This is gonna represent some of the most heated battles you’ve ever seen - it’s actually gonna be classified a horror film. Stay tuned.