"Born From a Boom Box"

Andy Moua

Dr. Lawrence

4/20/11

“Born From a Boom Box”

Dancers are a youth sub group today that has become more popular. You see dancers everywhere; the street, in movies, and at schools. The identity people view dancers is people who spin on their heads or jump around to show off. But to the dancers, it’s much more than that. To dancers, it shows the real side of them, and to have fun. They come from all different places, all different ages, and gender. In dancing, there is no specific way to dance; you just have to enjoy it. Picture- (R16 Malaysia Audition B-boy ChampionShip)

Dancers often spend their hours dancing. Dancing is like any other sport that takes time to develop. With hard work and dedication, you can eventually spin on your head and do flips. Dancing has become popular to teenagers these days. When school has talent shows, more of the performances today are dances. When I go to a school talent show, I am always looking forward to see a dance performance, because usually they would get the crowd off their feet.

There are many styles to dancing; popping, breaking, tango, and many more. In bigger cities, they even offer dance class to the public. Some schools even started breakdancing clubs after school. This goes to show you that dancing has become popular to teenagers. I remember at prom, my friends and I love to make a circle so we can break in front of people. To become a dancer, all you have to do is feel the beat.

There is no specific clothing style for dancers; but many dancers prefer to wear the baggy clothes. Guys aren’t the only dancers in the dancing world, but girls as well. B-girls are what we call girls that Breakdance. Just because they are girls doesn’t mean they can’t dance. I have lots of girl friends who dance day in and day out. Picture-(B-Girl Dancing)

Dancing is for everybody, no matter how old you are or what ethnicity. When there’s a dance competition, dancers show up and watch from all different kinds of places. Personally, I loved to dance because I can get rid of everything in my head and just have fun. Like a quote use in Step-Up 3, “Were born from a boom box.” Everyone is born to be a dance, all you need is music and you’re good to go.

Picture-(Little guy going crazy)

Movies and shows like the “Step-Up” series, “Americas Best Dance Crew”, and “So You Think You Can Dance” are a few reasons why dance has become popular to teens. Step-Up 2 may be the best video that describes dancing in youth culture. It was mainly about these high school kids who have dancing abilities but no one really realize them. The other kids didn’t realize them because they were considered nerds or geeks. One of them has huge braces; there was an Asian girl who can’t speak English very well, and a lot of goofy looking kids. These kids formed a dance crew so they could battle in this tournament, and for people to know how good they are. Some obstacle that they faced was they weren’t allowed to dance at clubs because many people think they couldn’t dance. “Step-Up 2” shows how you shouldn’t judge someone’s talents by the way they look.

In major cities, dance tournaments are always held for people to participate and watch. One of the most symbolize crew in the dancing world is Jabbawockeez. They won the “Americas Best Dance Crew” in season 1. When they perform, they were known to where white mask. One of the crew member, Gutierrez said, “The idea of the mask is to remove all ethnic and social barriers when we perform”. Bernal, another member, added. “Those who watch us will see us for the dance moves and the style we put out there.” This tell you that you don’t have to be Black, White, or Asian to become a dancer.

Picture-(Jabbwockeez)

“So You Think You Can Dance” is like American Idol, but a dancing competition. Like “American Idol”, when you reach the top 20 or so, you get voted off. For you to win “So You Think You Can Dance”, you need to be the last dancer left. The show is to see if the contestant can dance to all different styles of dances. A show like these has made a huge impact on teenagers to become more and more interested in dancing.

Shows aren’t the only reasons why teenagers love to dance. Idols like the King of Pop “Michael Jackson” paved the way for people to become dancers. Stars like Usher and Chris Brown grew up watching Michael Jackson, and the recent generations are growing up watching them. They are huge icon because they can sing and dance at the same time. When you watch music videos of them, you can’t help it but to follow along with them. Teens are always looking up at star icon to follow, and when Ushers comes up with a new dance move, a teen can’t help but to copy them. Picture- (Like Mike)

With the interest of dancing on the rise, advertisement is always working with some kind of choreography in there commercials so people can buy them. For example, iPods, Apple Company has these dancers listening to iPods. So when viewers watch it, it would make them buy it. The dancers in the commercials have fun doing it, it puts an impression on us to buy it so we can have fun as well. Clothing Companies are also doing the same thing. The commercials now days have these bunch of teenagers dancing and wearing neat clothing. Whenever teenagers see how cool the dancers look in them, it makes them want to buy the clothes. Picture-(Move to the Beat)

Dancing has become more popular to teenagers. More shows on TV have really emphasized dancing. For people to buy product now, they hire dancers to do the dirty work. And also, movies like Step-Up has made a huge impact on a person that makes them want to dance. No matter how old you are, what ethnic background you have, and your gender, dancing is for everyone. Like a quote use in Step-Up 3, “Were born from a boom box”.

Works Cited

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