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28 Jun
Education NewsWaacking & Breaking; Guest speakers ‘pop’ into lessons to teach new styles
Students from BTEC Performing Arts welcomed a special guest this week who ran a workshop in break dancing to help students devise their own routines.
Professional dancer Fab, from Birmingham based Bboy’s Attic popped into the studio to run an intensive 4 hour workshop on ‘breaking’ (commonly referred to in the UK as break dancing). The company was started 10 years ago and runs a range of workshops and coaching sessions based around street dance with the aim of pushing the ‘breaking’ movement across the West Midlands.
Within the workshop, students were coached on the fundamental techniques of breaking which would then be used to help devise their own routines.
“Break dancing isn’t about copying others”, said Lucie Tolbert, who teaches the students. “There is no defined right and wrong within this style of dance as it is about being individual. We wanted to have high quality professionals from the industry to work with the group and enhance their dance skills. Having a professional also gives them an authentic understanding of the skill.”
Curriculum Manager Richard O’Brien added; “It has been a great opportunity for the students to work with amazing artists from the street dance industry. I am really proud of the students but also jealous of their moves- my ballet training means that I am hopeless at breaking although I can still pull off a mean pirouette!”
Levi Broadbent, who studies AS Dance and BTEC Performing Arts said; “It has been really good. There has been nothing about this session I haven’t enjoyed. It’s really easy to relate to the coach Fab, which makes it easier to understand what he is teaching.”
The class wasn’t all about popping and locking. Whilst learning the moves, the students also learnt about the history of break dancing including its origins and the culture in which it developed.
“Breaking came from the USA and was developed as a way of keeping kids away from gangs and guns”, Levi added. “I didn’t know that before and it was really interesting to find out where it all came from.”
“The afternoon with Fab has been excellent. I feel very grateful for having the opportunity to work with such a high quality professional.”
Prior to the break dancing sessions, the students had also been learning about ‘waacking’, an original funk style originating from the 70s.
For the assignment, the students undertook 12 hours worth of input sessions which looked at the techniques. They then had to develop their own movements to music before finally producing a 3 minute choreography set.
The ‘waacking’ sessions were run in conjunction with Nuvo Dance, a specialist hip-hop and street dance school based in Staffordshire for which Lucie is also a director.
This gave the students an opportunity to work with award winning industry professional coaches whose successes include coaching the winners of the World Hip-Hop Championships from 2006-2008 and more recently, semi finalists of the BBC’s Alesha's Street Dance Stars.
“Lucie has been an inspirational teacher for our students”, said Richard. “She has superb links with the professional urban dance scene which the students have been able to use to enhance their studies.”