Krump This

The Oregonian features some of Portland's Krumpers. Krumping started in Los Angeles as an alternative to gang violence. It's danced between the beats of the music and sometimes looks quite spastic--definitely jazz composition ideas applied to dance. Some of the popping moves remind me of belly dance, as when my teacher Ruby tells us, "It's all about isolation, ladies," showing us how to move only one shoulder back and forth, or one hip up, around and forward. I like how these guys urge each other on and get all high off of dancing.

Chris Robinson, 18, says dancing gives him the holy spirit.

Chris from Oregonian News on Vimeo.

Joshua Dudley, 20, says the dancers don't connect with the beat but make the beat follow them.

Josh from Oregonian News on Vimeo.

William Ylvisaker, 16, says people think he can't dance because he's white so he likes winning them over. To those people I have one name for you: Donald O'Connor.

Will from Oregonian News on Vimeo.

Actual quotes and more video on OregonLive.com.

Link to the movie trailer for Rize, the 2005 documentary on krumping by David La Chapelle (why does that ONE guy get to narrate every movie trailer out of the U.S.? You know that guy--whether it's for Armageddon or Mighty Ducks 2, he narrates every trailer in that tense, going-to-war voice. So even though this film is all about a dance-off featuring residents of South Central, Los Angeles, we have to hear this desperately intense-sounding white-guy voice narrating the action. There' a disconnect and it's a dumb marketing move.)