Since breakdancing entered the Paris Olympics, teachers and students majoring in breakdancing at Beijing Sport University have become busier.
In addition to doing daily teaching and learning, they also have to receive waves of visiting media.
Group photo of students in the breakdancing experimental class of Beijing University of Education.
Photo by Xing Rui
When the reporter arrived, Li Xiaofen, the deputy dean of the Art College, and Chen Ruisi, a professional breakdancing teacher, had been waiting in the training hall for a long time.
After a while, a group of young boys in uniform began to warm up and train under the teacher's command.
This group of boys are students of the first breakdancing experimental class of Beijing University of Physical Education, and the outside world is full of curiosity and expectations for them.
Beginning in 2020, Beijing Sport University will set up a breakdancing experimental class under the Academy of Arts and begin to recruit students nationwide.
After many selections, 11 guys from all over the world got together.
Data map: In 2019, a concert in Paris, dancers performed a fighting dance.
Break dancing = spacewalk?
Speaking of breakdancing, many readers probably still have an impression of it in the 1980s.
At that time, the American movie "Break Dance" was released in China, and "Sun Honglei" began to imitate the dance steps in the movie in the streets.
The two recognizable movements, "Spacewalk" and "Current Transmission", are all the rage.
Since then, breakdancing seems to be equated with these movements.
As long as break dancing is mentioned, netizens @孙红雷 will always come out to "take two steps."
Data map: In 2019, a concert in Paris, dancers performed a fighting dance.
However, Chen Ruisi told reporters that these actions do not belong to the category of breakdancing in the strict sense: "Sliding belongs to the movement of mechanical dance, and some other action elements in the movie belong to lock dance."
The real breakdance actually refers to some floor movements. It has become a school of its own after absorbing many elements and movements of different sports and art forms such as Brazilian war dance, gymnastics, and Chinese martial arts.
The main movements include TopRock (dance steps), Footwork (floor movements), Freeze (air support) and Power Move (skills).
The boys who break dance are called "Bboys" in the circle, and the girls are called "Bgirls".
Students fighting dance scene.
From the street to the ivory tower
Because breakdance was born on the streets of the United States, it was born as a representative of "rebellious" and "new wave".
At first, this "influenced" dance form was also resisted by mainstream culture.
Later, with the advent of a more open era, there were more and more fans of breakdancing.
The art form of expressing individuality and self-expression in the dance has been preserved and has become one of the characteristics of this dance.
Break dancing into college classrooms is not always a voice of approval.
When street culture arrives on campus, some people will feel that the unified teaching of colleges and universities will impede the expression of freedom and individuality in breakdancing.
How to conduct discipline construction while retaining the characteristics of the project?
This has become one of the problems that plague the industry.
Deputy Dean Li Xiaofen is with the students.
Photo by Xing Rui
The reporter learned that the curriculum of the breakdancing experimental class of Beijing University of Education is very rich.
According to the project characteristics of breakdancing, the school will train students in techniques, physical fitness, style, and actual combat.
In addition, breakdancing students also need to learn theoretically.
Courses including Introduction to Art, Introduction to Dance, Exercise Physiology, Anatomy, Theory of Music, etc. are all basic knowledge that students need to master.
In Li Xiaofen's view, breakdancing itself contains the spirit and culture related to sports, and it can enter the university for subject construction.
The rich resources and strong teachers of colleges and universities will in turn help the development of breakdancing and provide practitioners with a better social upward channel.
The students are practicing.
Photo by Xing Rui
The students of the first breakdancing class of Beijing University of Physical Education have had a foundation in dancing before, and some students have training experience in aerobics projects.
Skills and practical courses are far less challenging than theoretical courses.
Some students feel that music theory courses are really "not understandable and unable to keep up."
Regarding this question, Chen Ruisi explained: “Usually we don’t have access to this thing. In theory, it may be more difficult to understand. But this course is very helpful for students to understand music and will help them improve the integration of music and movement. degree."
The students in the break dance experimental class are practicing.
After the first semester of study, the students felt that they had gained a lot.
Xu Guanghao from Shandong said frankly: “Study in school makes it easier to produce things.” There is a technique that he has been practicing at home for a year and a half without any results. After coming to school, he can complete the mastery after about four lessons.
The unique faculty of colleges and universities will undoubtedly cultivate more breakdancing practitioners in the future.
The comprehensive curriculum provides more possibilities for students' future employment.
Li Xiaofen said: “When more and more social forces are involved in this industry, I believe that employment prospects will be broader. Social training institutions, clubs, and many college student groups will use this project to increase the cultural construction of the school. Will provide a good platform for practitioners."
The students are doing a one-on-one dance.
Photo by Xing Rui
Impact the Olympics? Still need to work
After breakdancing officially entered the campus, the college's first year enrollment plan was to enroll 16 people, but in the end only 11 people met the admission requirements, all of whom were boys.
"Last year, we actually did not distinguish between men and women. We wanted both Bboy and Bgirl, but we did not recruit girls. Compared to other countries, Chinese girls seemed to play this game even less." Li Xiaofen's remarks are also from the side. It reflects that although the news of breakdance entering the Olympics has been around for a long time, the current development of breakdancing in China is still not satisfactory.
This is just as Su Jie, secretary general of the China Dance Sports Federation, said in an interview with the People’s Daily, “There is still a certain gap between China’s breakdancing competition and the world’s top masters.”
Data map: In 2019, dancers performed a fighting dance at a concert in Paris.
After breakdancing officially became a competition in the Paris Olympic Games, the teachers and students of Beijing Sports University were really excited.
Yang Zihao recalled: “After learning the news at that time, the whole dormitory was discussing it.” It was almost all the students’ dreams to hit the Paris Olympics, but they also clearly realized that this must be a bitter journey full of thorns.
"We went with this goal (to hit the Olympics). Whether we can connect with the Paris Olympics depends on the students we recruit and whether they have some skills. A certain distance." Li Xiaofen said.
The students are fighting dance.
Photo by Xing Rui
However, the North Sports University Breakdancing Experimental Class was established to explore the subject construction of breakdancing. As Chen Ruisi said: "They are not like the national training team, the goal is to win the championship. For these students, there will be more It must involve employment issues."
Breakdancing into the campus is undoubtedly a milestone event for the development of breakdancing. It also marks the transformation of street dance culture from scratch in the academic field, laying a solid foundation for future scientific research and academic development.
With breakdancing to the Olympic hall, Li Xiaofen also hopes that in the future there will be higher level breakdancing talents who can enter colleges and experience the hip-hop education in colleges.
(Reporter Xing Rui)