-Coflo

The Night Last Night – the Soulshifters

(featured shifters include: Coflo, Seth, Lucid, Aqua, Tsunami, Apple, Woes)

Part 1 (Song: Night Last Night by Mark Ronson)

Part 2 (Songs: Adaptacao Ft. Tita Lima-Ohmega Watts, Freak Out- Ohmega Watts, Feel that way-Gift of Gab mash-Tor/Sufjan Stevens)

We are honored to have our special cypher hosts from SOULebrity stick around to teach on Sunday, November 13th. NOT TO BE MISSED!!

BBOYING
1:00-2:30PM – BBOY REMIND (Style Elements/Soulshifters)

WAACKING
2:30-4:00PM – TIFFANY “JIMINI” BONG (Syrenz/Culture Shock)

HOUSE
4:00PM-5:30PM – MICHEL “MEECH” ONOMO (Paris)

Single Workshop $20
2 Workshops $35
All Workshops $50

VENUE:

CITY DANCE ANNEX (www.citydance.org)
1420 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA

Soulebrity: All-Style Cypher Contest: $600 PRIZE!

SOULebrity was created by Flo-Ology in 2003. The first all-styles event in which the bays own Gary Kendall (Jabbawockeez), Kool Raul (Beats N Peices) and Jamar Township were the cypher champs.

All-Style Cypher Contest

This is a gathering for dancers of all styles to share the cypher to an eclectic assortment of fresh beats (house, hip hop, breaks, funk…..and more).

The Cypher Battle Breakdown:
-Invited hosts will inspire and dance with all contestants. After a one hour cypher 9 dancers will be selected.
-The top 9 will then dance with the hosts in a final cypher.
-Each host will award $200 to one of the finalist; therefore the possibility of 3 winners. If all 3 hosts select the same dancer, that dancer wins the full $600!!

CYPHER HOSTS:
MICHEL “MEECH” ONOMO (Paris)
BBOY REMIND (Style Elements/Soulshifters)
TIFFANY “JIMINI” BONG (Syrenz/Culture Shock)

ECLECTIC BEATS:
SOULO (Mutha Funkers/Groovmekanics/Soulo1200s.com
STEPHEN RIGMAIDEN (SoSo Deep Records)
CECIL (The People)

VENUE:
Womens Building
3543 18th St #8
San Francisco, CA
$10 / *ALL AGES!!
DOORS OPEN 6:30PM / CYPHER CONTEST BEGINS AT 7:30

Ok so here we go:

Dance cannot be owned. Dance is not an “item”; therefore, it cannot be sold, borrowed or even stolen. That’s right I said it, it cannot be STOLEN! “Nom-Nom-Nom, QUIT BITIN’ ME SHUN!” Those very words that I have heard SOOO many times, hold no truth. Sure you can create a series of movements but how did you create those movements? First you had to learn a series of movements you didn’t make up? Am I right? Okay there are so many angles to argue here but at least lets take a step back from the ego angle of “get your own shit!“. Don’t get me wrong it urks the shit out of me to see someone blatantly take an entire set or perfect specifics of someone’s style. But lets face it, this is what pushes concepts and originality farther. The conscious acceptance of being inspired and being able to learn is crucial to the art of music and dance. As a dancer for many years I can say I don’t take dance classes to learn how to dance. I take dance classes to learn how to further my ability in dance. Even when I started dancing, the very beginnings of me taking a ‘class’ or learning from someone wasn’t them teaching me to dance rather giving me some tools to work with. As much love and respect I have for all of my direct teachers, the club has taught me more about dance than they ever have. My teachers just showed me how to respect the dance and music (very vital for a REAL freestyle dancer).

Nothing is new, really its not. Everything is learned through observation, inspiration or direct education. Even some of the most unique dancers out there will put you on some kind of game. Meaning they will tell you about something with respect to OGs, original influences, people that made a difference in their life etc. Everyone came from somewhere, no one just appeared out of thin air and neither did your air flair combo or stomach isolation.

Signature steps/moves vs. Style:

Without a doubt signatures or staples have been laid down time and time again in dance. One amazing dancer’s signature step might be the decoration of their respect style, while another dancer uses that signature step as an element of his foundation. The foundation necessary to create his style (I say his but it could also be a ‘her’, please don’t hate ). For example in NY house dance, one of the foundational steps that is often taught is the “skate” or “train”. These specific elements of foot-working/leg-working look nothing like their original style of ‘mimicking’ quad/disco skaters. Sure people can identify with how they came about and even understand the reasoning behind the movement, but now what? It would seem originally someones whole style has become a foundational element for NY house. Would it be incorrect to say that someone could learn various other foundational elements of NY house dance and develop a style without learning the skate? I think so, its also safe to say that someone could really base the foundation of their style on one move/step or I guess inspiration depending on how you look at it. One of my favorite dancers, Rashaad from Assassins, once pointed out to me that “foundation is what your teacher has taught you”. Sometimes teachers come in the form of a music video, or a big brother/sister, not always does someone get the master and disciple relationship. The point, I think, is each person’s foundation is different and perhaps that foundation has a mixture of other ‘key elements’ from which it came from. My take away from Rashaad is that you don’t have to have the same step or groove everyone else has to be able to dance with style.

Real dancers and musicians want music and dance to live on:

Why should anyone be afraid to give up all the secrets of what makes them great? One of the greatest things you can do as an artist in any art form is help move things along and never let the art die. I think a lot of people are scared that by giving up ‘the goods’ they may never be recognized as a great. Well shit, if I can ever reach what I would consider mastery with ANYTHING I do in art, I will be great (I don’t care who recognizes it)! Lifetimes are needed to become a master, lucky for me there has been MANY, many life times in dance and music prior to my existence. This means there is still hope for me yet

Dance cannot be owned, it must be operated:

You have to work with dance, nothing you do is yours, whether you ACTUALLY invented it or not. Let the flow of what you know and feel create your dance. Don’t get hung up on if someone else did it or is doing it or is gonna’ do it. Just get yours, do you, dance should be expression. I promise that the truly dope shit you ‘create’ you will never be able to do again if you really get down and dance. Also as a general disclaimer, my outlook on this subject is very focused around freestyle dance. I don’t want to draw conclusions in avenues of dance in which I do not think much about, like choreography or production shows. Not saying anything negative about choreo, just saying performance is a whole different mentality and thought process from where I was going with this.

I leave you with this. Two greats, maybe the greatest of great – Sammy and Gregory Hines discussing tap on ABC news. Normally a clip that you would watch for the dance and I’m sure this is why the media chose to interview them to begin with; you end up with some powerful and inspirational thoughts about dance/music and the art of tap.

Peace,

-Co FLO

US CHAMPIONSHIPS

THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT!

Tickets only sold at the door….get there EARLY!

R-16 (Respect 16) is a large-scale Annual Festival where more than 300 Internationally renowned Trend Leaders, Artists, Musicians, Content Developers, Promoters, Producers and B-Boys come together to exchange all areas of Urban Youth Culture and Art from their Native countries.

We are proud to host the only US National Qualifier for both categories of Popping and Locking in San Francisco, CA. We are expecting dancers Nationwide to come and participate at a chance to represent United States in the one of the World’s Most Prestigious Urban Dance Events which takes place annually in South Korea.

 

---

 

MAIN ROOM – Main Battle Stage

 

1 vs 1 : LOCKING 

1 vs 1 : POPPING

SINGLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

Winners will recieve the title of US champion and be flown out to compete in the finals – in South Korea

Judges:

POPPING – Politix (Renegades)

LOCKING – Jaypee (Groovemekanix)

FRONT ROOM – BBOY CYPHER KING STAGE

Winner will receive title of US BBOY Cypher King Champion and $100 cash prize

Judges:

SHHHH DON’T TELL NO BODY!

Venue Details:

Date: Sunday May 22, 2011

Time: 12pm – 7pm

Location: Cowell Theater – Fort Mason Center San Francisco, CA 94123

Admission: $25

For up-to-date and more info – please visit: http://www.circleoffirecrew.com/r16

Brian Green is one of the worlds foremost respected masters in this dance. His background includes many different dance forms from classical to street. He had his ballet training at the age of 9 from Alvin Ailey. Tap dance from Phil Black. His commercial hiphop background spans decades. Dancing for Missy Elliot to Mariah Carey to 2001 choreographer of the year for his work with MYA. Brian was in NYC club’s scene and street dance scene from a young age studying many great dancers. From this experience he studied and documented many of the foundation of the vocabulary of what the world now knows as “House Dance”
He has traveled the world and taught and spread this dance. Come learn from one of the undisputed living legend of this dance.

City Dance Annex
1420 Harrison St.
San Francisco, California
Sunday, May 15th. 1-3pm
Price: $20 (class will fill up, first come first serve).

For any questions please contact: Odie
ODie@mindbodyflo.com
www.mindbodyflo.com

For me I want to approach dance in the same way, or at least hope to. Look to see how the dance ultimately impacts the music. When I see a brilliant set from a dancer (freestyle or not); it cast the same type of energy and amazement as a hella dope band throwing down on stage. Im not hoping to reinvent dance, like James Brown reinvented a time of music, but I would at least like to try to figure out a different path for dance – something that makes me as a dancer feel closer to the arrangement of the music. Again, this is why I choose to stick to what I do, learning more about music than dance (at this point in my life).

Cab Calloway is someone who is known in Jazz music history as an icon. In dance history he is also recognized as an Icon – but the generation I am in doesn’t put him on the same level as James Brown or Michael Jackson. I have known of Cab Calloway for some years but regretfully never paid him the respect he deserves with how he helped to reinvent dance with music. When I think of MJ, or JB I know think of where they came from – Cab is the man……

Please check out this clip, a little collection I found on youtube of Cab doing his thing. Of course none of this is to the original music but I urge you to do your own google/youtube search looking up his body of work (music and dance). At the very least this clip will show you some of the most famous steps that you “thought” JB or MJ were the first to do

-Co FLO

Here are two video clips that display exactly what I mean:

(MUSIC) In this first clip you will be presented with a song called “The Mother of all Funk Chords”. The song and video is by a talented producer named “Kutiman”, seen here Thru-you.com. While the song and video is original it is 100% made up of other people’s youtube videos. Different videos, some of people playing instruments, some of people dancing and so on – but none the less none of the original material is Kutiman’s. He created something AMAZING by embracing what has already existed.

(DANCE) In this clip is a group called PRO PHENOMEN from Paris France. This group gives stage choreography a fresh breath of air in respect to all aspects of what you would expect to see and what you don’t expect to see. Nothing they do is new or invented by them; however, you can argue to say you may have not ever seen another group do what they did here. Their movements have been done, their concepts have been done, even their music is not truly unique to this performance; however, what they have created is AMAZING. Invention through recreation and elevated expectations – a beautiful concept.

After watching these two clips I hope you can understand my point of view on this. The concept is more about not being afraid to recreate or copy than it is pushing out crap just to be completely unique and new. After all its virtually impossible for it to be completely unique and new as it stands.

A few more notes and I’ll be done

1) Often times teachers are credited with invention. The concept of a teacher goes against that general statement. The very essence of being an innovator and teaching breads innovation by recreation. So for all the OG’s that cannot acknowledge why so many people look like them…this is why, you did it to yourself (i have heard some stupid arguments around this). Deliver the message to embrace recreation not fight to get away from it.

2) Why did I not reference a freestyle dance clip? Very simply put, these two clips represented my point of view the best. I may end up finding a freestyle dance clip or solo instrumental musician clip that gets my point across eventually. I’m positive it wouldn’t even be that hard to find if I took a few minutes; but at that point I could write another article because its almost certain I will discover something new through the recreation of the same topic. Getting me yet?

peace,

-Co FLO

peace,

-Co FLO

So I will go ahead and define what I mean by synergy. When you begin to study an art like dance (I’m sure this goes for all other forms of expression as well) the first thing you learn is that of a tradition, or a foundation. Keeping the context related to dancers (more so a freestyle type dancer) – if you found your self studying dance it was through a conscious decision to chase knowledge. To be exact, chasing the knowledge of something that brought you a good feeling. The “good feeling” doesn’t necessarily mean spiritual in all circumstances; for some dancers dancing gives them that feeling through a sense of community (being with friends). Sometimes the good feeling comes because the dancer feels cool dancing. Sometimes the feeling is short lived and goes away, never to come back. No matter what the reasoning may have been all dancers at one time (in the very beginning) felt some sort of synergy within them selves and what they had seen/experienced in dance. Again speaking more so to those that dance in that of the freestyle context, dance was something you felt connected to – LONG before you went off and chased a lesson, studied a step, or researched history.

This very concept of synergy within the art and the person expressing is, in my opinion, the one MAJOR player in to what progresses dance, evolves style and continues to expand dance culture. I think back to the earliest memories I have of me dancing and the image comes into my head of my buggin’ in the front door’s walk way of my parents’ home (that they still live in). My parents turned their front room, 20+ years ago, into a mini recording studio; my parents being just another “garage band”. I loved the music my parents played probably because it was my parents creating it – more so than how I felt connected to the music. It’s crazy to think about it in that way. This means that through my parents expression of music I felt something that made me dance, shit…. really something that made me “want to dance”. This I believe is the very essence of that synergy. This lead to the progression of me studying more movements, studying more music – really exploring my self in the world of music and dance.

Looking at where I am at today I am beginning to progress yet again, I am off to explore something new. I’ll do a bit of chasing, more studying, more practice and so on – more of the same shit I’ve been doing for years now. This time around I plan on letting the lessons speak to me and learn from what I receive and not put so much focus on what I am chasing. The lessons I am after is different with each song I hear. Here is where I again come to my cross roads, the synergy – me, my dance and now my new teacher….the music. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t mastered anything in my life. I could only be so blessed to ever be recognized as a master of anything. I am a student of life and continue to be a student of dance; however, now I am a student of music. I don’t feel like I have the experience or knowledge to speak upon the progression of dance, not yet anyhow. My experience is junior at best but I acknowledging that I still need to push forward and progress dance.

I learned a valuable lesson in researching just a bit about the history of Miles Davis. Like all good lessons, it fell in my lap. What Miles and his musicians did for jazz music was both criticized and loved, it is what appeared to me to be a synergy between Miles and his music. These two video clips referenced in this post were again something that fell in my lap (thank you facebook). These clips are a wonderful depiction of what progression brings both in terms of light and dark. You can’t have one without the other, nor should you. At this point (if you actually read this whole thing) you are probably asking your self: why the fuck did he ramble on about him self and synergy with dance if he is going to throw a couple of clips about Miles Davis at me ? My answer to you is: I rambled on about the synergy between my dance and music, something that has always been there – but it is just now something that I now am ready to accept. I have always loved music, I have always danced to music. My progression in dance now relies on me learning lessons from music. The lessons the music and their creators will teach me is going to be equally if not more important in progressing me as a dancer, naw fuck it, as a musician.

peace,

-Co FLO

James Mtume and Stanley Crouch, panel like discussion on Miles Davis:

Part 1

Part 2

The concept of Adaptation.

* adapt: implies a modification according to changing circumstances
* adaptation: modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment

These definitions directly reflect the ideas of dance and movement. Music is technically a changing environment. Be it a single song or several blended and mixed, the layers of rhythms, beats, vocals, and instruments within the music become complex and intertwine… constantly moving, constantly changing. Music is never static, just as dance is a form of infinite movement.

Music is a story regardless of having words or not. Melodies create emotions, feelings and memories. The composer tells a personal story through a song. The story tends to have an introduction, a build up, a climax point and a conclusion. This can be related with many things such as art composition, even architecture. Using an architectural reference, if every room in a structure or element within a room is dynamic, then you would have to create an element even more dynamic to truly make an impact to the viewer/user. The viewer’s eye must adjust to the excessive-ness to the point where what WAS intended to be dynamic, is no longer dynamic. A space would basically lose the “element of surprise”. Now, if a space (similar as to the story concept) has an introductory space, an intermediate space with views or sneak peaks of a view, then into a space with a featured element…(painted wall, sculpture, skyline view, etc.) then that is dynamic! An impression is made and remembered. Spaces and shapes are not forced, but naturally developed.

I use this example because it defaults to the same principles of dance. If you see a dancer or artist with over-dynamic movements, the “look what I can do” mentality, their movements tend to look forced, unnatural and forgettable.

Typically it is noticeable when you see a person moving and restricting to only one “style”. Three songs of different genres could be played in a row and if a dancer is not becoming each individual song…or adapting to tell each story it would simply look as if they are only moving one to one song (you might as well turn off the music!)

When you see someone with movements that are controlled, expressive, dynamic and adapting to their environment (the music, the physical space etc) then you will be witness of a pure element of music, movement and light. The goal is to be able to adapt, reflect not just dance one way to all types of music.

The dancer interprets a story at a subconscious level and creates their own story through the complex blend of music and movement (this is where “being in it” or catchin’ the ghost begins..) Becoming the music is the key. As a principle expressed by Bruce Lee many years ago, “if you put water in a bowl, it becomes the bowl”. Let the music move you. Allow it to reflect outward from the subconscious. One song should not and will not move you as another song will… nor will it move you the same as another dancer. As I stated earlier, music is a changing environment. It is a transporter, a transporter of your soul to the past, present and future. Its your choice of what you feel is best, perhaps a song ties you to certain memories, or brings up a certain moment, a person, a place…. allow for the spiritual exploration. Be willing to change and shift.

-Tsunami, Soulshifters.

Moshen is one cool ass dude. This video does not surprise me in any way to the inner workings of how he thinks and who he is. The only weird thing about this video is that he manage to be completely serious for 1 minute lol.

PREACH MOSHE DADDY PREACH!

-Co FLO

Here are the words from Junious himself on his experience with seeing COF for the first time:

——
Straight Talk:

Junious “House” Brickhouse
Founder/ Executive Director Urban Artistry LLC
Founder/ The Assassins (DC Chapter)
——

Here is that moment that Junious speaks of:

-Co FLO

-Geraf

The main reason why I am sharing this is because I need to give love to my people. Alot of Bay Area natives in this throwing down and sharing their experiences, to name a few (shouts): Iron Monkey, Moshen, Wicket, Lancer, Kool Raul, Rock Force, Renegades, Forever We Rock…and more. Also somehow a lot of the Bionic man popped up in this…I guess cause his dancing is sooooooo ah-maze-zing that he gets lumped in with the bboys, haha – hope you enjoy!

YAY AREA WHAT!

Long Story Short – B-Boys from Jon Santos

-Geraf

-Co FLO