Hip Hop !s Global.

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South China Morning Post

September 17, 2006 Sunday

Hip hop lets your body talk

BYLINE: Joyce Siu

SECTION: YOUNGPOST; Pg. 9

LENGTH: 389 words

Hip hop fans take note. The Warehouse Teenage Club will organise a new hip hop dance course for beginners next month.
The eight-session course will be taught by Yeung Ka-fai, a Year Two student at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) who has been hip hop dancing for seven years.
Yeung said the course aims to help participants, who are mainly secondary school students, to gain confidence on the dance floor and have fun.
Participants will learn hip hop fundamentals such as leaps, turns, kicks and stylistic movements. They will also work on their balance and beat counting.
They will dance along to tunes by current hip hop stars such as Ciara, Jay-Z and Beyonce.
"It's important that you like music. Dancing is about using your body to interpret the music," said 24-year-old Yeung.
Czarina Tabora, 20, found her passion for hip hop in the Warehouse. She joined the dance course five years ago and is currently a member of all-female dance group Folkie Troopz.
Tabora, also a CityU student, said hip hop is a good way to de-stress:
"While classical dance, such as ballet, lays stress on techniques, hip hop is more about expressing yourself [freely]."
That said, she still practises at least two or three times a week in order to hone her agility and skills.
"Once you master the skills, you can move on to develop your own style," she said.
Vian Yip Wing-yan, 18, from Shue Yan College said she signed up for the hip hop course because she was fascinated by pop stars dancing in music videos.
"Hip hop dancing is so energetic. It's fun to perform on the streets, too. You get instant feedback from spectators. It's a challenge," said Yip.
She also likes the way that "new school" hip hop dance incorporates jazz styles, and allows for personal interpretation.
"The dance keeps evolving. You have to keep improving to keep up with the trends," she said.
Although hip hop culture developed in the early 1970s in New York City ghettos, it is now a dance form that has mainstream appeal.
"It doesn't matter what race you belong to, you can still enjoy the fun of the dance. It's a universal language. Let your body speak for you," Yip said.
The Warehouse's hip hop class starts on October 15 for eight consecutive Sundays from 3pm to 4.30pm. The course costs $320HK. For more information and to register, call Ellen on 2873 2244.

LOAD-DATE: September 19, 2006

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper


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