Herman Ramos

Here is a recent look at how I am trying to define Hip Hop Dance forms.

Hip hop movement theory

In the most general sense and as with many dance forms, hip hop movement is a conversation between the dancer and the audience. The differentiating factor is that hip hop movement is more aggressive. Not always in the demeanor or literal meaning of the choreography but more so in the delivery of the movement. Stark contrasts between the qualities of movement in relation to the partnering of negative space are meant to reflect the mood of the song used as source material for the choreography. The quality of movement can give the illusion of slow motion, robotic precision, anti-gravitation, frictionless displacement, and varying degrees of weight/resistance. All illusions are to be observed from the vantage point of the audience and unlike other contemporary dance forms- the choreographic process is far less important than the final work. Modifications in quality of movement are primarily a product of the proper application of energy and precision. It is because of the previously mentioned priorities that these are considered the paramount elements of hip hop movement. Aggressive changes in the rate, order, and flow of illusions are consistent with today’s definitive hip hop dance forms.

Breakdance

One of the original four elements, this dance form was the physical expression of the cultural phenomena we now call hip hop. Breakdance was the original dance competition that replaced many instances of gang violence in New York during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As such, the primary purpose of this dance form serves as a way to use bravado to humiliate an opponent in front of a live audience. Winning strategies favor the creatively crazy and borderline suicidal. For class, students of dance should approach this dance form from a safer direction and apply modern concepts of floor technique in order to breakdown more innovative variations of six step, power moves, top rock, and freezes while still maintaining a beginner/intermediate level of bboy/bgirl work. Direct instruction on freezes and power moves such as windmills, flares, and swipes should be limited. Heavier emphasis should be placed on how to properly use top rock and floor work to seamlessly move in and out of the ground; a concept that will facilitate hip hop dance and future contemporary dance endeavors.

I’m not caught on camera often. Usually I just keep video records of my choreo for later study and criticism. Here are some fun things that I did this past year.

This first one is from a cool little studio where my buddy Rami teaches called Dance Tallahassee

Here is some shameless freestyle battling that I did under the name “Homer”

First year of dance at FSU is done. Life is looking pretty good these days. Celebrations have been in high demand for the last week to commemorate the end of the semester and a successful performance of Rapunzel with the Tallahassee Ballet. And now its time to look ahead to my summer to see what other dance opportunities await me.

For May and the better part of June I’ll be traveling back and forth from Gainesville and Tallahassee on a few choreography projects. In Gainesville, I’ll be choreographing a new male dance trio for my old Danscompany to be performed at their end of year recital. Meanwhile, back in Tallahassee, I have a choreo project with musician-genius extraordinaire Dan Smith of the FSU faculty. During downtime I really want to start shooting a number of choreographic videos with some of my very talented peers from the school of dance.

The end of June I’ll be teaching in Gainesville for Rising Star summer Academy. It will be a good opportunity to teach dance to talented students without extensive dance backgrounds.

Then in July I’ll finish my round of teaching with one of my best friends’ dance camp. This year we’re going on tour throughout Eastern Florida to bring collegiate level dance to Middle/High school students with strong dance programs.

So basically, I have just this one week to chilax before I get back to work. My creative juices are already flowing. Gotta keep moving forward to progress as the choreographer I hope to be someday.

*Update to summer projects 5/17/12

Sadly, I will no longer be working to create an all male piece for the Danscompany recital. I had the dancers, I had an idea and choreography. Unfortunately I did not have parental support for the project. Unknown voices spoke out upon the immediate revelation of the piece’s existence. They reasoned that it wasn’t fair for only a select few to dance in the work; that it needed to include all of the men at the studio regardless of schedule, skill level, or personal chemistry. It sounded too much like the beginning of a mediocre dance work for my personal taste. The involved members met and discussed the options. We chose, as a group, to disband the project. We believe it was better to take the time off rather than work in unfavorable conditions. Whether the parent/s in question were working for the betterment of the studio or the selfish advancement of their own children will have to remain unclear.

I miss my crew Apocalypse a lot. And not just because we were some of the baddest maama-jammas South of the Mason Dixon line. But also because we were fantastic friends with hip hop dance as our common passion.

Its funny that as soon as I leave to finish my BFA, the team gets a hold of sick video producers. Anyway- here are new choreo videos from Apoc choreographers Josh and Christian. Backup dancers include members of the Asian invasion: Mike Phan and Felix Chai. Enjoy.

Lotus Flower Bomb- Josh Librun feat Mike Phan + Felix Chai

No Interruptions- Christian Castillo feat Josh Librun + Felix Chai

I’m so jealous it hurts…. Miss dancing with those guys.

Last month on February 11^th was a dance convention in Orlando that we just don’t see enough of in Florida. The classes were taught by Brian Puspos, Ian Eastwood, and Florida’s own Marlee Hightower. It was a full day of class made up of five totally different routines. Two taught by Brian and Ian each and then one taught by Marlee. Later that same evening was a hip hop dance competition judged by some of Florida’s best including Jamal Washington who put on the whole event and booked Young Lions to come out. It was one of the finest examples of the success of dancer networking I have ever seen in the state. The amount of talent at the UCF ballroom that day was staggering. I can’t really say too much about the experience; only that I had a blast with new and old friends from the state as well as my own Apocalypse dance crew that made an appearance to compete and take classes.

Here’s some media from the event. They say more than I could about it.

Playing soccer when I was younger, I remember having a severe disdain for the idea of the coach’s son on the field. He was the player who got everything he wanted because his dad was the team coach. The spoiled brat could be on the field as much or as little as he wanted regardless of how hard he worked or how talented he was (or not as often the case was). This was merely the idea of the coach’s son. It’s partially based on the truth since so many take advantage of the situation for their personal gain but ironically being in this situation makes it harder for serious players to get ahead. Players who have this advantage have to work twice as hard in order to prove that they are not being unfairly favored over other players. This is what it is like to be a male dancer.

I don’t want to be defined as a dancer who was given opportunities when better dancers were available. I want to earn everything I get because I work harder for it and I look better doing it. The reality of the situation is that I have been given more opportunities to dance based on the fact that there are fewer men who dance. In a room full of dancers I’m one of about three people who have male genitalia and in a casting process it means that I have a much better chance at another dancing opportunity than the females in that same room. Sometimes casting calls for a duet between a male dancer and a female dancer. In that same room full of dancers, my chances of getting a part have now quadrupled regardless of my skill level. Female dancers hate me for this and I can’t necessarily blame them. I have seen many a male dancer in a duet that he had no business being in. As far as skill level goes, it doesn’t take much dance technique to pick people up while they make pretty shapes. I can do my lifting at the gym. I need to be the dancer who is better than every other dancer in that room, male or female. In casting this is not always the case. Sometimes if you need a large cast it’s better to go with a group of female dancers because there are more who are skillful. By default, you can’t always throw a few guys in there; it messes up the symmetry and the audience will expect a partnering session at some point. The alternative is that you can cast a smaller group of guys together. Although finding any group of guys that dance at the same skill level is next to impossible unless you live in a large city.

This is my challenge as a male dancer. I have an unfair advantage in dance. I need to make it work for me to help prove that I deserve the opportunities that I get. I also need to work twice as hard as my female counterparts to look as good as they do or better.

Basically- I have to Do Work

I have always been able to understand a person’s ability to just lie down and give up when things get tough. From personal experience I know that it is just the easier thing to do sometimes. I spent an entire semester at school doing just that. When things got tough and I didn’t want to confront my challenges head on, I went to bed and slept. I would sleep in the morning, afternoon, and early evening even after a full nights rest. If I didn’t want to deal with life I found it easier to just skip through my anxiety and let sleep heal my frustrations. An additional problem came from the fact that it became so easy to hide from the world that I would turtle away at the slightest perceived challenges. I never even gave myself a chance to see how hard my challenges were or, even worse, how ready I actually was to take them on.

But this isn’t the way to conduct business. It’s not the way to live life. It’s downright unacceptable to give up before the first round even starts. I have understood the flight part of “fight or flight” only because I chose never to use that mechanism in the face of challenges. I don’t like to feel helpless but I would rather fight from my knees than look back at what could have been.

There is some kind of fire that has been burning in my soul lately that won’t let me settle in for complacency. It burns hotter when things stand in the way of my goals. I need to take action and I hate myself when I don’t. Even when the chips are stacked against me and it doesn’t look like I’ll win, I would rather take a swing at success on the way down than not try at all. There is a great poem by Dylan Thomas that really illustrates how I feel about the subject:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Rocky did it. John Conner did it. Captain Kirk did it. Wolverine did it. Luke Skywalker did it. That blonde chick from Center Stage did it.

Not every hero was given the tools to win from the beginning. They had to earn it and bleed for it. Many times, when it looked like everything was going to crash down on them, they still pulled through and managed to fight back and win. Set back on our heels, we might take a look at a situation and call it quits to lessen the fall but if we never take the chance to at least make a play for the win, then we’ll never know if we could’ve been the next John McClane.

Here’s my fight song for the month- No Easy Way Out by Robert Tepper

Its been a busy few months and quite a journey. I’m now officially a dance major at FSU and diving straight into my classes and pieces for the next couple of months. I’m on a fast track to achieving a minor in art history and, if things schedule well with classes, I’ll be set to graduate in the fall of 2013. This is all thanks to a great deal of work I put into myself last semester. I spent a great deal of time at the gym toning up and trying to lose the weight I gained in my extended off season. I also familiarized myself with the dance building by regularly attending rehearsals for the 3 pieces I was chosen to participate in. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to perform in “Days of Dance” last semester as a non major. On a technicality of not being in enough technique classes at school for the semester, I was not allowed to take the stage. I took it in stride and kept my head held in high spirits to show the faculty that I could be professional and that I truly deserved to be in the program for the following semester. I guess it worked.

This semester has already taken off at full speed. I have a full course load of dance classes ahead of me as well as 4 different pieces that I am participating in. Some days have proven to be more challenging than others when I get to school at 9am and dance until 930pm that night. All the while I might take 10-15 minute breaks in between classes and rehearsals. Lunch is about 40mins long but some days I stay after class to work on the things I need improve on and shorten my break to maybe 20min or so. I’m already working twice as hard here than I ever did when I was in full swing at Santa Fe and its not even February. Is it weird that I love it? Maybe I’m just a little crazy but the harder I work and the sorer my body becomes, the happier I get. My pounds are already shedding fast and my muscle tone is returning to my legs. The next step is to add some weightlifting to my regime to give myself an extra edge in the dance room too.

I’m so happy to be challenged physically and the great thing is that I’m also being challenged intellectually as well. I’m being introduced to many different modern philosophies and choreographic movement right now. My mind is swimming with ideas on how to perceive and rationalize my art form. Its fantastic. The great thing is that I’m not just learning steps in my pieces, I’m also actively participating in the choreographic process and contributing to the final product. Another place where I have an outlet is in my choreography class. Its part improvisation and part choreography and all fun for me. I plan to write a few blogs about some of my experiences there as well. My cypher mixtape project is also steadily moving forward as I have already choreographed to four different songs with completely different feels. The movement lays dormant in my video choreography files and also on my camera waiting for some people to set it on. Once that happens, part two of my project can take flight with video production. My last creative outlet for this semester includes an undergraduate research project that I am applying for at the end of this month. The thesis of which is to take a look at the current state of hip hop choreography in relation to the regional geographic culture of hip hop from which it originates in the United States. I’ll be using the youtube generation of choreographers as my primary research source.

Thinking about all my projects in school this semester gets me pretty pumped. I hope I can stay enthusiastic as the semester continues. My modern professor Tim Glenn told me that is one of the most important things to keep as the stress piles on. Hopefully, when the dust settles I can look back and see the progress I’ve made as a dancer. I think that’s pretty good advice.

Lately I feel like I’ve been scrambling to hold on to my game. I hit the gym daily and dance hard at rehearsals just to stay at my current level. Still, I feel no positive growth. I need heavier challenges and I need to find a way to dance around the fact that I’m too broke to afford classes outside of my busy 9-8 schedule. This last week I may have finally found the inspiration I’ve been looking for.

There is an organization on campus called “CYPHER” that embodies the very ideals of the culture that I hope to someday teach at the collegiate level. Recently they dropped a mixtape featuring some talented local artists. So many people came together and put aside all of their outside responsibilities to create an album for the love of hip hop and nothing else. Why couldn’t I do the same? How many late nights did some of these artists throw down to make their works? If I really loved the hip hop I claim so hard on my dance resumes then maybe its time I prove it to myself.

So here is my declaration of a new project: Starting this month, I’m giving myself 9 months to set choreo on every track on that album. This will be in tribute to the artists who devoted their time to the art of hip hop and also provide a study for my own artistry in hip hop. I might not create every single work for the album. I’ll employ the help of my friends whenever they can, and I’ll even cross genres of dance to capture the mood of each individual track. The goal is to have choreographic work that accompanies every track. In CYPHER we frequently celebrate the 4 elements of hip hop. While hip hop choreography is not one of the 4 elements or even one of the 9 expanded elements, I’d like to think that choreography acts as a celebration and combination of the initial 4. By taking on this endeavor I’m hoping to push myself a little to stay on my hip hop prowess. I want to be able to keep my creative mind in check and give it the exercise I believe it so badly needs. Without the ability to teach classes in Tallahassee, this will be the outlet that I need to stay on my game. Additionally, I’ll be helping to promote my peers in their artform as well. Sometimes, as artists we find the most success in collaboration. As a bonus, we also get to learn a thing or two about the other elements that we might not study as intensely.

So here begins my mission. By the end of June 2012, I will have completed my project to create a choreographic album in celebration of the CYPHER mixtape.

If you want to know what I’m working with, either for contribution or just to hear that good-good, you can download it for free here.