By Alekya Reddy

Asian American or not -- dance is all about the movement and connection. USC's C3 considers itself a team and a brotherhood. Photo: Nimisha Thakore

Quest Crew, Kaba Modern, Jabbawockeez, and Poreotics are all representative of two worlds. Not only are the groups all from the West Coast, they represent an emerging culture of Asian American dance crews.

Over the last decade, Asian Americans have taken hip hop, break dancing, choreography, and robotics to new heights. So famous are these current top crews that MTV’s critically acclaimed television show “America’s Best Dance Crew” has been dominated not only by West Coast crews but Asian American West Coast crews.

From the Jabbawockeez to Poreotics, the champions of the majority of the seasons hail from the Southern California region.

Their display of dancing prowess shows not only an exodus of talent from the area but also an Asian American interest in displaying athleticism that challenges the stereotypical molds.

Break dancing, often considered one of the most physically taxing sports in existence, is no small feat. It’s a sport full of artistic concepts that require hours of practice and training to execute.

The top crews have become vanguards for the Asian American community. They show that doing what you love, even if it is not a traditional profession, can still be a worthwhile pursuit. With their examples of hard work and success, they break the traditional stereotypes of Asian Americans.

What is it about dance that draws Asian Americans? It’s more than just an idea; it’s a lifestyle choice. It’s a culture that has taken hold on the West Coast and has challenged succeeding generations of dancers to follow their passions.

One of the most influential aspects of these crews is their role in inspiring new generations of dancers on college campuses. USC’s own Chaotic 3, for example, is more than just a team. It’s a brotherhood of like-minded individuals who share a common passion.

“I think being Asian American definitely allows me to connect with the many other Asian American dancers on the team,” said Richard Wang, a USC sophomore and C3 member. “To be honest, I don’t know why or how Asians just came to be the majority of the hip hop dance team. But culturally, Asian Americans are able to bond more easily to other Asian Americans.”

According to Wang, C3 goes out for bubble tea and ramen all the time – “definitely an Asian American thing to do.”

Chaotic 3 is a major presence in the Southern Californian hip hop scene. This year’s competitions include All-Cal and Maxt Out. In the past, the group has attended competitions such as Prelude and Vibe, competing against teams from various universities all around California.

It’s not always easy to juggle the image of being an Asian American crew while also searching for new opportunities to dance. Some crews participate in events that showcase their heritage, such as Los Angeles’s Asian Culture Day and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Voter Registration Concert. But others have had to contend with the issues of negative stereotyping and being compared unfairly to other crews because of their Asian backgrounds.

In an interview with MTV’s Remote Control Blog, a member of the Asian American Fr3sh Crew emphasized the group’s desire to be dancers before Asian Americans.

“We are an all-Asian crew and we embrace our heritage, but we want to be thought of as dancers, not Asian dancers,” crew leader Adrian Causing told Remote Control. “There is nothing wrong with being compared to those crews, but we feel we have more to offer.”

Still, this dance culture persists and attracts more Asian followers each day. A new movement for the pursuit of artistic passion in the West Coast Asian American community? It seems so.

By Chloe Wang

See Masaki Botch of the psychedlic rock band Ghost this weekend in L.A. Photo credit: Christina Latimer, Flickr.

Had a long week? Need a break from all the schoolwork? Here are some awesome events to get your weekend off to a relaxing start.

Nov.12

1. Check out Korean art at UCLA. Yes, they’re the enemy, in case you didn’t know. But there’s good stuff to be seen in Westwood! There are five contemporary Korean ceramicists on exhibition in the Flower Museum of UCLA. The pure ceramicists may get your mind off all the midterm grades that are going around this week. Care to see some more Korean stuff? Korean Funerary Figures are on display. The 74 joyful wooden dolls were crafted to be companions for the dead on their journey to the other world.

Nov. 13

2. Treat yourself to dim sum in Rowland Heights. A little tired of burgers? Let’s go down to one of the cheapest and most favored Chinese restaurants: New Capital Seafood Restaurant. They make really good chicken feet. I dare you to try them – they are actually really delicious! But remember to get there early, otherwise you will be enjoying the Chinese population without the Chinese food.

3. Get into the hip-hop groove. USC hip-hop dance crews Breakthrough and Chaotic 3 are competing at Maxt Out at 5:55 p.m. Tickets are $20 pre-sale and $30 at the door. If you are in to hip-hop dance, you should definitely get tickets earlier rather than later. Maxt Out was founded in 2001 with more than 600 dancers from all over California. Pick your favorite dance crew and cheer for them! Not enough hip-hop for you? Next Friday, Nov. 19, Breakthrough has a showcase for us. Check it out if you have time!

Nov. 14

4. See Masaki Botch of Ghost perform live. Masaki Botch is a member of Ghost, a band that plays religious, psychedelic rock. Botch was born in Japan, surrounded by temples and religious structures. Both rock and religion inspired him to later form the band Ghost with another musically inclined friend. You can get tickets online for $10 or dish out $12 at the door. But you have to be over 21 to get in. Sorry, kiddies. If you can’t make it, here’s a treat for you.

By Jessica Men

Teriyaki Boyz, a hip hop group from Tokyo, are among the myriad talents who have performed at Kwon's Asian Hip Hop Summit. Photo: Sry85, Wikimedia

In recent years, Asian Pacific Americans have made surprisingly great strides in the entertainment industry. Just look around: We are no longer just the contestants on Jeopardy or the nun chuck-wielding sensei in straight-to-TV movies.

Shows like America’s Best Dance Crew and American Idol, as well as the viral memes of the web, have propelled APAs into the pop culture spotlight, providing to the rest of the world that we have more to offer than math skills and kung fu prowess.

The Asian Hip Hop Summit is an annual music festival that celebrates ethnic diversity. The 8^th summit toured North America from Los Angeles to Detroit to New York this year. At each stop, local artists are invited to perform, including Los Angeles-based artists such as Dumbfounded and Lyraflip. The first summit was held in 2002 in Koreatown in remembrance of the 10^th anniversary of the L.A. Riots and showcased young talent in rapping, DJ-ing, dancing, and more.

The mastermind behind the festival, Kublai Kwon, 32, organized the summit to empower APA artists and showcase the craft of poetry in hip hop lyrics. Kwon attended USC for grad school but did not compelte his degree. After disagreeing with the grading system for his Writing 140 class, he was moved to Thematic Option, where he could teach a corse of his choosing. Kwon designed Hip Hop as Poetry, an afro-centric course around transcribing and analyzing song lyrics.

“I was 21 years old at the time and free-spirited. But I often felt like I was always just seen as ‘the Asian guy,’” Kwon said.

Kwon left the Ph.D program and moved to Koreatown. Even there, within the hub of Asian urban culture, he was surprised at how meek of a presence APAs had.

“Our country has one of the biggest East Asian populations outside of Asia, but nothing ever was really going on with us,” said Kwon. “We don’t really have our own power movement.”

Influenced by an APA poetry summit that had spoken word performances, Kwon drew from his scholarly background and created a subculture of Los Angeles youth and a mass pan-Asian music scene. Funding the summit has been difficult. Kwon works a part-time job, pays for all expenses out-of-pocket, and doesn’t know how much longer he can keep this up.  But Kwon hopes that by giving APAs a venue for their voices, they will create original music that they can claim to be their own. African Americans have blues and jazz; Latin Americans have salsa and meringue.

“Our country has one of the biggest East Asian populations outside of Asia, but nothing ever was really going on with us. We don’t really have our own power movement.”
Kublai Kwon

The first summit took place in Seoul International Park, bringing out break dancers, rappers, singers, and even electric guitar players – all talents that Asian Americans aren’t usually perceived as having.

“Everyone expects Asians to do a certain kind of music, usually classical music,” Kwon said.

The summit aimed to change that perception and show the world how much talent the APA community had in various areas. Early performances were in parking lots, churches and parks.

Throughout they ears, the festival has boasted an impressive myriad of talents, including several now-mainstream artists such as The Black Eyed Peas, Fort Minor, and the Teriyaki Boyz. More recently, the tour has been carried by hip-hop regular Dumbfounded on the West coast and Lyricks on the East.

But there is more to the summit than the unification of APA hip-hop culture and providing an outlet of individual expression for performers.

“Of course, it’d be great to create a nationwide Asian movement. But to be more realistic, the tour is more about focusing on the art involved. It’s also great to get everyone connected through the music and make a statement,” Kwon said.

The tour has since expanded to 28 cities throughout the continent to great enthusiasm and feedback. Even states such as Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas boasted successful turnouts – not exactly the first places that come to mind when you say “Asian population.”

However, the presence of many non-Asian Americans was even more of a positive influence in encouraging interracial unity through the shared hip-hop culture.

“There’s Asian communities in all these places, and we’re trying to connect to them through music,” said DJ Zo, a member of the summit, according to Maroon, a University of Chicago newspaper.

Kwon took advantage of the universal power of music and its ability to break barriers to unite and celebrate different cultures. Thanks to this unifying spirit, relations between races have come a long way since the L.A. Riots.