I’Nasah CrockettAspects of World DanceMay 9, 2006

Ghetto Ballet: Krump(ing) Beyond thePoint of Rupture

FADE IN

EXT. SOUTH CENTRAL BASKETBALL COURT – NIGHT

A large group of people are gathered together under the

streetlights, milling around, laughing and chatting loudly.

The crowd is predominately African American, and everyone is

dressed to the nines in hip hop clothing – Rocafella, Baby

Phat, baggy jeans, handmade white tees smacked with

graffiti, fitted caps, Timberlands. No one looks a day over

twenty-seven years old, and the youngest look to be around

four or five. A ghetto-blaster is perched on a low bleacher,

blaring bass-heavy, thumping rap music. The air is filled

with a sense of purpose. It’s clear these people didn’t

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gather to simply enjoy each other’s company. They’re waiting

for something to happen.

Meanwhile, in a slightly less-crowded corner, a shift in

the energy is taking place; that something is coming into

being. A young man, sporting cornrows and a black tank top,

reaches both arms out to grab his two friends standing

beside him and starts hopping up and down, first on one

foot, then the other. It’s not unlike the movement of

someone catching the Holy Ghost in a Baptist church. His

friends encourage him; prod him even, as they lightly slap

his torso and upper body. Suddenly his chest pops outwards,

his arms swing over his head, and he launches himself into

the center of the crowd, who by now has taken notice of

what’s happening and have cleared a small space for him. He

stomps once, twice, and again. His bucking chest brings him

down to the ground, then back up towards the stars it seems.

His head snaps back and forth, eyes glaring, tongue sticking

out. His hands throw invisible objects; his arms bring

something close, and let it go again. And at one point, when

he seems to lose his footing and falls back, at least five

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pair of hands reach down, grab him before he even hits the

ground, and launch him back through the air once more.

Now a young woman enters the circle, her intensity and

focus perfectly matching that of her male counterpart, who

she pushes out of the way. She lifts her leg over her head,

then drops down to a split. She hops back up, her chest and

pelvis popping in unison, her hands ripping in half the

green baby tee she’s wearing. She flings her torso around

backwards, her long braided hair extensions cutting through

the air. Her style differs from that of that of the one who

went before her, but it’s obvious that it is fundamentally

the same form of dance.

This cycle continues. One dancer leaves, another enters.

It’s not unusual for more than one (dancing) dancer to

inhabit the space at the same time, or for two dancers to

battle one another. The crowd is just as involved as the

dancers – clapping, yelling, cheering on their favorite

dancers or responding with enthusiasm when someone executes

a particularly powerful or mind-boggling move. “Yeah man,”

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shouts a fifteen year old girl who’s standing at the edge of

the circle. “That’s how you get BUCK!”

CUT TO:

INT. MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT – NIGHT

A large group of people are gathered together under the

high-powered lights that are still being adjusted by the

film crew. Make-up and wardrobe are busy, adding last minute

touches to one dancer’s hairstyle, another dancer’s clothes.

The dancers are then escorted to the set – a large cage,

around and inside which crawl young, beautiful people,

dressed fabulously in tight fitting jeans, glittering bikini

tops, and polo shirts that are lifted over glistening abs.

They take their places, the director calls for quiet on the

set. The cameras start rolling, and the command is given.

Immediately the dancers break into the same style of

dance they performed on the South Central basketball courts,

street corners, and driveways, only now they share the space

with breakdancers, roller skaters, and most importantly,

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sporting tall silver boots and a lavender leotard, Madonna.

She stands back at first, casting a cool eye over the

pumping bodies of the L.A. natives, patiently waiting for

the perfect moment – or rather the moment that was decided

upon by the choreographer – to make her entrance.

The dancers are once again battling one another, only

this time the duration each dancer spends in the circle is

significantly shorter. Much of their routine will be cut

during editing anyway, and it’s important that they add to

Madonna’s coolness, not distract or (subtract) from it.

After the last dancer exits the circle (a prepubescent

kid who finished his turn with a serious of vicious chest

pops), Madonna makes her move. She strides confidently

forward, eyeing fearlessly the dancers in front of her. She

stands. Then she leaps onto the cage, wrapping her hands

around the metal frame, baring her teeth and tossing her

long blond hair back and forth in a blatant imitation of the

L.A. dancers’ aggression and intensity – but somehow it

comes off as being hollow.

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From there she leaps onto one of their backs, and has him

spin her around a few times before she drops to the ground

and starts rolling around, hitting a variety of what look to

be yoga-esque poses. Her flexibility, while notable, differs

greatly from the grounded, syncopated movement of the L.A.

dancers; her attempts at replication further highlight both

the differences in the movement and the shallowness of her

efforts. But she is not alone in her desire, and her

appropriation of krump – the name of the energetic dance

creating by African American youth located in South Central,

Los Angeles – is merely the next development in the

aftermath of a cultural form entering the mainstream.

END OF SCENE

FADE TO BLACK.

Originally this paper was entitled “Ghetto Ballet:

Krump(ing) at the Point of Rupture.” But after further

thought and further research, I realized that it was a tad

too late for such a title; krump is no longer at the point

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of rupture, thanks to the power of film, the internet, and

other forms of mass media it has already entered into the

mainstream. Granted, it has yet to be imprinted on our

common cultural memory in such a way that say, breakdancing

has, but the process has begun. Rize, the movie that gave the

process its biggest kick, grossed 1.6 million dollars its

opening weekend1. CBS, Newsweek, The Village Voice, and

Dance Magazine to name a few, have all reported on what’s

being called the “roughest, toughest new urban dance

phenomenon,”2 described as being “fierce, kinetic, no holds

bar [sic] dancing,”3 with movements “so fast and frenetic

that uninitiated observers might mistake them for epileptic

seizures.”4 And now that Madonna, the Queen of Pop

(Culture), has given her royal blessing, there’s little that

1 Snyder, Gabriel. (Jun. 26, 2005) “Bat’s in the Belfry.” <http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117925069?categoryid=1082&cs=1>

2 Halter, Ed. (Jun. 21, 2005) “Body Language.” <http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0525,halter1,65163,20.html>

3 Menzie, Nicola. (Jun. 30, 2005) “ ‘Krump’ Dances Into Mainstream” <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/28/entertainment/main704843.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories>4

? Lyle, George. (Jun. 24, 2005) “Clownin’ Around.”<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8336696/site/newsweek/>

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could send krump back to its relatively quiet existence in

the South Central streets.

However, in the midst of all this noise there are

pronounced silences. The social, cultural, and political

elements inherent in both the dance and its reception by the

mainstream are being acknowledged and discussed by too few

people. In today’s world of cultural commodification, the

entertainment value of dance overshadows its primary

function as a socially constructed movement system that

reproduces meaning each time it is performed and a

reflection of the society it is birthed from. It is an

active link with the past, a text of sociocultural

experience, and a continuous site of cultural

misunderstanding.

My purpose in this paper is twofold: First, I wish to

explore krump as a dance form and as the latest addition to

both the hip hop canon and African American dance canon;

two, explore the manner in which krump has been presented to

the world, which I believe is a continuation of America’s

fascination, fear, and desire of the black (dancing) body.

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Any work that attempts to discuss this dance form without

taking into consideration the constructs of race, class, and

gender (which are just as important to address as what the

dancer is doing with his/her body) is incomplete. Dance

should ideally be studied in two ways: one is made up of all

social events existing in a given community, that is, dance

is studied as a living phenomenon; the other is comprised of

the philosophical/ideological, socio-political, economic and

cultural systems which function in a given community.5 This

paper will attempt to conduct such a study.

Los Angeles is the second largest city in America,

population-wise, and is an important economic, scientific,

and cultural for both the nation and the world. Originally

colonized by the Spanish in 1542, it was incorporated as a

city in 1850. During the early part of the 20th century it

became the home of the motion picture industry, which ever

since has been the city’s calling card to the world.6

5Giurchescu, Anca. “The Power of Dance and Its Social and Political Uses.” Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 33. (2001), pp. 109

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African Americans first began to arrive during the First

Great Migration (before and during World War I) but their

population soared during what’s known as the Second Great

Migration, which took place during the last part of World

War II and continued into the 60s. The violent white

backlash that accompanied the Civil Rights movement in the

South stimulated further black migration. Between 1940 and

1970 almost 5 million people left the South, and during that

same time period the black population in Los Angeles grew

faster than any other large Northern or Western city,

climbing from 63,744 to almost 763,000.7

Racial segregation was still in existence even out West

however, and made itself particularly visible in housing

practices. Prior to WWII, the blacks who were already

present in Los Angeles lived and interacted with a mixture

of other ethnicities, such as Japanese, Mexicans, and Jews,

but after the war blacks found themselves increasingly 6 Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. “Los Angeles, California.” (retrieved May 8, 2006) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles,_California>

7 Sides, Josh. L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present. (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003), p. 2

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isolated from the rest of the city, both socially and

spatially. For example, at the start of the war blacks,

whites, and Mexicans made up equal proportions of the Watts

population; however, by 1958 blacks made up 95% of the Watts

population.8

This increasing segregation was due to both white

resistance to (specifically black-white) integration and the

out-migration of other communities of color. Although the

economic boom following the war gave blacks the best

employment opportunities and pay rates they would have for

decades, the majority of them were forced to stay within

South Central, an area lying to the south and southeast of

downtown L.A., bounded by Main Street on the west, Alameda

Street on the east, Washington Boulevard on the north, and

Slauson Avenue on the south, as well as in small enclaves in

Watts and West Adams; the more affluent were able to into

other areas such as West Adams and Jefferson Park.9

8 Ibid, p. 6, 106

9 Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. “South Los Angeles.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Los_Angeles>

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This isolation proved to be disastrous with the rise of

the urban crisis in the late 60s and early 70s. The

manufacturing jobs, which were the cornerstone of economic

stability for many African American families, declined

sharply, and the remaining white-collar jobs shut out those

who did not have a certain amount of education (black men in

this instance were disproportionately affected, as black

women tended to have received higher levels of education).

The factories that remained relocated to distant suburban

areas that black workers in South Central were discouraged

from moving into and found difficult to travel to.

With the loss of jobs came the rise of gangs; both the

Crips and the Bloods were founded in the early 1970s. The

recession of the 80s, couple with the arrival of the crack

cocaine epidemic from 1985-1990 led to an increase in gang

warfare as well as the general crime rate10; communities of

color felt this blow the hardest.

10 DEA History Book, 1985-1990. <http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/1985-1990.html>

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In 1992 came the Rodney King Riots. King, a black

motorist, was pulled from his vehicle and beaten ruthlessly

by four white policemen after leading them on a high mile

car chase through the streets of Los Angeles. The beating

was caught on tape and was broadcast all over the nation.

The four policemen were brought to trial but they were

ultimately cleared of all charges brought against them.

Tensions had been rising steadily between blacks, the Los

Angeles Police Department, and other minority groups since

the first race riots that took place in Watts in 1965, and

on August 11th, at the news of the acquittal the city

snapped. Beginning first in South Central then spreading to

the rest of the city, large masses of people (most of them

young and either black or Latino) took to the streets and

began rioting. Six days later, the resulting number of lives

lost, injuries sustained, and property damaged surpassed

that of the major civil rights disorders of the 1960s,

including the Watts riots of 1965.11

11 Oliver, Melvin L.; Johnson, James H.; and Farrell Jr., Walter C. “Anatomy of a Rebellion: A Political-Economic Analysis” in Reading Rodney King, Reading Urban Uprising, ed. Robert Gooding-Williams (New York: Routledge, 1993), pp. 118

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Today, South Central appears to be held in a state of

semi-suspension where some aspects of the area are changing

and some are not. The population has certainly shifted - the

2000 census showed that the Latino population of South

Central, at 58 percent, outnumbered the black population,

numbering 40 percent12. In 2003 the city of Los Angeles

officially changed the area’s name to South Los Angeles in

an attempt to move past its negative connotations, but most

people continue to refer to it as South Central.

The evolutionary formation of krump dance is a prime

example of how the political workings of a city play a

profound role in the shaping of the cultural lives of its

black citizens. In 1991, a young African American man named

Thomas Johnson, who had recently released from jail after

being sentenced for drug involvement and violating the terms

of his probation, decided to become a clown entertainer.

Under the moniker Tommy the Clown, he worked at birthday

parties, church picnics, and parades all over South Central

and East L.A. He became a local celebrity known for giving

12 Sides, p. 203

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great parties complete with great dancing, leading his fans

to rename him Tommy the Hip Hop Clown.13

Dancing didn’t become incorporated into his act until

1998, when he pulled a young girl from the crowd to dance

with him. The audience loved her, and soon other kids joined

his act as clown dancers. Other clown groups formed shortly

after, competing with each other to see who had the best

high flying, liquid, rhythmic moves.

In early 2000, a small clique of dancers from Tommy’s

crew decided to strike out on their own in order to further

develop the new style of dance they’d been exploring for

some time. Christopher Toler, Ceasarae’ Willis, Jason Green,

and Jo’Artis Ratti, also known as Lil’ C, Tight Eyez,

Dragon/Slayer, and Big Mijo noticed that their movement

styles were significantly darker and more aggressive than

that of the crowd-pleasing clown dancers.

13 Bozza, Anthony. “Krump Dancing” (retrieved May 8, 2006)<http://www.davidlachapelle.com/film/spin.shtml>

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“Even with us in the clowning world, we were always rough and more on the

edge than everybody else so after we left the clowning world, it was like a natural

instinct. We started on our own and it was like a no holds barred situation. We

were censored so we decided to be uncensored when we left Tommy.”

- Tight Eyez14

Christening this new style “krump,” they sought to push

past hip hop dance as a means of trying to please an

audience with fancy movement. Instead they focused inward,

using the dance to release pent-up energy and emotion while

at the same time bringing oneself into closer contact with

God.

In this paper I classify krump as a member of both the

black dance canon and the hip hop canon (which in itself if

under the umbrella of black culture). Besides the fact that

it is still danced mainly by African Americans, it holds

movement qualities that link it to other dances of the

African diaspora, and many uses the dance is put to outside

14 Morales, Wilson. Rize: An Interview with Dragon, Tight Eyez and Lil C (Jun. 17, 2005)<http://www.blackfilm.com/20050617/features/rizeinterviews.shtml>

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of simply dancing place it in what Katrina Hazzard-Gordon

has labeled the “jook continuum.” This term is taken from

the jook joints of the early 20th century which “provided

both entertainment and an economic alternative to people

excluded from the mainstream economy.” 15

Robert Farris Thompson’s groundbreaking work African Art in

Motion proves a fascinating lens to view krump through. His

primary focus is visual art, but he spends some time

describing the Africanist qualities that can be found in

both art and movement Although krump is a few hundred years

and a thousand miles removed from its African roots, the

Africanist presence that has remained in African American

dance forms from antiquity to the present day can be seen in

this newest addition to the family.

Percussive strength, youthful energy, and flexibility are

some of the qualities in krump one takes note of

immediately. The performer is strong and almost warrior-

like. Vital aliveness, high intensity, speed, and drive are

15 Hazzard-Gordon, Katrina. Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African American Culture. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990). pp. x

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some of the facets of muscularity and depth of feeling that

characterize Africanist dances.16 Each section of the body

turns into an independent percussive instrument that keeps a

constant beat. In krump dancing the feet stomp the ground,

the arms swing, the chest pops, the head nods, all

simultaneously, and each instrument is given equal

importance and weight.

Although the hip hop music krumpers dance to differs

somewhat from the chorus of African drums and instruments

Thompson speaks of, the krump dancer still continues the

tradition of “dancing many drums.” The down-beats and the

up-beats are hit and alternate rhythms that lie within the

basic rhythm are explored. Kudos are given to the dancer

that can find the most diverse and “buck” ways of rocking

the beat.

At the same time strength does not equal inflexibility,

and flexibility in this sense doesn’t necessarily mean the

ability to raise one’s knee to touch one’s ear. It’s more of

16 Thompson, Robert Farris. African Art in Motion. (Los Angeles: University ofCalifornia Press, 1974) pp.9

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an allowing of the body to respond to the rhythm without

trying to silence the body, without stiffness. The knees are

bent, body firmly grounded, fully prepared for any swift

change of weight that might take place. Obviously one cannot

be reluctant to let her body move in unexpected ways and

expect to become a krump dancer, nor can one be afraid of

the ground

This “get-down” quality can be seen in a number of

different Africanist dances and makes a strong appearance in

krump. Its foundation is grounding without being firmly

grounded not only are the steps almost impossible to do but

the chances for injury are increased. “Getting-low” can also

refer to the moment of virtuosic improvisation, when despite

how high the arms may fly or how often the weight shifts,

the grounding becomes more pronounced than ever.

Suspension and preservation is also present in the

movement, although its visibility may vary with each

dancer’s personal style. The dancer will steadily follow the

beat for a time, then suddenly throw the upper body

backwards and around in one smooth movement, or hop onto the

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tips of the toe and give a “salute,” then just as suddenly

fall back into the regularly pulsating beat.

Finally there is the concept of looking smart, or what

krump dancers would call “getting buck.” Having style,

attitude, and cool is integral to all forms of hip hop

dance; krump is no different. However, while some

disciplines such as clown dancing might call for an

obviously sexual or over-the-top comedic attitude, krump is

more aggressive and direct, even raw. While each dancer does

have a certain character and movement characteristics, it

ideally originate from within, so that who you are when you

are dancing and what you are dancing is an expression of who

you are. And that is cool.

Alongside the physicality of krumping, it fits into the

African American dance canon by being a form of social or

vernacular dance. Dance in essence is a form of social

interaction, and blacks for centuries have used dance as a

means to articulate group experiences. Thus krump, like any

other form of dance, enjoys a multidimensional existence.

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For those who participate in krumping, it can serve as a

form of identity on both a personal level and a group level.

Ceasarae’ Willis, the working class kid from the notorious

neighborhood of South Central, becomes Tight Eyez, one of

the founders of the krump movement and a growing celebrity

(of sorts) in his own right. As anyone who has passionately

studied any form of dance can attest, dance eventually

becomes not what you do but who you are. Even for those who

may not wish to pursue krumping as a career, identifying

oneself as a dancer and being identified by a peer group as

a dancer can further shape individual self-determination.

Dance has a significant place in the African American

cultural psyche and collective memory.17 Many of the

traditions enslaved Africans managed to keep with them have

lasted into the present day, including the recognition of

dance as an activity that could be used in contexts outside

of performance and entertainment. Social dances throughout

the years have given us more than a rousing good time; they

17 Hazzard-Gordon, Katrina. Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African American Culture. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990), pp. 15

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have been a means to connect with our past. Krump dancing is

the newest means dance-wise of reaffirming black culture and

the tenacity of African American life.

One of the contexts that African American vernacular

dance has been used for (outside of

performance/entertainment) is as a means of political

resistance. In dancing to define one as black person, a

member of the African American community, and as a means of

self-determination, the seeds of resistance have been

planted. Resistance doesn’t necessarily mean taking to the

streets and initiated boycotts and protests and the like. By

simply insisting on defining one’s identity for oneself, and

having that identity fall outside of what the power

structure what black is supposed to be (disempowered, poor,

ignorant), resistance has begun. In the words of the Krump

Kings (discussed below),

“We realize that, when looking at urban culture, many tend to think about the

ruff gangsta’ image, lots of violence, profanity & guns. That is not us. As you will

see, violence & profanity do not represent what we put out. Talent, in its raw

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state, as is found on the streets everyday, is more entertaining, inspiring and

fascinating than the stigmatic violent urban culture that has been portrayed over

& over again. There can be struggle & battle without violence, as you will see in

the KRUMP world, there can be drama without guns and there can be comedy

without putting anyone else down. If you don’t believe us, just stay tuned.”18

As Tight Eyez, Lil’ C and other krumpers have

demonstrated, this dance form can be turned into perhaps one

of the most important forms of resistance: economic

opportunity. Both clown and krump dancers have been music

video back-up dancers for the likes of Gwen Stefani, Missy

Elliot,and Christina Aguilera. Miss Prissy, one of the

featured dancers in the movie Rize (which will be discussed

shortly) is currently on tour with Madonna and has starred

in her videos. In 2002 Tight Eyez, Dragon, Big Mijo, and a

slew of other krump dancers came together to form Krump

Kings, a krump crew/company that to date has put out a

18 Krump Kings. “Krumping.” < http://www.krumpkings.com/company.html> (retrieved May 1, 2006)

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series of krumping DVDs, gone on tour through Europe, taught

classes, and formed a website that serves as an internet

base for krumpers and aspiring krumpers all over the world.

They are definitely surpassing the expectations that much of

the dominant social structure holds for them.

The close ties between the sacred and the secular that

exists within the African American community have led to a

strong Christian presence in krumping. According to Tight

Eyez, the word “krump” is an acronym meaning Kingdom

Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise.19 Whether this meaning was

attached to the word from the beginning of its use is

unclear, but now it is generally accepted by the krump

community. In the forum section on the Krump Kings website,

dancers will add onto the end of their posts as a signature

the term “Christ Up!” and it is not uncommon to them to

reference both their love for krumping and belief in Jesus

Christ in the same sentence. Considering the Africanist

history of using dance as a vital component of spirituality

and religion, this development serves to place krump even 19 Nassim, Shiri. Krump 1.0: Introduction to Krump Technique. 2005

24

more firmly within the African American dance canon, and

could be seen as an exciting continuation of a steadfast

cultural and racial legacy.

“This is not a trend. Let me repeat: this is not a trend.”

- Dragon20

Although Dragon, a dancer featured in the movie Rize, was

speaking specifically about the way krump dancing is

perceived, he could have just as well been talking about the

process of popularization that is occurring within, about,

and around the world of krump (and clowning, to a lesser

extent). In some ways, krump’s entry into the mainstream

consciousness is similar to the process of popularization

for other folk dance forms, such as hula or salsa21; yet it

differs in some significant ways:

Krump is still new; it’s not old enough yet to be

considered a “traditional” dance form. The movement

20 Rize. Produced by Ellen Jacobson and directed by David LaChapelle. ***min. Lions Gate Home Entertainment, 2005. DVD.

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itself is still in the process of codification and the

forms history (specifically the history of krump and

not the history it’s born from) is still in motion.

It is part of the hip hop canon, which is a billion

dollar industry and has considerable worldwide

influence. So as opposed to being popularized through,

for example, dance halls or social parties, it is

popularized through the likes of MTV.

Thanks to the internet and other rapid-fire form of

technology, information is being transmitted faster

than ever. Thus within only around five years of its

formation, krump is known about and being practiced all

over the world.

To date, only one widely popular source exists for the

dissemination of this dance form, and that is Rize.

Outside of L.A., there are few classes offered, and

unless one is part of the hip hop subculture and knows 21 For an excellent reading on the popularization of hula and Latin dances, respectively, see Joann Kealiinohomoku, “Hula Space and Its Transmutations,” in Dance as Cultural Heritage (New York: CORD, 1985) pp.11-21; and Jane C. Desmond, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies” in Everynight Life, eds. Celeste Fraser Delgado & Jose Esteban Munoz (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997) pp.33-64

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where to look, the chances of learning krump from

another person are slim to none.

At the same time, popularization is popularization.

Although at this point one may not have to struggle with a

history of say, evolutions in krump dance from 1865 to the

present day, there is still the marginalization,

misappropriation, and romanticization of African American

culture to consider. This along with the constructs of both

gender and class is fundamental to understanding both krump

dancing and how it is received by the mainstream.

As I said before, Rize is currently the most popular

source on krump that is available to the mainstream. It was

not the first film to focus exclusively on krump dancing nor

was it the first time the krump had been captured on film,

but it introduced it to the world and kick-started the

popularization process on a grand scale. Without Rize,

Madonna probably would have found out about krump only after

it would be too late to use it in her newest video.

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Apropos, I would like to take time to explore Rize both as

a movie and as a vehicle for cultural transmission. This is

less of a movie review and more a critique of the way Rize

views its subjects and their dance, which ultimately

influences the audience’s gaze upon these black dancing

bodies as well as the dance itself.

“I wanted to make a film, I didn’t know it was going to be a documentary.”

- David LaChapelle

Rize is not a documentary. Despite what the The New York

Times, Tribeca Film Festival, Lions Gate Entertainment, or

even what LaChapelle himself may say, Rize is not a

documentary. It is a great primary source of krump and clown

dancing in L.A. right before it ruptured into the

mainstream. It’s a great introduction to some of the most

important and visible figures within the clowning and

krumping worlds: Tommy the Clown, Larry, Lil’ Mama, Tight

Eyez, Dragon, Lil’ C, and Miss Prissy to name a few. It’s a

great look at the culture of clown groups and krump crews

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and the dance battles that occur among and between the two.

It’s a beautifully shot, refreshingly uninterrupted study of

the physicality of these forms of dance, and will

undoubtedly become a highly valuable source for future

dancers to look back to. However, it is not a documentary.

Although krumping is a new form of dance, it is rife with

sociopolitical, cultural, economic, and racial implications.

Dance is a carrier of social meaning and each time it is

performed these meanings are reproduced.22 Every krump

session LaChapelle found himself in then, was not just a

dance fest but a recreation of the dancers’ realities and

identities. Judging from Rize however, this aspect of their

performance was lost on him.

Film may appear to be a completely objective medium, and

it may be so in comparison to other mediums, but complete

objectivity does not exist. A film is not only a statement

about its subject of choice; it is a statement about who the

filmmaker is and how she/he views the world.23 In every

documentary there are things that are not seen. Certain

22 Giurchuscu, pp. 110

29

images are cut in the editing room, certain parts of the

story are left out – a privileging takes place. As the

audience we are never viewing the subject as we would see

it, we are viewing it through the gaze of the filmmaker and

drawing our conclusion based on what he says.

LaChapelle is not an academic. He is a fashion

photographer and music video director whose career is built

on making the surface of his subjects look as visually

attractive as possible. In this light his choice to give

nothing but the most topical readings of the blatant

presence of race and class in this particular form of social

dance. Opportunities abound for him to take a deeper look at

realities being conjured up by these African American youth,

but it seems as if he goes out of his way to avoid anything

that might distract the viewer from the fantastic sight of

black bodies in motion.

23 Hanna, Judith Lynne. “African Dance Frame by Frame: Revelation of SexRoles Through Distinctive Feature Analysis and Comments of Field Research, Film, and Notation.” Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 19, No. 4. (Jun., 1989), pp. 424

30

The dancers LaChapelle focuses on are not explored with

any real depth. We don’t learn anything about their lives

outside of krumping (or clowning), such as whether they’re

in school, what type of jobs they have, what they enjoy

doing outside of dancing, or even what their real names are.

We learn to some a degree about their family life and their

experiences with violence, but we only learn about these

things if the two coincide. If someone has a peaceful family

life they are not shown. It seems as though LaChapelle has

created a construct of who these people are and what they

will represent, and if something falls outside of this

construct, he is content to ignore it.

If this film were only one of many other popular films

that focus on krump, perhaps his omissions wouldn’t have

been as problematic. However, as Rize is the most well-known

film to date, everyone is looking to it to inform their

knowledge of what it means to “get krump.” The elements that

LaChapelle ignores (be it out of ignorance or

deliberateness) become the elements that the world can’t

see.

31

There are more than a few constructs at work in this

work. Prior to LaChapelle’s forays into South Central, the

construct of “black” being synonymous with danger, the

ghetto, the working class, and urban warfare had been firmly

set into America’s psyche. The mainstream’s acceptance of

films such as Menace II Society, Boyz in the Hood, and South Central,

has not been simply because they represent contemporary

urban realities but because they also reinforce the popular

perception that everyday urban life and violence mutually

define each other24 as well as fulfilling fantasies about

the violence/danger of inner-city communities of color.25

LaChapelle does little to challenge to contest this trope

of “ghetto-blackness.”26 Part of the reason we know so

little about the characters is that he only explored them to

the extend they uphold his notion of blackness, of class,

and of krump. I can’t assume to know what their life stories

24 Dimitriadis, Greg. Performing Identity/Performing Culture. (New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc, 2001), pp. 7

25 Rose, Tricia. Black Noise. (Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2004), pp. 11

26 Ibid., pp. 11

32

are in actually; its impossible for me to do so. But I can’t

help but wonder what more there is to them than their

constantly endangered state as young black people living in

South Central.

Within this context krump turns into a life preserver of

sorts. Many of the dancers readily acknowledge that this is

one of their few alternatives to becoming involved with gang

violence and illegal drugs. Many were former gang members,

or were on the track to becoming gang members before

krumping (or clowning) encouraged them to shift their focus.

Some have turbulent family lives, and although education is

not explored, one has to wonder how many are able to go on

to college or who has finished high school. The legitimacy

of krumping as an alternative to a slew of negative options

is not being questioned here.

What is being questioned is the portrayal of krumping as

just that, solely a way to escape the dangers of the ghetto

as opposed to being an artform in itself. While we hear much

of the threat and tales of violence and how krumping can be

a means to release the anger one feels in living in such an

33

environment, we don’t hear or see as much about the

development of krump as an art. For example, are there

preparations one takes before going to a krump session, such

as stretching, warming up, meditation or prayer? Is there a

lifestyle outside of the actual dancing that dancers

participate in so they become better dancers, such as

following a certain diet, attending other krumping sessions

without actually dancing, or going to church regularly?

These questions remain unexplored. What LaChapelle shows us

gives us the sense that the krump sessions occur for the

most part sporadically and without warning or preparation,

which is perhaps how it is in actuality, but reducing what

the dancer do to an “alternative” robs them of the agency

krumping supposedly gives them. And when one is young,

working-class, and from “the ghetto,” agency is always the

question.

LaChapelle’s fascination with the black male (dancing)

body is very clear, but would he have been as interested in

krumping if it were dominated by black women? It’s a

question worth considering. The female presence in clowning

34

is shown, but when the camera shifts to the darker form of

krumping, the women are rendered virtually invisible by

LaChapelle’s almighty lens. Their stories and their dancing

take a firm backseat to that of the men. While krumping is

certainly male-dominated in its current stage, the few women

who are present are further pushed back.

Although Miss Prissy has become the poster child – or

rather poster woman –for female krumpers, it is due more so

to her strong stage presence than her involvement in the

film. Out of all the main characters, she (and Daisy) are

the ones who we know least about by the end of the film

(Daisy was featured predominately in the publicity for the

movie, appearing in photoshoots and even doing interviews

with the press, but she only appeared a handful of times and

was not interviewed in the movie itself). We don’t know

exactly where Miss Prissy is from or what her family life is

like.

Her study of other forms of dance (including ballet and

modern) have been jumped on by the critics same critics who

unabashedly praise the film, we see very little of it. Our

35

one opportunity comes when she is performing liturgical

dance at a church service. She steps forward, sways, curves

her arms above her head – and the camera cuts back to

Dragon, the black male body in action.

One of the most poignant and problematic moments of the

films occurs when LaChapelle cuts back and forth between

shots of krump dancers in action and archival footage of

African dancers. The similarity of the movements is

remarkable, as is the similarity in the use of body paint

for the African dancers and face paint for the clown dancers

and krump dancers. The hip hop soundtrack is exchanged for

the sound of African drums (another thing LaChapelle does

well is seamlessly match up the soundtrack to the dancers

who in reality were more than likely were dancing to

completely different music) which works surprisingly (or not

so surprisingly?) well with the krump movement. More than

anything shown up to this point in the film the Africanist

foundation of krumping is made crystal clear, as are the

links between African Americans and their African ancestry.

36

While LaChapelle’s intention here is obvious and in some

ways admirable, his chosen means of achieving his ends

leaves some questions unanswered and much to be explored. As

we have seen, placing his subjects within a clear context is

something of a weak spot, and this section is a particularly

good example. We are told nothing about the archival African

dance footage he chooses to show. We don’t know what area of

Africa they are located in, which ethnic group they belong

to, what the intended function of the dance was (at some

points it looks like they are wrestling more so than

dancing), or what year the footage was shot. A look at the

ending credits tells us it is entitled “The Nuba Footage,”

who are a group of people located in the Nuba Mountains of

central Sudan27, but by that point in the film most people

will have left the theater or turned off the DVD. By failing

to place the African dancers in a clear context and

continuing to uphold the notion of Africa and Africans as a

27 Moszynski, Peter. “Nuba: Sudan’s Struggling People.” (Oct. 10, 2000) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/964022.stm>

37

monolithic entity unworthy of details he undercuts the

potential impact this montage could have made.

However there is another old but latent construction

afoot here: the idea of any dancing ability a black person

holds to be inherent instead of learned. Immediately before

the krump/African dance montage begins, Dragon, while

comparing the legitimacy of krump to ballet comments, “We

didn’t have to go to school for this, it was already

implanted in us from birth.” During an interview Lil’ C

seconds his statement:

“I knew of African dancing, but it [wasn’t] accessible to me, to learn about it,

but I had no idea the movements were so similar . . . To me that’s one of the most

powerful scenes in the movie . . . but nobody [the dancers] had any reference to

that so we’re not copying it’s just . . . I guess it’s just memory genes, that’s exactly

what it is.”28

He speaks truthfully; As an African American that scene

is very powerful to watch. As Lil’ C pointed out access to

28 LaChapelle. Rize.

38

learning about our past and our culture can be a scarce

privilege, and when those opportunities arrive it’s exciting

and affirming. Hopefully it can also serve as an

encouragement for further investigation into African

American history.

At the same time there are other aspects present that

could’ve contributed to the similarity of krumping and

African dance, aspects that LaChapelle, staying true to his

hands-off approach on race and class, completely ignores.

While it is true that enslaved Africans developed a culture

that has retained its African characteristics for hundreds

of years, it hasn’t been due to pure luck that these

characteristics have been so tenacious. Until fairly

recently, most African Americans have lived in relative

isolation from whites, and even in the present day

segregation is much more pronounced than we are willing to

admit. Isolation then, rather than tenacity may explain the

similarity between their dance forms and those of Africans,

contemporary or ancient. LaChapelle doesn’t seem to have

thought too hard about how the experience of growing up in a

39

predominately black area, surrounded by others who also grew

up in a predominately black area, and coming from

generations who more than likely grew up in predominately

black areas has shaped the movement vocabulary krump dancers

draw upon.

The ultimate result is a simultaneous affirmation and

erasure. By simply saying “Look! Black folk in Africa danced

the same way a long time ago!” LaChapelle denies his

audience the chance to think about the effect of cultural

oppression and racial segregation has had on both African

American and American culture.

“It wasn’t about race, it wasn’t about class, it wasn’t about anything. It was about

simply being an artist and recognizing other artists.”

- David LaChapelle29

The historical and present-day effects of race, class,

and gender created the very infrastructure that was needed

29 LaChapelle. Rize.

40

for krumping to come into being. Without oppression and lack

of opportunity there would have been little explosive anger

and frustration for the dancers to express. If there weren’t

a lack of resources there would have been someplace else for

dancers to gather than in the streets. Without a history of

systematic segregation there would have been no hip hop for

them to dance to. If they weren’t African American, there

wouldn’t have been a collective memory or common movement

vocabulary to draw from.

41

If an artist is serious about fully recognizing another

artist, he or she must recognize all of them in order to

fully understand their art. From their history and their

identity to the social constructs they carry and the

complexity of such an existence. To study their art without

at least attempting to first do this is shortchange one’s

study and oneself.

42

Rize is only the beginning. Now that rupture has been made

the script is open to all to read and interpret how they

will. It will be interesting to see how the evolution of

this “ghetto ballet,”30 like its African American dance

30 Ibid.

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Dimitriadis, Greg. Performing Identity/Performing Culture. New York:Peter Lang Publishing Inc, 2001

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Gooding-Williams, Robert. Reading Rodney King, Reading Urban Uprising. New York: Routledge Press, 1993

Gottschild, Brenda Dixon. The Black Dancing Body: A Geography from Coon to Cool. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

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44

31-43

Kealiinohpmpku, Joann. “Hula Space and Its Transmutations,” in Dance as Cultural Heritage. (New York: CORD, 1985) pp. 11-21

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Films/DVDs

LaChapelle, David (director). Rize. 2005

Nassim, Shiri. Krump 1.0: Introduction to Krump Technique. 2005

46