triggerhappymedia

The world passes through the tourist. The tour consumes us, not vice versa. Always a step ahead or a step behind, the tourist is never there exactly, never sees or hears or smells or touches the country or its inhabitants exactly, always experiences something other, something else— an illusion, an itinerary packaged, sold, administered like doses of a drug, unless, perhaps, we imagine a world in metaphors, making it up, making up ourselves as we travel, dream, tell stories.

–from The Island Martinique by John Edgar Wideman

Above: the product of a late-night brainstorm that turned Category 5 somewhere between my mind and my notebook.

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Trigger: Zouk Love: a documentary film

Brazilian dancing, African/French artist Kaysha’s music, English lyrics…just watch…

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Trigger: A couple, one love and the Zouk in Goiânia, Brazil

Then-

Now-

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Trigger: Breakin’, 1984 ; Buraka Som Sistema’s Sound of Kuduro, 2007

Planet B-boy
New York premiere
2008, USA

Let’s begin by making one thing clear: you may have been attempting to breakdance when you dislocated your shoulder back-spinning on your mom’s kitchen floor. But those who do it for real are called b-boys and b-girls. The “b” stands for beat, and they are dead serious about what they do.

To illustrate comes Planet B-boy, the latest documentary that puts most other dance films to shame. Yes, there are the incredibly talented, somewhat misunderstood dancers. And they all want to go to a major competition and win first prize.

But the film goes beyond the frenetic steps and hip hop music. It gets to the heart of what make a b-boy tick– toprock, knee drop, flare, and altogether live and breathe this dance.

Eighteen countries competed in the 2005 Battle of the Year (BOTY) contest in Braunschweig, Germany. Focusing in on the top teams from Japan, South Korea, France, and the USA reveals something unexpected. B-boying did not fade away after being hyper-commercialized in the 1980s. It spread across the globe.

At BOTY the dancers challenge their rivals with moves painstakingly practiced to look spontaneous. Far from the South Bronx (the roots of b-boy culture), neighborhood friends from suburban Las Vegas represent the United States. And despite only learning about b-boying five years ago, the South Korean team has already taken the dance to another level.

Director Benson Lee put years of work into Planet B-boy in a quest for respect.

“B-boying is a true art form that is ignored by the institution of dance. I wanted to dramatize the history and pursue the reality of the dance today. I wanted to show the real dancers- that b-boying is big, deep, and around the world.”

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Trigger: Planet B-boy official site, trailer, and US release dates

1990
“Pump Up the Jam”
Technotronic

2007
“Boyz”
M.I.A.

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Trigger: M.I.A.at Terminal 5, NYC, 10/19/07