The kinetic energy in the Physical Forum room at the Anteater Recreation Center was palpable as members of UC Irvine’s only freestyle dance club, B-Boys Anonymous (BBA), practiced.
Mirrors lined three of the room’s four walls, where around 40 students squeezed inside for a krump practice and workshop event led by Chi Nguyen — a UC Irvine alum and former BBA, Hyphen and Chinese Association Dance Crew member — with assistance from fellow dancer Serj Gaerlan on Oct. 29. Between teaching freestyle moves, Nguyen explained the origins of krumping and its impact. Krump, which stands for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, originated in South Central Los Angeles as an artistic outlet and alternative to gang violence in the 2000s.
“One of the things with krump is to hype each other up and keep the energy,” Gaerlan said, as he grouped students into pairs so they could cheer each other on.
This type of educational dance workshop is necessary for BBA, as the history of various freestyle dances is just as important as learning the fundamental movements.
Founded in 1999, BBA was originally called The Breakdance Club at UCI. The name was changed in 2006 to B-Boys Anonymous — a play on Alcoholics Anonymous — to better reflect members’ passion and addiction for dance. The new name also encapsulates an important terminology shift, moving from breakdancing — a commercialized term — to its original name breaking. Therefore, each member of the expressive art community is referred to as a B-boy or B-girl, which means break boy or break girl as they dance to the break of a track.
“We try to emphasize teaching the history live and making sure that people know about these customs,” Justin Lee, BBA co-president and third-year informatics student, told New University. “All of [the dances] have founders. All of them have specific music and how they came about.”
For Annie Dang, fifth-year cognitive science student and former BBA board member, learning about the origins and meanings behind the styles makes her a better dancer.
“There’s this discussion of choreography versus freestyle, but for me … because I was able to learn the history of dance, I actually was able to dance,” Dang told New University. “Knowing the way that people dance … helps me with the way I express myself. I dance better to emulate how it was actually supposed to be.”
Like all BBA practices, the workshop was free and open to all students. Skill level, attendance and even participation are not something that the board members penalize students for. BBA’s inclusive nature attracts both beginner and experienced Anteaters who can compete in the dance battles that are held at the end of each quarter. The fall and spring dance battles are open only to UCI students and staff, creating a more supportive environment for new members who may be nervous to share their skills.
For BBA, hip-hop dance culture is reminiscent of a close-knit family. Their dancers travel all around California, meeting with clubs and teams at other university campuses. Growing and maintaining relationships through the medium of dance is central to BBA’s mission.
“We find other collegiate clubs as well, and we go out to the bigger events,” Lee said. “It’s worldwide. Hip-hop, street dance culture is worldwide. So, you know, it happens everywhere. And it’s like a language that you can communicate in, no matter where you go.”
Although most classes end by 9:20 p.m., BBA members don’t stop learning from each other until well past midnight.
“It’s open skill level, because a lot of people are really good, and then also people who have never danced in their lives before,” Patricia English, BBA treasurer and third-year informatics student, told New University. “So we try to have workshops for fall quarters that are beginner friendly and introductory to a lot of different styles.”
Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, students are likely to hear the stomps and cheers of BBA members and beginner dancers who are finding their footing.
Cassandra Nava is a Features Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at cassan2@uci.edu.
Edited by Ben De Guzman.