[Climb a Poetree...]

Alixa & Naima :
These beautiful ladies have really been inspiring me as of late. Their site describes them as poets moonlighting as performance artists. I have yet to meet them - but all I've ever heard of them has been good. And really, if they've got the mojo to inspire long distance style...might be a force to watch closely.

Multi-talented, these ladies are killing it on the poetry front, the bookbinding front, the mural painting front, the screen printing front, the miracle making front...I guess I could go on and on - but you should really go check out their kick ass site - which, by the way, they also did themselves.

{:CLICK:}

And while you're there...buy some of their wearable designs and maybe a CD or two of their verb magic. [counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective]

::You Don't Need Technics ... You Need Techniques::

HA! Totally stole the title from the ffff@ lab - cuz it was good...and cuz...really you should stop reading and watch this funky sh!t.
[BODY JERK finds spirituality in nyc hip-hop dance. hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a hip-hop dance activist. You can be an nyc hip-hop dance activist too. We use dance as a mode of radical communication. Like urban gypsies, we flood the streets, sampling culture . nyc Hip-Hop was born of soul and sample. Become an nyc hip-hop dance student. Become an nyc hip-hop dance educator. Become an nyc hip-hop dance activist. hip-hop urban gypsy. hip-hop dance evolution. revolution. ]

+SWOON+

Swoon is an amazing female street artist from NYC who specializes in life-size wheatpasate prints and paper cutouts of figures. She's been a staple in this city for over 6 years! Covering some of the ugliest places with intricately designed, colorful works. Check out an installation she did a bit ago...and boy oh boy - be on the look out for her newest project. I've been hearing whispers about the magnitude of this one...but don't worry girl, I won't tell.


Swoon Brings Juarez to Chelsea from Scribe Media on Vimeo.counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective]

--Creep Face--

LOL...
vid of me freestyling about two years ago for the Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory. Quite contained if you ask me...but adorable nonetheless...as I tend to be...HA!
CLICK.[counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective]

[The Art of the Exchange] PART I

I was, for a very long time, involved with an amazing bunch of enthused dancers and sorcerers who believed that it was their job to train the world to fall under a new standard of dance. While their training mechanisms were interesting and highly effective, they fell victim to a couple of illnesses - mainly ego and greed and the game of the big ole' H word...HIERARCHY.
This was more than dancer bootcamp folks, this was the full on war...a war against individualism and creativity. Somehow, dance stepped out of the picture and structure and bureaucracy was all that was left - well...for me at least.

One day I sat down, thought to myself - hey, I've seen this before.
In 1984, Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law. The controlling force kept a boot on the neck of its followers by means of:
psychological manipulation
physical control
control of information and history
and acceptable language/terminology used...

sound familiar?

seems some folk don't read between the lines...or read lines at all!
But me and a choice few - we broke free...in baby steps - because though maybe what these happy folk were into was right for them - it surely was not right for me, my soul, and my moral compass. During my slow breakaway process I received an email stating this "...because of your fear of subjugation and constant disdain for authority in many forms, your words often turn to or can be interpreted as obfuscation, inveigling and downright disrespect."
WAIT.
WHAT?
The happy dissenter should shut up...because her words might be misinterpreted?

Well...it's been a while since this has all gone down. And I've been thinking of my words carefully so as not to mince. And then I thought,
WAIT.
There's a fellow - who can articulate much better than I.

And here's what he said:
"The hierarchical principle is the magic spell that has blocked the path of men in their historical struggles for freedom. NO REVOLUTION WILL BE WORTHY OF THE NAME IF IT DOES NOT INVOLVE, AT THE VERY LEAST, THE RADICAL ELIMINATION OF ALL HIERARCHY."

The "revolution" I was previously engaged in - seems now to me to be a farce. A means of gaining and gaining and controlling and winning and gaining and making big names and getting billboards and performing for ClearChannel and hey - I'm on MTV and gaining and controlling and yes yes yes I'm master, you're below me, you know nothing.

Maybe a bit of a rant - but a valid one. Ask the dancers in NYC and elsewhere who either 1) are now disgusted by the thought of the dance or 2) are pushing past their bad taste to create something completely in opposition to what they've experienced and endured.

I own no bad blood - but I am determined to fuck the system...right up it's tight little ass.

The dance comes from an insane hunger to give - to show - to extend the tumultuous mass of emotions to an audience so that one might elicit response and ponderance.
We really shouldn't waste time with bitterness...(you should know this - my dearest Hindi gal)

My therapy? GIVE.

Dancers, are you hurt? GIVE.
This exchange that we've turned our art into - this exchange that has become a play on commercialism and ladder climbing and colored shirts and ranks and $44 tickets has determined the prestige of the giver.

But no - because, how many "famous" modern day dancers are there? You watch the music videos and really, how many dancers can you recognize by name? Who's really getting the shine here outside of the ones who consistently teach or work for big name studios such as Broadway Dance Center or Steps?

'Forced out of the sectors dominated by economic imperatives, this exchange can easily find itself reincarnated in values such as hospitality, friendship, and love.' Teaching to teach. Performing to perform. Free skill shares in the park at night!
GIVE PEOPLE GIVE!

Grow balls big enough to kill the market that this has turned into - and if that is too scary for you - grow balls big enough to change it.

LovEvolve.[BODY JERK finds spirituality in nyc dance. hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a hip-hop dance activist. You can be an nyc hip-hop dance activist too. We use dance as a mode of radical communication. Like urban gypsies, we flood the streets, sampling culture . nyc Hip-Hop was born of soul and sample. Become an nyc hip-hop dance student. Become an nyc hip-hop dance educator. Become an nyc hip-hop dance activist. hip-hop urban gypsy. hip-hop dance evolution. revolution. ]

::WanderLust::

A beautiful human showed this to me for the first time last week.
Watch and love.
Wanderlust from yoichi on Vimeo.[counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective]

+What's Moving+

Albert Hoffman 1906-2008.

A bit late...but since I've been thinking so hard about the great spiritual escape and the Rapture...and its correlation to dance and movement theory - how the mind can bend and warp and put you in a trance-like state, if only you make yourself susceptible to it...I thought of Mr. Albert Hoffman and not for nothing - the man was surely on to something.
I won't get into details now or gush gush gush...but do the research. Make your connections. Find your rapture. Turn on, tune in, drop out - as a great man once said. What moves you?
BBC News
[counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective]

--Merry Blues--

So, I know I just finished praising the work of intergalactically known dance troupe Pilobolus (their vid remains below) - but you know, things change. Sometimes more rapidly than you'd expect.

Though I cried tears of joy and awe after watching Symbiosis for the first time, yesterday I saw them live and in the flesh - and let me state for the record that there were no onions around - no scorpions in my seat - no tear gas or pinches...Last night I also cried a little.

Last night I had the deepest feeling that the dance world was being quickly raped. Again, more rapidly than I had ever expected. Last night...I felt like the Illuminati really did exist. I mean, surely someone has to be the man[m3n] behind the curtain when it comes to those cool [D4ng3r] parties in Brooklyn and those over the top pilates and wellness centers on the L.E.S.
Someone's in charge of the sexy not so hidden hidden bars in the village...and SOMEBODY - is definitely in charge of getting the shmucks at the Joyce theater to charge $44 per ticket for a bunch of "dancers" to play circus and shadow puppets worse than a 5th grade mom and pop recital.

I remember being originally attracted to the group after seeing various videos of their shadow witchery from the Oscars. I watched what they did for the TED convention. It all seemed so genuine and focused. After this show...I really get the inkling that there are some very athletic folk out there riding the big strong wave that is reputation. Sloppy really - and sloppy business of even pretending the show meant something. I left at intermission.

Seriously, what happened to quality of movement? Seriously, what happened to having a deep concern for performance caliber and integrity? You're what? Dancers? No no...you're money makers...money chasers.
What a fucking racket.
ZEITGEIST.BODY JERK nyc hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a dance activist. You can be a dance activist too in the nyc hip-hop dance spheres. Open your eyes and spit out radical forms of communication. Where are all the nyc hip-hop dance activists?BODY JERK ]

[As Soon As It Became Popular-I Lost Interest]

Martha Cooper speaks on being one of the first to document Hip-Hop roots from a non-commercial angle.Many thanks to CurrentTV for the vid!

[BODY JERK nyc hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a hip-hop dance activist. You can be an nyc hip-hop dance activist too. We use dance as a mode of radical communication. Like urban gypsies, we flood the streets, sampling culture . nyc Hip-Hop was born of soul and sample. Become an nyc hip-hop dance student. Become an nyc hip-hop dance educator. Become an nyc hip-hop dance activist. BODY JERK]

::Bali::

[hip-hop dance hip-hop dance hip-hop dance hip-hop dance hip-hop dance revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary entertainment entertainment entertainment entertainment entertainment evolve evolve evolve evolve evolve evolve evolve nyc nyc nyc nyc nyc nyc nyc nyc nyc evolution evolution evolution evolution evolution art art art art art art art counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counter culture collective counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org counterculturecollective.org]

+Piercing Is the Most Important Part+

So..as a starving artist you find yourself working jobs of the menial, ridiculous, and - if you're lucky - amazingly unique nature. I've been a waitress at many a burrito stand and coffee shop, worked both the sales and sweatshop sides of an "alternative" retail chain, sold gastric bypass products over the phone, and taught tiny tots to silver sneakers how to ... shake their groove thang.

Fortunately, I've been recently lucky enough to fall into working as a pseudo-personal assistant for whom most would consider a madman. Pompous and intense and quite possibly a secret genius a la' Hagbard Celine of the Illuminatus Trilogy - my employer has for the past few months rambled at great length of mystics, 2012, and meaning -- not the meaning of life, no - he could never be so cliche - but MEANING; the meaning of a look or gesture, the significance attached to a symbol or network, and all the muddled and not-so-muddled in-betweens. He mentioned something to me quite some time ago about a Lakota Indian ritual he was preparing himself for. He was brief and I assumed it was for the purposes of secrecy and reverence. Maybe it was. However, I'd soon come to find my research on dance practices and their connection to the "ALL ONE" or ever-evolving, interconnecting spirit self quickly hurtling towards the details he originally failed to extend to me.

Wikipedia describes the Sun Dance Ritual: "The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by a number of Native Americans. Each tribe has its own distinct rituals and methods of performing the dance, but many of the ceremonies have features in common, including dancing, singing, praying, drumming, the experience of visions, fasting, and in some cases piercing of the chest or back. Most notable for early Western observers was the piercing many young men endure as part of the ritual.

Frederick Schwatka wrote about a Sioux Sun Dance he witnessed in the late 1800s:

Each one of the young men presented himself to a medicine-man, who took between his thumb and forefinger a fold of the loose skin of the breast—and then ran a very narrow-bladed or sharp knife through the skin—a stronger skewer of bone, about the size of a carpenter's pencil was inserted. This was tied to a long skin rope fastened, at its other extremity, to the top of the sun-pole in the center of the arena. The whole object of the devotee is to break loose from these fetters. To liberate himself he must tear the skewers through the skin, a horrible task that even with the most resolute may require many hours of torture.

In fact, the object of being pierced is to sacrifice one's self to the Great Spirit, and to pray while connected to the Tree of Life, a direct connection to the Great Spirit. Breaking from the piercing is done in one moment, as the man runs backwards from the tree at a time specified by the leader of the dance. A common explanation, in context with the intent of the dancer, is that a flesh offering, or piercing, is given as part of prayer and offering for the improvement of one's family and community..."

Put that in your peace pipe and smoke it! I'm wondering right now - where the magic has gone...and moreover, are there folks in NYC currently out there - actively trying to find it? I know Santa Cruz is home of Dance Church.

{:CLICK HERE:}

If anyone is aware of anything going on on the East Coast that is similar - please, come out, come out cave dwellers! Let me know! [BODY JERK finds spirituality in nyc dance. hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a hip-hop dance activist. You can be an nyc hip-hop dance activist too. We use dance as a mode of radical communication. Like urban gypsies, we flood the streets, sampling culture . nyc Hip-Hop was born of soul and sample. Become an nyc hip-hop dance student. Become an nyc hip-hop dance educator. Become an nyc hip-hop dance activist. hip-hop urban gypsy. hip-hop dance evolution. revolution. ]

--Symbiosis--

"Pilobolus dance company members Otis Cook and Jennifer Macavinta perform the sensuous duet "Symbiosis." Does it trace the birth of a human relationship, or the co-evolution of a pair of symbiotic species?"
[BODY JERKnyc thoughtful dance hip-hop counter culture collective radical communication.nyc thoughtful dance hip-hop counter culture collective radical communication.nyc thoughtful dance hip-hop counter culture collective radical communication.nyc thoughtful dance hip-hop counter culture collective radical nyc thoughtful dance hip-hop counter culture collective radical communication.BODY JERK]

[And I had no idea it'd get this sticky...]

:[Meme]:

“…consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods.

Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (similarly to Darwinian biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success. So with memes, some ideas will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and, for better or for worse, mutate.”

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What makes everyone want to wear those Palestinian scarves?

Why are we all running around like maniacs, trying to make sure that we’re wearing the freshest kicks when all we’re doing is going to a dance class where they’ll be scuffed?

Who told everyone that rump shakin’ videos weren’t degrading and kind of tacky? … Cuz last time I checked…well…you know me well enough…

Memes.

These little buggers get around like viruses – infecting folk through speech and thought and media.

It seems to me that successful idea dissemination is measured by its acceptance by the many – lo, nobody gives a crap about those things that are accepted by the few.

Sad and honest truth – no matter what scene you’re in or how “underground” you think you are.

We have seen over and over that how widely accepted an idea is does not necessarily have a direct correlation to its value - amazing works and valid ideas are oftentimes lost in the cracks while the painfully average and ridiculous are generally accepted as being the best thing since Ipod earbuds.

It is through this that we’ve done a really fine job of landing ourselves in a pit – culturally speaking. Our music is over processed, our art is uninspired, and our dance? Well, let’s just look at what “they” are calling dance these days…CLICK

I dunno…maybe my distaste stems from the fact that I’m horribly jealous – or maybe I’m just not an “ass man.” In any case, where are the folks who are determined to bring art back? Our world is shattering around us like many, many eggs on a Halloween night.

Disgusting. Sticky…and jeez – the rank stench that it’s giving off is intolerable.

I know you’re out there lurking in your little coffee shops and slaving away in your studios…But these times you see - are getting desperate. It’s time to show your face.

In an information driven society – sticks and stones break no bones. Our thoughts and dreams are weapons of the realest nature…But only if we utilize them as such. The only way we can save our respective art forms – dethrone current ideologies and break existing stereotypes…is to get up and rock – and roll too for that matter.

I know for me – this means utilizing dance more as a form of radical communication. Oh boy oh boy are there tricks up these sleeves...

[BODY JERK hip-hop dance can become something viable too. nyc hip-hop dance can be taken back. nyc hip-hop dance can be a method of radical communication. nyc hip-hop dance can be therapeutic. nyc hip-hop dance can make your soul light up. dance is my religion. I am a hip-hop dance activist. You can be an nyc hip-hop dance activist too. We use dance as a mode of radical communication. Like urban gypsies, we flood the streets, sampling culture . nyc Hip-Hop was born of soul and sample. Become an nyc hip-hop dance student. Become an nyc hip-hop dance educator. Become an nyc hip-hop dance activist. BODY JERK ]