Krumping with Clowns on Yahoo! Underground

Standing amid a sea of ecstatic juniors dancing their heads off on the gym floor of a San Diego YMCA may have been the closest I've come to heaven. In which case, heaven could use better lights but other than that, it's pretty much all it's cracked up to be. I may be biased, though. The kids I saw in heaven were all transported there by the same revelation: krumping.

Krumping — for those of you yet to see David LaChapelle's beautiful documentary, Rize — is a dance of raw self-expression. It arose from the mean streets of South L.A. It often pits dancer against dancer, shaking and gyrating and jumping off fences and chairs and getting aggressive and all up in each others' grills. The movement's motives are peaceful and positive but the dance itself can be highly confrontational. The energy expended by krumpers is super-human. And so is the speed of some of their moves.

We hung with Tommy the Clown and his clown crew — among Krumping's key ambassadors — as they krumped their way through school gyms and across college stages. I'm still getting over some of the moves I saw busted.

so, what's your story?

Need an Avatar?

Get one here, avatars.yahoo.com

Got a bone to pick or a story to tell? (Hopefully the latter) Well, here's your soapbox. Take this opportunity to sound off or to bicker endlessly with other users over pointless minutia like true denizens of the internet. You're the man now dog.

1 - 10 of 19 First | Previous | Next | Last

ock

i really enjoyed it, at least r young children r taking their expressions to another level, [ dancing] we should b thankful they don't have guns in each hand, i loved it

elizabeth m

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 5:11 PM PDT

thatsb is pretty cool !!!!!!! Tommy come to schenectady n.y.

bill

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 5:29 PM PDT

Well, I guess it is better than them toting guns around, but that's not much of a comparison, is it? I guess it's okay, but what's with the clowns anyway? I've never liked clowns, and I know many many others who feel the same way. Maybe if they lose the clown image they might attract an even bigger audience. Who knows?

Joshua P

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 5:42 PM PDT

This is good exercise and otherwise harmless. But as far as partner dancing, I don't think so. To me, old foggy that I am, when two people move as one to music attached to each other, THAT is dancing.

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 8:12 PM PDT

this is good exercise & not harmful. it is pimpin'

~*~T~L~F~*~

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 8:49 PM PDT

I find it sad that in 2007 we as blacks still find it neccesary to coon,shuckn jive and act a damn fool just to make a buck. It is a sad testament to just how far we as a people have come...I do not have a problem with Tommy and his organization. I feel it is exceptional that he and those who support him have done a outstanding job with the kids and G-d willing they will contiue in their endeavors. I believe we as a people should have evolved passed the point of having to act this way to make a living....

charles c

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 9:01 PM PDT

haha, i find it funny that to SOME, on this post, and the other one going on, that it is a black/white thing. WE are all brothers and sisters, no matter our color. But, yes, all the people in the video were black, but hey, my son thinks it's cool, and he's Native American. Don't guess it matters though, it's just dancing, and I enjoyed watching the video, even if it is old news.

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 9:34 PM PDT

i would love to see more of this type of dancing. please come to GA

Sharon T

POSTED Fri, Jun 8, 2007 9:51 PM PDT

Anything that will keep the kids off the street and out of trouble should be supported and praised. You forget that with every generation, there is some new dance that the older generations just don't understand. They were appalled with Elvis Presley and his gyrations, but he influenced many artists. Regardless of what people think, these kids are finding a better outlet for idle time than to be in the street. As for going to school and studying instead of krumpin', that's the parent's responsibility. For some, this is their way of getting their kids to go to school and do right. Those more privileged can threaten to take the car away, or the video games, or that party on Saturday night. But when you live where you have nothing, this is your tool. Until you walk in their shoes, don't hate or criticize.

2sexy4u

POSTED Sun, Jun 10, 2007 10:59 AM PDT

I don't like the clown theme. The dance is cool if it's positive and not sexual. Youth today are struggling with having anything positve & cool. Positve dance. no clowns.