The club culture-hundreds of thousands of young people across the country, covered in sweat and rhythmically throbbing to a beat- has long been filled with stigmas and stereotypes; the idea that hip-hop music is only for people of African descent, or solely for the "impoverished youth" as Dale Kleinschmidt, an ex-DJ and amateur break dancer from Dallas, puts it, has been a common view associated with the hip-hop scene by the masses. Dale got interested in break dancing because, as he says, "he wanted to look cool." In the beginning, the idea of being able to break dance was funny to him- he had already been involved in the dance scene, but he had never been a b-boy, he just DJed. A lot of Dale's interest in the dance aspect of the clubs came from his DJing experiences.

Dale really started dancing when he met up with a group of Hispanic kids- that he had known from the scene already- and discovered that they had formed a break dancing crew. They decided to take Dale "under their wings." The fact that the Hispanic kids were the ones dancing, and that they were so accepting of Dale- a middle-upper class white kid- says a lot about the falseness of the racial stereotypes involved in the scene.

"& it's a very embracing culture," says Dale, "which a lot of people find surprising, but if you go out there no one's gonna give you crap for trying& "
According to Dale, the only people that the club kids typically dislike are the ones that detach themselves from the scene. "& say you go to a club and just sit in the back corner, or you just try to hit on girls, that's fine, but the break dancers are probably just gonna look down on you& " The thought that a person should interact in any of what Dale calls "the four elements of hip-hop" seems to be a prevailing theme in the hip-hop culture. The kids involved in the music, and the scene in general, are open minding and willing to accept people who are enthusiastic whether they are black, white, alabaster or grey. "...provided you're not a jerk to anyone else, it's very easy to be respected...." The kids themselves have high respect for anyone involved- what it basically comes down to is a bunch of kids trying to find something to do on a Friday night. "...if nothing else, it seems that most of the kids I would break dance with were just bored..."

The four elements of hip-hop, as Dale, and many other people, would say are as follows: MCing, DJing, tagging, and dancing. Of the four, Dale feels that he is most learned in the aspects of dancing and DJing. Before Dale ever got involved in the hip-hop culture specifically he was out DJing trance records- a form of techno. "...I think that what you'll find is that it's the same group of kids going to two different places, depending on what their mood is like..." Techno, a form of music based on electronics, is similar to hip-hop because the share some of the same elements- more specifically break dancing and DJing. While tagging- essentially spray painting your name on a wall- and MCing- rapping or singing over the music the DJ is playing- seem to be unique to hip-hop culture, both techno and hip-hop seem to be built around dancing. The music played in both scenes is always loud and driven by bass.

Dale got interested in DJing when he was in high school. At first he had wanted his mother to buy him a guitar; he kept asking her year after year until she caved in, and Dale got what he wanted. Dale began to take lessons, but after awhile he began to think that being a guitarist wasn't in his future. Dale was impatient, and also, it seemed to him that over the span of a year everyone had got a guitar. Dale found the guitar unoriginal, so he decided to sell his guitar and pick up some turn tables.

Dale's DJing career began in high school, DJing at parties and at local raves. "...I knew a production group and they threw a lot of field raves because they had stolen a power generator, so we were able to pretty much have a rave anywhere we wanted it...." The music Dale DJed, and the scene where he went to break dance had a lot of similarities, but they were technically different. "...I really found a lot of joy in showing people music they had not heard before...." The biggest similarity between the two scenes could be found in the dance aspect of each. One scene- the electronic, or techno scene- had emerged recently, or at least in the last ten years, while the other- the hip-hop scene- had been around for nearly twice as long.

Dale's involvement in the hip-hop scene- break dancing- at this point was actually more accepted in society, and he got his first taste of it at community sponsored events. "...the clubs and rec. centers..." where they would hold break dancing competitions, and let local kids DJ is where he got his first taste. After that, he would spend time working on his moves, with his friends, at vacant racket ball courts. "...I used to stand on my head, up against a wall, just to get a sense of balance..." The extent to which the scene involves the youth, and the pure physical prowess it requires to execute break dancing moves, is amazing.

The actual technical aspects of break dancing, although the moves look cool, require time and practice to master. The most physically exhausting moves are the ones executed on the floor- the ones called "downrock." These are the moves that the mass majority of people get into break dancing to master- these are the ones that look the "coolest"- but the "power moves" seem to lack variation. "...there are only a certain number of power moves anyone can do..." According to Dale, it is the "uprock" the moves that a person does while standing upright, that establishes individual style in dancing.

Forms of martial arts, as well as gymnastics, also seem to find their way into the art of break dancing. "...the most common incorporation of another dance style into break dancing is the Brazilian fighting art Capuera..." Capuera is a Brazilian art that works well in break dancing because it is a rhythm based fighting style, and a lot of the "uprock" moves are developed from it. The broad range of arts incorporated in break dancing serves to yet again reflect the entire culture's open-mindedness.

Another stigma often attached to hip-hop culture is a stigma that girls aren't accepted. While the scene doesn't encourage racism, or sexism, and is accepting of both men and women, the dance scene does seem to be dominated by males. "...I would hands down say it's not sexist, but objectively I just don't think that there are as many girls interested in break dancing as guys..." The question of why is really a tough one, it might have to do with any number of things-including the competitive nature of the scene- but the fact remains that the break dance circles seem to be filled with masculine face.

Despite the stereotypes I have heard about the hip-hop culture, and the apparently male-dominated scene, after my interview with Dale I would have to dispel those accusations. Of course there will be "purists" as Dale said, and people who believe that they deserve more respect because they have been involved in the scene longer, but in the bigger view, the dance culture seems to be one of the most accepting scenes that exists. If you have a genuine interest in the culture, as in anything, there is no reason that you shouldn't attempt to take part in it. The scene from the beginning was a do-it-yourself scene, and in break dancing there are no rules. Get out there and do what you want- if you honestly respect the scene you should have no problems.

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