House Dance Power Moves!!!

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Permalink Reply by santiago on February 25, 2009 at 12:36pm

When I think of power moves, I think of acrobatics. So floorwork, aerials, flips, lofting come to mind. As far as upright power moves - Ejoe Wilson spins are pretty incredible. He can spin around like ten times at the speed of lightning (Tazmanian Devil style) and completely on beat. I would consider this an upright power move. I have footage of this, just need to post it!

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Permalink Reply by CypherStyles on February 25, 2009 at 3:37pm

Yo Santiago,
That's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Another area I was wondering about is upright freezes. Whether in bboying or in house it looks great when you slam the breaks in your dancing and hit a beat perfectly. Naturally it's more impressive when it's a skillful balance, like balancing on your toe or your heel in a slick pose. I'd love to see more examples of athletic/dynamic upright moves and upright freezes in house. More clips or examples from anyone at housedancers.com would be very welcome. Thank you guys and girls for your time and expertise,

Respect,
Barry

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Permalink Reply by lare. on February 26, 2009 at 2:47am

IMO so called house "power moves" are more influenced from things like African dance, capoeira regional, and acrobatics. But Power moves to me kind of lives in all dance forms due to the fact that it would be kind of your accents in your dance that leads you to become more explosive when the music calls for it. I usually see more new generation house dancers, french, and japan leading more to becoming explosive types especially since the scene is bigger with events like Juste Debout and since alot of dancers may have come from a bboy background, or capoeira regiona. etc. I really really believe that peoples circle etiquette is different nowdays. Cats may be really used to dancing in big cyphers and would lead them to have a big more powerful expression in any circle no matter what the size. I do see a big difference in the small cypher type vs. the big cypher type where is the so called "power moves" are different. With a big cypher/circle person of course they would do the most athletic, intricate and big move whereis the small cypher/circle cat would achieve the same but thru a medium where the power and athleticism is more artistic by using elements such as upper body motion, hitting specific parts of the music by accenting really sharp by doing a small move but having the same power as someone who would dance in big cyphers. So I guess my definition of power moves has really changed over the years since I've been around alot of poppers, lockers, etc.

But if I really do relate it from a bboy perspective I would say that house power moves come when the music calls for it. When that crash hits or that bassline blasts or the snares fire off like gunshots you get that BOOM BOOM BOOM Attack mode jumping off the ground feeling and then smooth it out cuz the sounds fade off to a nice resonating wail of strings. LIke Santiago said Ejoe is like the best example even terry when he was younger and forget Shan S. I think overall alot of MOVES/MOVEMENTS can become house if it is used specifically to the music. Not just trying to dance over the music, but letting the music show you what you can use, how you can use it, and how you can redefine what you already have if you never ever learned or studied NY/chicago style.

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Permalink Reply by santiago on February 26, 2009 at 11:49am

Strong post, brethern. IMO there is a difference between (a) powerful expression through response to the music, like accents / sharp "hits" / freezes, and (b) "power moves", as that term is classicly defined through the b-boy idiom. When I think of the term power moves, I relate that to movements that can only be executed by highly athletic dancers with a degree of strength, flexibility and balance not ordinarily exhibited by human beings. Great power moves also elicit strong crowd reaction accordingly to the level of difficulty; meaning, is that movement so extraordinary for the human body to achieve that no one else in the building can conceive. But the big difference between b-boying and house is that a b-boy can get by strictly on power moves. In fact, world champions are made on the basis of extreme acrobatic agility. A lot of the Korean b-boys I've seen are just crazy dope athletes, but I've also noted that they'll execute the same exact moves regardless of what song is playing. With House, we don't play that. The music commands the moves and a power move can easily be viewed as out of place, regardless of cypher size. I think the best practitioners of House power moves are Ejoe, Meech, Hiro, Bryan Gentry, Savuth, Sidney Vault , Cricket, Orb - these are House Dancers with sick athletic ability but they also bring the soul and musicality with it, which is the true essence of the dance.

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Permalink Reply by CypherStyles on February 26, 2009 at 11:59am

Hey Santiago,
I agree with both of you 100% Any dance move can be done with conviction and strength, but I'm looking for house dances moves that DEMAND athleticism and explosiveness to be performed. No House dancer can get by on just these moves, you need to rock the beat and dance to the music, but these moves are still a worthwhile part of any house dancers arsenal for when the music takes control!

Can you cite more specific house "power" moves or video clips, it would be great to see specific examples of these moves. I've seen most of the dancers Santiago listed, and they're all great house dancers, but I'm having trouble finding specific examples of House "power".

I'm not trying to divide house up into the same structure as bboying, I just think these types of moves are usually just written off as lofting, or bboying to a house, and I feel like there is a strong base of house "power" that is uniquely suited to house dance, not just commandeering capoeira or bboy moves. I'd love to explore this area, and I'm sure I'm not alone, if anyone has specific examples or clips to contribute. Thank you very much,

Respect,

Barry

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Permalink Reply by JackDaniel on March 4, 2009 at 7:09pm

watch videos of cebo on youtube,

he does a lot of blowups in his style.

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Permalink Reply by Tanel Lepp on April 24, 2009 at 5:00pm

Well power moves are breakdance not housedance. Though you can try doing a body spin when in footwork, donno how to say it exactly. Like umm, you go down like throwing one leg against your back and then when you get down you throw yourself 180 degrees over your sholder :P

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Permalink Reply by Judea Stonez on November 1, 2009 at 9:23pm

True Tanel, "power Moves" are bboy. ....The 'explosive subtle beat riding' @ peak moments, with extreme intricacy,done with experiance and wisdom-is House Power to me....

Although Bboyin and Housin are done in the same circles, and sometimes in the same set(by one dancer) they are completely 2 different entity's.

(Probly not the best example... but like, Kung Fu and Ti Chi ((dragon ball Z ti chi that is!!!)) lol)

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Permalink Reply by Culture kid on October 13, 2009 at 11:36am

Check out any of the Step Fenz

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Permalink Reply by CypherStyles on November 3, 2009 at 10:22am

Your definitely right that generally when people talk about "Power" it's referring to breaking. I'm a BBoy and I know Power usually refers to headspins, flares and all that. With that being said, house has many extremely dynamic, explosive moves that are unique to it's style. Your right power isn't the right word to describe it, since that refers to breaking. Besides just fast footwork, I'm specifically looking for more explosive athletic moves unique to house. I'm not just looking for moves done with alot of energy, but moves that are by their nature dynamic, like fast repeating spins, dolphin dives, and other unique house blowups. - Barry

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