Twelve young men walked into the Express Avenue mall in Chennai one day in June. They fanned out and began twirling their bodies around on the mall floor.
"What are they doing?" asked some curious passersby in English and Tamil. They were a b-boying team from Kerala, they said. The onlookers were impressed.
Malayalis do so much, they told the dancers. The team — De-Rockyoumerz — were celebrating their success at the Chennai Street Festival, where they b-boyed, and became runners-up in a 3 on-3 battle. They also took the fourth place at the national Battle of The Year competition in 2011.
B-boying is a style of street dance that originated in New York in the 70s, and came to India in 2007.
“B-boying is still unheard of in Kerala,” says Yanko, one of the founders of the first b-boying team from Kerala.
They adopt new names once they join. “Just like the WWE wrestlers,” points out Taishon, who has taken a year to become a performer. “When I came, I didn’t know anything about dancing.” Only hard work takes you there, the group says.
Yanko, Dee, Dave and Eton founded the group back in 2009. The four lived in the PMG police quarters in Thiruvananthapuram and had a dance group, performing filmi dance. “It is later that we saw videos of b-boying on the Internet and were inspired to start one,” says Yanko.
Dave had to leave, but the team continued to flourish, with new aspiring dancers joining in at regular intervals.
We don’t reject anyone who comes. But you have to be fit, have fully stretchable legs and be strong adds Yanko.
Even girls have joined the group, but not as performers yet. “Many parents are skeptical about these movements. Some of them say your intestines will fall out.”
But nothing has stopped these passionate dancers from following their dreams. There are college students and professionals in the team. “Castor, Raun and Reeko were studying at the Arya Central School when they auditioned. Dan, Jake and Taishon came from Mar Ivanios College.”
Kastor, Ryo, Plasma, and Cayo are the other members.
The biggest challenge the team faced is getting acceptance in Kerala. “We just go out into the streets or public places like Kanakakunnu Palace or the Shanghumugham beach and perform to spread awareness about b-boying. We still need more teams in Kerala. We hope to do some b-boying jams and battles next year.”
