PART 1

Breaking is like a character that accompanies you in order to discover yourself. It is a tool that helps you explore yourself through the relationships you have with others. It is something you cannot do alone; the question of sharing and community is central. It is no wonder that the word “community” has lasted through the ages, despite changing trends.

We tend to define breaking and the hip-hop community with their motto: Peace, Love, Unity, and Having Fun, but in reality, the way we evolve in breaking makes us experience as many positive things as negative things. The fact that we are confronted with the functioning modes of others who live the same art we do allows us to position ourselves unconsciously and to form personal opinions on a set of subjects and values: the ego, honesty, loyalty, sharing, our way of acting in the face of injustice, etc. It is a philosophy that we will enter that will define us and that we will refine according to our mistakes, experiences, encounters, to give a version of ourselves, our identity. It is our identity that will then define how we want to invest ourselves in this environment for our art: whether we want to consume it or make it grow; whether we want to be a participant, follower, or leader.

We also tend to think that we are a community that manages to free itself from society and remain marginal. It is true that we have our own rules, but I do not think that we really have immense freedom in our art. It is something that we live in a community, and we just have a different way of understanding society with our own codes. The values that I see in bboys and bgirls according to their respective generations remain closely linked to today’s society, as does the mode of consumption of breaking and culture: individualism, standardization of things, over-marketing, and consumption reign today. Demands and aspirations have changed, and the “why” we are in this culture has also changed.

I do not think my definition and my way of living breaking are representative of a particular era. Only, I have an ideal of society and community, so I remain faithful and uncompromising on certain values. In more than 30 years of active presence in this scene, I have observed that the values that bind the community do not fundamentally change; they just translate differently. The truth is that between today and 30 years ago, nothing separates us. We are all looking for the same thing: to be respected, to have fun, to dance, and above all, we look for meaning in what we do. We are the same generations, just operating in different contexts that influence us. Wanting to over-consume culture, movements, wanting to be invited, followed, etc., reflects a certain form of suffering, a lack of meaning. Genius and talent have become trivialized and seem to be accessible to everyone, when in fact they are not given to everyone. Not everyone has the opportunity to see it. As a result, today the ordinary is praised.

PART 2

It is an art, it is a lifestyle, it is something that cannot be detached from its base. You can’t define breaking without having an overall appreciation for hip-hop as a whole. It is not a problem if things become popular and specialized as long as everyone knows where it comes from and what values it must carry.

I am of Algerian origin. At home, we love our flag, and from a young age, we are told about our roots, our country, our heritage, and culture. We are told stories about these things, so at a very young age, I was made aware of politics, the notion of belonging, and more.

When we embrace hip-hop and breaking, a culture that is not our own and comes from a place that is not home, the least we can do is try to understand who the people are who created this movement and what gives us the impression of having a connection with all of it. Hip-hop has welcomed everyone, regardless of their background, so what makes this energy speak to us all?

If today I judge, dance, and travel, it is because people who have sacrificed much have invented something much deeper than simply being a judge or being invited to dance. That’s what we need to ask ourselves—the meaning of it all. What matters is not fame or popularity but the art itself.

PART 3

Beyond all this, in a much more down-to-earth way, what is breaking? It’s footwork. It’s the relationship to music, the party, and the aesthetics. In what environment do bboys and bgirls find themselves among culture enthusiasts to create and evolve? Breaking blossoms and is created in jams, that’s where it’s the most spontaneous. Breaking is a dance, an attitude, a way of expressing one’s spirit in movement. It is an endless dance. Breaking is a way of standing, moving, and asserting oneself.

« A crew, theoretically, is a gathering of people in a group that is given a name. But in reality, it is a family. It’s really what makes our identity. A crew is the people with whom you share personal, professional, artistic and sporting projects. These are the people, after your real family, with whom you spend the most time.

I started dancing in Angers in 1997. We set up a first group with dancers from all over the city when I was 15, they were between 19 and 20. We were an amateur company, with the ambition to become professionals. It was my first little family, the first stone in the building.

After that, I had higher ambitions, or different from those of the other members of my crew. What animated me was the competition, the battle. In 2004 I joined Vagabonds, which became the cornerstone of my career. After that I didn’t dance with any other group, any other company, either competitively or artistically.

Vagabond became my second family name; it was my identity card. For me there is this notion of family in the fraternal sense of the word. A crew is a school, it represents a philosophy and values that you are given and that you defend in your approach, in your work and in your dance. There is also a notion of loyalty and implication towards a larger entity, which has collective objectives.

Personally, I find it hard to understand dancers who are part of several groups at the same time. It’s like having 10 last names on your ID card. Who are you in the end? You can have affinities with other people, be part of other projects, but the reality is that you really only have one group.

The founder of Vagabond Crew is Mohamed Belarbi. He created this group in 2000 with Parisian pillars who had been around for a long time: Lamine, Salah, Si’Mhamed, Kamel, Nel… The group is called Vagabond because the members could be found all over France, in street shows or in battles.

Momo and the other founding members have created a group that matches their ambitions. They created a group that was in line with their values and with the image of Break dancing that they wanted to convey around the world. The Vagabond Crew, exclusively Parisian at the beginning, started to see new members coming from all over France in 2003. In 21 years of existence, there are nearly 40 dancers who are members of the crew.

Vagabond crew has always integrated its new members by paying a strong attention to the dancer’s state of mind. The priority is to see if this dancer, whatever his or her level, shares the same values and the same ambitions as the group. It is essential because it is then these values, this history that the dancer will defend at the international level. We do not prioritize the level of the dancer because we are a training group, we will bring the level and the technique. Mohamed Belarbi has trained all the dancers of Vagabond, some of them had joined the group with a level close to beginner.

You have to be ambitious to join a prestigious group that has already won everything and has the ambition to keep the crown. You can’t have the ambition of a dancer who is satisfied with the regional level. You have to want to be among the best. It’s investment, work, sacrifice, and what guarantees that the dancers who join the group will reach that level is their state of mind. The dancer can be the worst, but if he or she has the will to win, we can work with them.

I joined Vagabond because the state of mind of the group matched mine. I knew that if I wanted to progress to reach my ambitions I had to be surrounded by the best. I then naturally invested myself in my project within my group. I became one of the pillars of the group, with Momo who remains an essential element to maintain the crew.

If the group still holds an international level today it is for 2tworeasons. On the one hand, we know that each dancer is limited in time, either physically, or in terms of life responsibilities etc. The key to keeping a group at the highest level is the renewal of the membership, and the actions taken to renew this membership in an efficient way.

On the other hand, the founder of the crew must be present throughout the life of the group. He can’t renew himself because he is the source of energy. He’s the one who has to be the most solid, he’s the one who carries the band and who will have to make the most sacrifices. All those who abandon the ship at some point will be those who will not have the strength or will not have made the choice to maintain these sacrifices over the long term.

I could cite many complicated choices and decisions that have been made for the good of the crew, but the point is that to maintain a group at an international level for two decades, the intensity of sacrifice is immeasurable. It’s this dedication that weaves unbreakable fraternal bonds. In the end, I retain a human story, much stronger than the dance. »

MOUNIR – VAGABOND CREW

BOUBA COLORZ – JOYEUX LOUFOCK

« To begin with, a crew is first of all friends who take dance classes together every week. They are friends who then become a crew naturally. To be part of a crew is to have the same identity, to enjoy, to share and to be always there for each other.

It’s like a religion, you don’t need to be picked up or forced. It’s because you find the answers to your questions that you want to join a crew. Just by watching and sharing, you know if you want to be part of the crew or not.

But being part of a crew is not just for the party. Like in any family there are also obligations, like recognizing what the group does for you, keeping in mind where you come from and above all respecting each other. For example, knowing how to keep your mouth shut when your mentor/leader is giving directions is paramount.

Being in a crew is also having the certainty that there are people you can count on in case of trouble or doubt. Today everyone has their eyes riveted on social networks, where life seems ideal, fame and success quickly accessible to all. Far from this fake and superficial spirit, your crew is there for you in good and bad times, like a real family.

Being part of a crew is a real state of mind that lasts. Not being honest, not being supportive or even betraying your group, forgetting where you come from, becoming too cocky when you become famous will definitely take you out of the group which will not have changed its values. Even a lack of transparency at some point will be known sooner or later. So goodbye. But if we are a real family, the state of mind will remain and will not move.

Being in a crew, you also have to defend your country. For me a crew must travel all over the world because the greatest wealth is the travel and the sharing with other cultures and ideas. Besides, if each crew has its own identity, there is something positive to take from everyone. And that’s what hip-hop is all about. It’s normal that you can be in several crews. And a mentor should not prevent his students or dancers from going elsewhere. If we hinder each other, it’s not a crew anymore but a cult. It’s up to each person to remember where they came from.

As far as the community is concerned, I don’t think it’s important to do as many battles as possible and win them, but to have your own identity. Anyone can win battles, but not everyone has an identity.

If you have an identity, other people will be inspired by it and that will only bring good things. With healthy values, a good state of mind, being well dressed, always clean, that’s where you make your mark and that’s how you’ll get your message across. Your passage starts in your room (dress code) and ends in the circle (at the battle).

For your crew to become legendary, it’s all about quality, not quantity. There are moments when you have to make a mark and if those moments were memorable then you will become legendary, whether it is by your victories, your identity, your attitude in the circles, your state of mind or the speech you give. It doesn’t matter. You can win a big international battle five times and another crew can’t, but it can be just as legendary and world renowned.

For me the goal is not to shine but to last. »