Head over heels for hip hop dance culture

Rebecca McQuillan

Senior features writer

Thursday 2 August 2012

Like many girls, Christina Gusthart from East Lothian tried lots of dance styles at school.

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rebecca Mcquillan health & wellbeing how i … love locking and breaking

Later, at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, she chose to study contemporary dance.

Then she walked into a breakdancing class and everything changed.

"I fell in love with the whole culture, the music, the family-feel," says Christina, 25, enthusiastically. "I wasn't really feeling that connected with contemporary and when I found breaking, I felt that I could really be myself."

That was five years ago. Christina joined a crew and is now one of Scotland's leading hip hop dancers – better known on the scene as Xena – as well as a choreographer and teacher. Next Saturday, she will be among dancers from all over the world taking part in the Castle Rocks Breakdance Championships. Breaking, the hip hop dance style that originated in New York; and locking, the funk dance style that originated in LA ("a different technique, a different music, a different feel", as Christina puts it) were originally the preserve of men. When Christina started breaking five years ago, she was one of only three or four female dancers in Scotland. It has since grown in popularity among women, however, and gender is irrelevant when it comes to competitions, where women and men can battle against each other. At Castle Rocks, dancers compete in pairs. The DJ plays a song (not previously revealed to the performers) and the dancers must go on and improvise a set. As in rap battles, like that immortalised in the Eminem film 8 Mile, the style of competition challenges the dancers not only physically, but creatively. "In a battle, they can throw anything at you," says Christina. Being in the habit of listening intently to different types of music is important preparation, she says, so that when the DJ puts on a track and it's time to perform, you can feel your way through. "It's a real skill, you have to breathe and listen to the music, and the music will tell you what to do."Powermoves – big crowd-pleasing moves like flares (spinning round roughly upright held off the floor by the arms) and windmills (spinning round on the arms, back and shoulders) – highlight the differences between men and women. It's harder for women to do these moves, says Christina, but they can be done with "determination and a lot of bruises". Maintaining strength and stamina is essential. Christina does this through rehearsing, teaching, yoga and running, but sprained thumbs and ankles, swollen wrists and bruises are part of the job. "I'm like the walking wounded," she laughs. "When I first started, I tried to do a drill, a fast head spin, and I really cricked my neck. I couldn't straighten it for about two months."She has travelled to New York, LA, Germany and Australia researching moves and imbibing hip hop culture. "The essence of hip hop is the party vibe and to be sharing and jamming," she explains. "It's not about conforming to a syllabus, but self-expression."It's about people getting together and sharing what they know."Castle Rocks takes place on August 11 at City Edinburgh, 1A Market Street. For tickets go to www.edfringe.com

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Head over heels for hip hop dance culture

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