One of my goals upon coming to Thailand was to find a "breakdancing" or breaking community to practice and to know the Thai breaking culture. Being a bboy for about 6 years now, I've seen breakers from different states and countries, but entering a dance scene in another country was something completely new to me. It's amazing to see how far hip hop has reached out affecting places as far away as the city of Chiang Mai.
Actually finding the niche where the dancers practiced came by accident. I've found online that they ran a bboy competition at the DanceZone studio at Kad Suan Keaw mall but I had no idea when or the location. After a night of karaoke with my labmates at the mall I saw some dancers practicing "bboy" moves through the mall's windows. As soon as I saw that I knew I found their "session" spot.
Actually finding the niche where the dancers practiced came by accident. I've found online that they ran a bboy competition at the DanceZone studio at Kad Suan Keaw mall but I had no idea when or the location. After a night of karaoke with my labmates at the mall I saw some dancers practicing "bboy" moves through the mall's windows. As soon as I saw that I knew I found their "session" spot.
The location of the session spot is not your typical dance area. In California breakers are used to dancing in gymnasiums, dance studios, gyms, and schools. The location of the dance area is actually right in front of the DanceZone studio. The majority of the 3rd floor is full of closed down shops so at night the place is taken over by dancers to practice their choreography using the mall's windows as mirrors. The breakers have their own little spot on the left side of the studio behind a giant DanceZone sign.
What I respect about Thai bboys is how much heart they have in the dance. You can see by the difficulty of their moves how much they want to improve. The Kad Suan Keaw dance area is made up of tile and not the usual bouncy dance floors back in California. These bboy's sacrifice their bodies through headspins, halos, and airflaires on the non-forgiving tile. Competitions in Thailand are usually closer to the capital in Bangkok and the dancers in the north have to travel very far to enter. In California everything is so close and their are usually multiple competitions a month less than an hour drive. Competitions here aren't as common so dancers have to take up much more travel time to compete. To be a breaker here requires much more physically on your body and can be extremely time consuming.
What I respect about Thai bboys is how much heart they have in the dance. You can see by the difficulty of their moves how much they want to improve. The Kad Suan Keaw dance area is made up of tile and not the usual bouncy dance floors back in California. These bboy's sacrifice their bodies through headspins, halos, and airflaires on the non-forgiving tile. Competitions in Thailand are usually closer to the capital in Bangkok and the dancers in the north have to travel very far to enter. In California everything is so close and their are usually multiple competitions a month less than an hour drive. Competitions here aren't as common so dancers have to take up much more travel time to compete. To be a breaker here requires much more physically on your body and can be extremely time consuming.
One of the things I love about the breaking community is how universal it is. The dance brings together people of many different cultures and backgrounds together to share what they love. The breakers here have welcomed me to their session spot and have even invited me on several occasions to hangout beyond dancing. I've had dinner with them and have even watched the World Cup at 2 AM at one of their apartments. The dancers particularly in Chiang Mai are still fairly young about 20-22 years old. I feel the breaking scene here is just starting to grow and I'm excited to see what the dancers here will have in the future.
Only 2 weeks left!
-Theary Monh
Only 2 weeks left!
-Theary Monh