Saturday 9 October 2010

Turf dancing in Oakland CA: Who those guys are!


this video is doing the rounds over here at the moment. It is an incredible demonstration on a number of levels; not least it is an example what the internet should really be about.


Arty fuckers might call it site specific performance art, White middle aged conservatives might call it threatening because it goes against all of their traditional prejudices when it comes to black youth and specifically male black youth. I just call it magical and inspiring and totally beyond criticism.


Every white adolescent in this country should watch this (all the black kids will know about it anyway); perhaps it may inspire a little more creativity and a little less indolence.  Without doubt it will generate respect!


The dancers are: No Noize (red jacket), Man (black jacket), BJ (striped shirt) and Dreal.  


check out YAK films online; there are more video's:


YAK LIKE YOU KNOW  
YAK began as a production team of young photographers and filmmakers dedicated to youth-led multimedia production which provides a voice for resistance and an alternative to played-out mainstream media. At its core, YAK is a visual wrecking crew built to use every form of expressive multimedia to share the voice of youth in urban America and promote change on every level.

YAK's work with urban dance began with the legendary TURF FEINZ crew from Oakland, CA, innovators of the TUF dancing style. YAK is now evolving to take the lead in the street-based documentation of the global dance movement. We hope to see many more dance crews coming up all around the world and teaming up with new media companies to produce high quality dance videos. We encourage people to start documenting the various dance styles from their neighborhoods, cities and countries.

If you haven't already, join YouTube, subscribe to our channel, add us as a friend, send us a message, show us some videos, rate, comment, follow us on Facebook (search YAKFILMS.com), Twitter @YAKFILMS. We appreciate the support from people all over the world. Be part of the movement.

You can reach us by email at info@YAKFILMS.com  or:  http://www.youtube.com/user/YAKfilms


Many thanks to William Kamroon for replying to my inquiry and providing information on the dancers.  Hopefully we can post more video's in the future.

Great stuff.


Our follow up press release video can be seen here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCtkuGPIts8




Turf; part of the solution.

Since posting that Yak Films turf dance video things have gone a little crazy for all concerned; the video has gone viral; The Huffington Post covered the story linking to this blog, the Guys involved have been getting a lot of attention (quite deservedly) and long may it last.


There is a serious issue here.


Turf dance is being used as a means of resolving disputes where a gun might once have been used; the Dancers, musicians and film makers are openly anti gun crime. Turf is drawing positive attention to a much criticised section of the American population. Turf dance is also being used to express dissatisfaction, grief (R.I.P. 211) and much much more.  


These guys are not the problem; they are part of the solution!

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