Asian Americans Break Stereotypes Through Urban Dance
June 24,2013
Hip hop culture expressed through music and dance is often associated with the black and Latino cultures in the United States. The youth of these cultures may have started hip hop more than 40 years ago in urban New York, but it has now become mainstream, with Asian Americans finding a prominent place in hip hop or urban dance.
Whether it's dancing freestyle in a cypher or dance circle, or a carefully choreographed routine, when these dancers move their bodies, something magical happens, said Philippine urban dancer Michelle Salazar.
“My first mentor, he said dancing is like touching the face of God. That’s just how I feel,” said Salazar.
Some call it hip hop, others -- urban dance. It’s no longer just associated with African Americans or Latinos. Philippine American Arnel Calvario is one of the pioneers of Asian American urban dance. When he was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, he saw other Filipinos as well as African Americans and Latinos dancing in the streets of his neighborhood in southern California. In junior high, he said he surprised some African American girls who saw him dance.
“They’d verbally say that 'I’ve never seen an Asian guy dance like that,' you know. That was a pivotal moment for me. In one sense you can be kind of offended by that," explained Calvario. "It kind of felt like I needed to do something about that.”
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