BEIJING, July 17 -- Liberals call it "the movement of
life", whereas conservatives consider it an expression of loose lifestyles, or
worse - a vicious element that would lead the youth towards direct moral
breakdown.
But many youth such as 20-year-old Liu Xing embrace
it as a new medium for expressing emotions, such as love and anger. "I feel
sound and secure every time I go breakdancing," said Liu, the son of working
class parents in Beijing.
"Actually, I almost believed I was a loser, because
my cranky father called me one often after I failed the college entrance exams
two years in a row. I now feel that I have found myself after I learned
breakdancing."
Today, the New York-born dance form is growing in
popularity among Chinese youths - more and more of whom call themselves "b-boys"
or "b-girls". And the popularity of breakdancing exploded in China this month
when the documentary Planet B-Boy was screened on the opening night of the
Tribeca 798 Film Festival Beijing from July 10-11. As far as art districts go,
798 is to Beijing what Tribeca is to New York.
"The festival and the film is expected to open
another window for Chinese youth and encourage the development of youth culture
in China," says Hong Huang, CEO of China Interactive Media Group, which
organized the festival.
Xiao Xu was one of hundreds of breakdancers from
China and abroad who flooded the festival to meet peers, watch the film and
showcase their talents. "I want to battle with b-boys from all over the world, "
Xiao yelled from the stage.
Clad in baggy, scarlet shirts and flashy, canvas
shoes, Xiao and his X-Power breakdancing teammates were invited to dance
onstage. Their performance dazzled the excited crowd, who whistled applause. กก
Planet B-Boy, by Korean-American director Benson Lee, focused on breakdancing's vibrant global resurgence. It delves deep into underground hip-hop dance scenes around the world, documenting the best crews' preparations for The Battle of the Year - the annual "World Cup" of b-boying.
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