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''Flexing''',, is a style of [[street dance]] from [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City|New York]] that is characterized by rhythmic Body movements, [[contortionist]] movement, Extreme body control and speed control. Flex dancers, referred to as ''flexers'' perform in Leagues all over the world at Various venues and events even teaching workshops , There are five Major components to Flex dancing there is waving , gliding, get low(floor moves),Connecting (More creative Version of tutting), Hat tricks and Bone Breaking.
'''Flexing''', also called '''Bone Breaking''', is a style of [[street dance]] from [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City|New York]] that is characterized by rhythmic [[contortionist]] movement combined with waving, [[Tutting (dance)|tutting]], floor moves, and gliding. Flex dancers, referred to as ''flexers'', often perform shirtless and incorporate hat tricks in their performance for [[Showmanship (performing)|showmanship]].

==Origins==
==Origins==
Flexing was first put into a main stream view by a NY local tv show called FLex in Brooklyn and is primarily performed to a form of dance music known as FDM (Flex Dance Music), which incorporates a mix of dancehall reggae brakes with music deriving from urban society such as video game themes, rnb and hiphop. It evolved from a [[Jamaica]]n style of street dance called bruk-up<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kristy |title=Britney’s Dance Dream Team |url=http://www.danceinforma.com/magazine/?p=1378 |date=December 2, 2009 |work=Dance Informa |quote=Living in Brooklyn and with my family being West Indian, I was into a lot of Dancehall Reggae music. I ended up being part of a show in Brooklyn called ‘Flex N Brooklyn’ that created another dance style we call Flexing, which evolved from a style called ‘The Bruk Up’ from Jamaica. |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=Darryl |title=Bone flexing in Brooklyn |date=October 26, 2009 |work=[[New York Post]] |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/item_ogJ0soIICbV5KFVqQj8qJI |quote=The biggest misconception is that flexing or our style came from hip hop, and it didn’t. It actually came from reggae. It came from ‘bruk up.’ A lot of Hip hop styles that are now very popular actually derived from Bruk-UP. |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref name=wiretap>{{cite news |last=Love |first=Paulino |title=Power Moves: Turf and Flex Dancers Build Bicoastal Bonds |url=http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44082/ |work=WireTap Magazine |date=March 21, 2009 |quote=It's based on a reggae style of [[Popping#Related styles and techniques|animation]]," explains Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente, one of the event's judges. "People compared it to poppin', but it's a reggae style of poppin'. The actuality of the matter is that popping evolved from one facet of Bruk up that's why it is such a limited style. |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref name=redbull>{{cite web |last=Brun-Lambert |first=David |date=December 9, 2013 |title=Flexing: Brooklyn Goes Hard |url=http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Article/Flexing-Brooklyn-goes-hard-021243360902624 |work=RedBull.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/archive.php |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref> which is performed to [[dancehall]] and [[reggae]] music. In a 2009 interview with ''[[WireTap (magazine)|WireTap]]'' magazine, dancer Stefan "[[Mr. Wiggles]]" Clemente described bruk-up as a reggae style of [[popping]].<ref name=wiretap/>
Before flexing gained mainstream exposure it was featured as early as 1992 on a local television show in New York City called 'Flex N Brooklyn’. The dance is primarily performed to a mix of [[dancehall]], [[reggae]], and "...a chopped-up instrumental called the 'Volume' riddim".<ref name=pf>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9864-flex-tunes-brooklyns-own-dance-music/|title=Flex Tunes: Brooklyn's Own Dance Music|last=Steyels|first=Mike|date=April 6, 2016|work=Pitchfork.com|accessdate=July 4, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408124945/http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9864-flex-tunes-brooklyns-own-dance-music/|archivedate=April 8, 2016}}</ref> According to Pitchfork.com, the producers of this new genre refer to it as FDM (Flex Dance Music).<ref name=pf/> Although flexing looks like a sub-genre of [[popping]], it did not come from hip-hop dance, funk music, or [[hip-hop culture]]. It evolved from a [[Jamaica]]n style of street dance called bruk-up.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kristy |title=Britney’s Dance Dream Team |url=http://www.danceinforma.com/magazine/?p=1378 |date=December 2, 2009 |work=Dance Informa |quote=Living in Brooklyn and with my family being West Indian, I was into a lot of Dancehall Reggae music. I ended up being part of a show in Brooklyn called ‘Flex N Brooklyn’ that created another dance style we call Flexing, which evolved from a style called ‘The Bruk Up’ from Jamaica. |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=Darryl |title=Bone flexing in Brooklyn |date=October 26, 2009 |work=[[New York Post]] |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/item_ogJ0soIICbV5KFVqQj8qJI |quote=The biggest misconception is that flexing or our style came from hip hop, and it didn’t. It actually came from reggae. It came from ‘bruk up.’ |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref name=wiretap>{{cite news |last=Love |first=Paulino |title=Power Moves: Turf and Flex Dancers Build Bicoastal Bonds |url=http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44082/ |work=WireTap Magazine |date=March 21, 2009 |quote=It's based on a reggae style of animation," explains Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente, one of the event's judges. "People compared it to poppin', but it's a reggae style of poppin'. |accessdate=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref name=redbull>{{cite web |last=Brun-Lambert |first=David |date=December 9, 2013 |title=Flexing: Brooklyn Goes Hard |url=http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Article/Flexing-Brooklyn-goes-hard-021243360902624 |work=RedBull.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/archive.php |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref> In a 2009 interview with ''[[WireTap (magazine)|WireTap]]'' magazine, dancer Stefan "[[Mr. Wiggles]]" Clemente described bruk-up as a "reggae style of [[Popping#Related styles and techniques|animation]]."<ref name=wiretap/>


==Appearances==
==Exposure==
Flexing has been performed on the [[America's Best Dance Crew (season 3)|third season]] of ''[[America's Best Dance Crew]]'' (ABDC), on the second season of ''[[The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers|The LXD]]'', and at the [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Guggenheim Museum]] as part of the YouTube Play event. In 2011, the ''[[Huffington Post]]'' published a brief news article on the dance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gas-Masked Dancers Hit The Subway (VIDEO)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/gas-masked-dancers-hit-th_n_901531.html|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=March 5, 2012|date=September 17, 2011|quote=This music video, by YAK Films for King Bones and DJ Aaron, shows two shirtless dancers/contortionists in gas masks intertwining with each other... it's a mesmerizing, and slightly unsettling, performance.}}</ref> In 2013, NextLevelSquad performed flexing at [[Breakin' Convention]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakinconvention.com/artists/nextlevelsquad-usa|title=NextLevelSquad (USA)|work=BreakinConvention.com|accessdate=February 11, 2013}}</ref> and Adedamola "Ringmaster Nugget" Orisagbemi performed flexing at the [[Damian Woetzel#Vail International Dance Festival|Vail International Dance Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Macaulay |first=Alastair |date=August 7, 2013 |title=A Whirl of Premieres, From Jookin to Jetés |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/arts/dance/vail-dance-festival-often-influential-delivers-surprises.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=September 6, 2013}}</ref>
Flexing has been performed on the [[America's Best Dance Crew (season 3)|third season]] of ''[[America's Best Dance Crew]]'' (ABDC), on the second season of ''[[The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers|The LXD]]'', and at the [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Guggenheim Museum]] as part of the YouTube Play event. In 2011, the ''[[Huffington Post]]'' published a brief news article on the dance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gas-Masked Dancers Hit The Subway (VIDEO)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/gas-masked-dancers-hit-th_n_901531.html|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=March 5, 2012|date=September 17, 2011|quote=This music video, by YAK Films for King Bones and DJ Aaron, shows two shirtless dancers/contortionists in gas masks intertwining with each other... it's a mesmerizing, and slightly unsettling, performance.}}</ref> In 2013, NextLevelSquad performed flexing at [[Breakin' Convention]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakinconvention.com/artists/nextlevelsquad-usa|title=NextLevelSquad (USA)|work=BreakinConvention.com|accessdate=February 11, 2013}}</ref> and Adedamola "Ringmaster Nugget" Orisagbemi performed flexing at the [[Damian Woetzel#Vail International Dance Festival|Vail International Dance Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Macaulay |first=Alastair |date=August 7, 2013 |title=A Whirl of Premieres, From Jookin to Jetés |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/arts/dance/vail-dance-festival-often-influential-delivers-surprises.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=September 6, 2013}}</ref>


The 2013 independent film ''Flex Is Kings'' documents the lives of several flexors over a two-year period leading up to a dance competition called BattleFest.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flex is King – A new Documentary by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols |url=http://streetclash.com/flex-is-king/ |work=StreetClash.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6NjCWevR0 |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref> ''Flex Is Kings'' was screened at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]].<ref name=redbull/> Flexing was also the subject of a French online dance show called "Puma the Quest".<ref>{{cite web |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Bonus NYC : rencontre avec le Ringmasters Crew |url=http://www.pumathequest.com/bonus-nyc-rencontre-avec-le-ringmasters-crew/ |work=PumaTheQuest.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014|language=fr}}</ref> In 2014, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' published a seven-page article about flex dancer Saalim "Storyboard P" Muslim.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=Jonah |title=The Impossible Body: Storyboard P, the Basquiat of street dancing. |work=The New Yorker |date=January 6, 2014 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/06/140106fa_fact_weiner |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6NjDU1z2n |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref>
The 2013 independent film ''Flex Is Kings'' documents the lives of several flexers over a two-year period leading up to a dance competition called BattleFest.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flex is King – A new Documentary by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols |url=http://streetclash.com/flex-is-king/ |work=StreetClash.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6NjCWevR0 |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref> ''Flex Is Kings'' was screened at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]].<ref name=redbull/> Flexing was also the subject of a French online dance show called "Puma the Quest".<ref>{{cite web |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Bonus NYC : rencontre avec le Ringmasters Crew |url=http://www.pumathequest.com/bonus-nyc-rencontre-avec-le-ringmasters-crew/ |work=PumaTheQuest.com |accessdate=February 28, 2014|language=fr}}</ref> In 2014, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' published a seven-page article about flex dancer Saalim "Storyboard P" Muslim.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=Jonah |title=The Impossible Body: Storyboard P, the Basquiat of street dancing. |work=The New Yorker |date=January 6, 2014 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/06/140106fa_fact_weiner |accessdate=February 28, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6NjDU1z2n |archivedate=February 28, 2014}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 09:52, 4 July 2016

Flexing, also called Bone Breaking, is a style of street dance from Brooklyn, New York that is characterized by rhythmic contortionist movement combined with waving, tutting, floor moves, and gliding. Flex dancers, referred to as flexers, often perform shirtless and incorporate hat tricks in their performance for showmanship.

Origins

Before flexing gained mainstream exposure it was featured as early as 1992 on a local television show in New York City called 'Flex N Brooklyn’. The dance is primarily performed to a mix of dancehall, reggae, and "...a chopped-up instrumental called the 'Volume' riddim".[1] According to Pitchfork.com, the producers of this new genre refer to it as FDM (Flex Dance Music).[1] Although flexing looks like a sub-genre of popping, it did not come from hip-hop dance, funk music, or hip-hop culture. It evolved from a Jamaican style of street dance called bruk-up.[2][3][4][5] In a 2009 interview with WireTap magazine, dancer Stefan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente described bruk-up as a "reggae style of animation."[4]

Exposure

Flexing has been performed on the third season of America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC), on the second season of The LXD, and at the Guggenheim Museum as part of the YouTube Play event. In 2011, the Huffington Post published a brief news article on the dance.[6] In 2013, NextLevelSquad performed flexing at Breakin' Convention[7] and Adedamola "Ringmaster Nugget" Orisagbemi performed flexing at the Vail International Dance Festival.[8]

The 2013 independent film Flex Is Kings documents the lives of several flexers over a two-year period leading up to a dance competition called BattleFest.[9] Flex Is Kings was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.[5] Flexing was also the subject of a French online dance show called "Puma the Quest".[10] In 2014, The New Yorker published a seven-page article about flex dancer Saalim "Storyboard P" Muslim.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Steyels, Mike (April 6, 2016). "Flex Tunes: Brooklyn's Own Dance Music". Pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Johnson, Kristy (December 2, 2009). "Britney's Dance Dream Team". Dance Informa. Retrieved November 10, 2010. Living in Brooklyn and with my family being West Indian, I was into a lot of Dancehall Reggae music. I ended up being part of a show in Brooklyn called 'Flex N Brooklyn' that created another dance style we call Flexing, which evolved from a style called 'The Bruk Up' from Jamaica.
  3. ^ Harrison, Darryl (October 26, 2009). "Bone flexing in Brooklyn". New York Post. Retrieved November 10, 2010. The biggest misconception is that flexing or our style came from hip hop, and it didn't. It actually came from reggae. It came from 'bruk up.'
  4. ^ a b Love, Paulino (March 21, 2009). "Power Moves: Turf and Flex Dancers Build Bicoastal Bonds". WireTap Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2010. It's based on a reggae style of animation," explains Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente, one of the event's judges. "People compared it to poppin', but it's a reggae style of poppin'.
  5. ^ a b Brun-Lambert, David (December 9, 2013). "Flexing: Brooklyn Goes Hard". RedBull.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  6. ^ "Gas-Masked Dancers Hit The Subway (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. September 17, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012. This music video, by YAK Films for King Bones and DJ Aaron, shows two shirtless dancers/contortionists in gas masks intertwining with each other... it's a mesmerizing, and slightly unsettling, performance.
  7. ^ "NextLevelSquad (USA)". BreakinConvention.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  8. ^ Macaulay, Alastair (August 7, 2013). "A Whirl of Premieres, From Jookin to Jetés". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  9. ^ "Flex is King – A new Documentary by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols". StreetClash.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  10. ^ "Bonus NYC : rencontre avec le Ringmasters Crew". PumaTheQuest.com (in French). April 18, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  11. ^ Weiner, Jonah (January 6, 2014). "The Impossible Body: Storyboard P, the Basquiat of street dancing". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.


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