from yaprap August-September 2011
by Kristy Delaney
Krosswerdz
The hall is packed with 60 sweaty b-boys performing windmills, head spins and various other dance moves, the stereo pumps out classic funk tracks, as passers-by stare in amazement at the scene before them.
In south-west Sydney there is a movement taking place, a movement that originally started in the Bronx, New York and has spread across the globe. Young people are learning the skill of breaking (breakdancing) and loving every minute of it. They are here because two well known b-boys, Mistery and Rangi, decided to start a breaking group eighteen months ago. Now the program has taken on a life of its own.
Each week the youth centre opens its doors for a three hour training session. Mistery and Rangi facilitate the breaking group in the main hall while I run an urban dance program for girls in the room next door. The program is free and includes a healthy eating program.
The breaking group targets young people, particularly young men, who aren’t into traditional sports. It uses a culture that young people enjoy (hip hop) to develop physical fitness. The group uses an “each one, teach one” philosophy that means that as soon as young people learn a single step they are responsible for teaching and encouraging someone else in the group in how to perform that move.
The program reflects national and international evidence that physical activity can bring about decreased levels of stress, depression and illness and improvements in self esteem, confidence, mood and wellbeing, concentration, mental awareness, memory, sleeping, better school performance, school grades, teamwork and interpersonal skills, and opportunities for responsible risk taking. The breaking group is not just a fun program, it has very real personal development benefits for young people who participate. A Results Based Evaluation conducted with the group backs up the claim.
A core group of young people not only train every Tuesday afternoon but also most afternoons of the week. They come down to the centre, even in 40 degree heat, and train for hours. Their hard work is paying off and every week we can see that their skills are better than the week before.
The program teaches young people that they are capable of achieving big things in life, that it will take a lot of hard work to reach their dream, but they can get there by making a consistent effort every day and staying focused on their goals. When a b-boy first starts learning a new move he needs to listen to the advice that others are giving him, he has to start giving it a go even though he knows he will fall down many times before he will get the step, he has to practice over and over to master it, finally once he can do the move well he is responsible for helping someone else learn the same step. These skills of goal setting, self discipline and self control, and team work are obviously transferable to other life goals such as education and employment.
The program is unique because it is based on a partnership between a secular youth centre, the Street University, and a Christian organisation. Krosswerdz Community Programs began out of Krosswerdz Hip Hop Church as a way for members and others to give back to young people and the local community. They partner with youth and art organisations to help young people develop skills in the four elements of hip hop (emceeing, DJing, graff and breaking), and are organising an international hip hop summit UPROCK, for later this year (11/11/11). The Street University, in Liverpool NSW, provides the venue and insurance for the program while Krosswerdz provides staff, volunteers, equipment and healthy refreshments.
We believe that every young person has value and is worth investing in. We want to give these young people an opportunity to reach their potential and they are grabbing that opportunity with both hands. The program recently received a grant from NSW Sport and Recreation. The funding is being used to run master classes in popping and other dance skills, purchase new break mats, run excursions to major breaking competitions, and employ one of the young people to produce a short documentary about the program.