Rize
The other day, I watched one of the more amazing documentaries I’ve seen in quite some time, and it was (of course) on Showtime. Rize follows the dance movements in inner-city L.A. From around 1992 and the inception of clown dancing to the present and “krumping”. In an area marked by violence, these youth, usually ranging in age from eight to twenty, have been channeling their agression through dance as a non-violent alternative to gang warfare.
The documentary follows the more traditional clown dancers and their newer and more agressive counterparts as they describe their dance, their lives, and their differences. The show culminates with a dance battle, which ultimately creates the same gang-style rivalries these youth were trying to move away from. In the end, they seem unable to fully escape the constraints an oppressive culture has placed over them, although there is hope for these youth. The recognition that they need something more than the violence that is expected of them, and the explanation of their dance as expression of their oppression is a tremendous thing. Rare is the young adult in the dominant culture of America who is able to express their lives and their tradition so eloquently.
A must-see. It’s on again several times this weekend and into next week, so you have no excuse for missing it.
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