Youth find a positive outlet in 'breaking'

Patrons who walk by a certain door inside the Old Bridge Public Library on Tuesday afternoonsmay be surprised to hear the muffled sounds of break beats coming from the other side.

Old Bridge resident Peter Natoli demonstrates a move called the hollowback at the library. PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Inside the meeting room, local youth can be found dancing to a wide array of hip-hop music, some of which, like "It's Just Begun" by the Jimmy Castor Bunch, was released before they were born. The music remains as vital to these so-called bgirls and b-boys today as it is for the generations before them who helped create the art they know as breakdancing, now more commonly called breaking. The intense style of dance has endured through hip-hop culture's many changes.

For Old Bridge resident Robin Berg's 10-year-old son, Mike, seeing the Old Bridge High School students dancing during a family visit to the library in January was enough to convince him to come to the weekly practices to learn the moves free of charge from the students.

John Duazo, 13, of Monroe, dances in the meeting room of the Old Bridge Public Library March 24. B-girls and b-boys, as they are called, attend practice sessions at the library on Tuesday afternoons. "They were nice enough to teach him," Berg said.

On March 24, 18-year-old Old Bridge High School student Dale Suanino showed Mike and 11-yearo l d Shane Villard of Old Bridge how to do a turtle freeze, a pose in which

dancers balance themselves on their arms. Suanino emphasized the importance of dancing to the rhythm and said that three of the fundamental moves of this dance are the six step, the top rock and the baby freeze.

Mike demonstrated top rocking and the six step on the linoleum that the library donated to the dancers. The Memorial Elementary School student shuffled his feet while standing up in order to top rock, and then put his hands and feet on the ground to perform the floor moves that make up the six step.

Mike's father, Don McNeil, said he was happy to see his son being active and learning the dance through these informal practice sessions.

"He loves coming here," McNeil said. Suanino was also happy to see Mike taking an interest in the dance.

"He's been practicing a lot," Suanino said. "I teach, but a lot of people go away. We've got to keep this generation of b-boys going or it's going to go away. We want to keep it alive."

In addition to breaking, Shane was popping, a style of dance in which dancers perform hits, or sudden jerking movements by relaxing and contracting their muscles. Suanino and other dancers from the high school started teaching the Voorhees Elementary School student last month, and he is making progress.

Breaking culture has nothing to do with fighting or some of the other negative characteristics commonly attributed to hip-hop, Suanino said. Like any other art form, breaking, he said, is about expressing oneself.

"It tells a story about you," Suanino said. "Every b-boy has a story and they tell it through their dance."

Suanino started breaking during his sophomore year. He said dancers at the high school practice in the hallwa y s

twice a week and have also been going to the library to practice on Tuesdays since last summer.

Suanino said the Old Bridge breakers are grateful to the library for its support. In addition to donating the linoleum for the youth dance on, librarians allow the students to use their speakers, which the dancers connect to an iPod to play music.

Mary Ecklund, the teen librarian who supervises the practice sessions, said that this sort of arrangement is not common at most libraries; however, Old Bridge Public Library is equipped to offer space for the youth to practice.

"I haven't heard of another library doing it," Ecklund said. "It might be a space issue. For these kids, they have a lot of dedication to do it. They don't understand when other kids come and they don't work — they just sit there. They use each other to build each other up."

The dancers are part of the high school's Urban Club. Suanino said he and fellow dancers have worked to improve the reputation of the club, which had a difficult start at the school years ago. They focus on performing at school functions such as the pep rally in order to show other students that the dance is a positive means of expression.

Peter Natoli, an Old Bridge High School graduate, was in the Old Bridge-based dance crew known as Jokerz or JKZ crew. Natoli performed a power move at the library last week called the 1990, also known as '90s. This move requires the dancer to spin while doing a handstand on one hand.

Dustin Liu, 18, was at the practice session March 24 along with fellow Old Bridge High School students Vik Parmar, 16, and Kelly Tse, 17. Vik gave credit to his schoolmates for the progress he has made in less than a year of learning the dance.

"It's all these guys," Vik said. "They brought it to me."

Vik knows how to perform power moves such as the pike, a pose where the dancer flips onto one arm while grabbing a leg that is in the air with the other hand. He also can do the windmill, where dancers rotate their bodies while spinning on the floor with their legs fully extended.

Vik said dancers develop their own styles over time, incorporating new moves into their routine as they improve through practice.

"Whatever you put into the dance, no one else can," Vik said. Kelly started to learn how to break by watching videos on the Web. He later met schoolmates to practice with rather than learning by himself from home.

"I do more flips and stuff," Kelly said. "I don't do much floor work."

Kelly said he is working on an advanced move called the snapuswipe, in which dancers twist their bodies while doing a sideswipe in the air.

"I'm still working on it," Kelly said. The dancers practice at the library on Tuesdays from roughly 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to watch, participate or learn from the dancers.