Bust a move!
Well, this week, I participated in quite a variety of cultural experiences, ranging from hearing a Russian classical pianist, to enjoying my colleagues in their finest polyester. Tuesday night was an opera recital done entirely in Russian featuring music from Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. The singer was a Korean soprano, and she was accompanied by a Russian pianist. I just love the opportunities I have had to hear incredible music here, and believe it or not, such an amazing performance was free!
Last night the musical genre was disco, or at least that's the way things started. My friend Jen decided to celebrate her birthday with a disco theme party in a club downtown. We all got dressed in our best polyester, blue eyeliner, and fake afros, and took the Koreans downtown by storm. :) Honestly, I thought we would be a bit of a freak show, but it turns out that the usual club goers didn't mind. They wandered in and joined us anyway. As the DJ's revolved, we made our way from '70s to '80s to hip-hop and techno, and then the manager told us the B-boys were there! Who?
Well, it turns out that my knowledge of Korean pop culture is quite limited because apparently these B-boys or breakdancing boys are a pretty famous group here. And I can see why! So what started as a disco party turned into a breakdancing showcase as these guys performed stunts worthy of Olympic gymnastics. Spinning only on your head gives new depth to the phrase, "Look ma, no hands!" Not only do these guys have to have incredible core strength to perform the stunts they pull off, they have unbelievable proprioception. I don't know how they manage to keep in mind where the edge of the crowd is as the spin across the floor on their backs with their legs in a full straddle, but even in the tiny space of that club, they didn't hit a single spectator!
Usually foreigners here are a bit of a novelty anyway, so I figured that dressed in our strange garb, we would be quite a show for the locals, but it turns out that we weren't the ones being stared at last night. The B-boys were a much better spectacle than the disco divas. They were nice enough to let me take some pictures too. :)
Last night the musical genre was disco, or at least that's the way things started. My friend Jen decided to celebrate her birthday with a disco theme party in a club downtown. We all got dressed in our best polyester, blue eyeliner, and fake afros, and took the Koreans downtown by storm. :) Honestly, I thought we would be a bit of a freak show, but it turns out that the usual club goers didn't mind. They wandered in and joined us anyway. As the DJ's revolved, we made our way from '70s to '80s to hip-hop and techno, and then the manager told us the B-boys were there! Who?
Well, it turns out that my knowledge of Korean pop culture is quite limited because apparently these B-boys or breakdancing boys are a pretty famous group here. And I can see why! So what started as a disco party turned into a breakdancing showcase as these guys performed stunts worthy of Olympic gymnastics. Spinning only on your head gives new depth to the phrase, "Look ma, no hands!" Not only do these guys have to have incredible core strength to perform the stunts they pull off, they have unbelievable proprioception. I don't know how they manage to keep in mind where the edge of the crowd is as the spin across the floor on their backs with their legs in a full straddle, but even in the tiny space of that club, they didn't hit a single spectator!
Usually foreigners here are a bit of a novelty anyway, so I figured that dressed in our strange garb, we would be quite a show for the locals, but it turns out that we weren't the ones being stared at last night. The B-boys were a much better spectacle than the disco divas. They were nice enough to let me take some pictures too. :)
posted by Claire | 1:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home