By Khay Burrage,
Breakdancing has always been stigmatized, but one Spokane group wants to defy that.
Paper Cut Out crew is a local dance crew that has performed for local events in town.
B-boy and B-girl, or Break boy and Break girl, are terms that generated in New York City. These titles represent who they are and their passion.
“The title can only come from living the B-boy/B-girl lifestyle,” said Hector Aizon, a B-boy from Paper Cut Out crew in Spokane.
They are among the various street performers in the streets of downtown Spokane; from singers outside the doors of Riverfront mall to flute players at Macy’s. Most of which have an open case, hats or buckets out for anyone who would give them money for their performance.
Across the street, past the Bloomsday statues in front of the Riverfront Fountain, there are artists who perform for themselves.
Dancers who come together with their own torn linoleum mat and an amp. The music amplifies the area, and three more dancers approach the others and greeted each other. This was a daily routine for them.
“This is our passion. We don’t dance for the money, we dance because we love it,” said Aizon.
Spokane’s breaking scene consists of about a dozen dancers with about 8 serious dancers.
“Hip Hop can’t be seen as one thing,” said Thi Huynh. “It’s made of different elements like Emceeing, Bboying, Graffiti, Dj-ing, and knowledge. People don’t understand that Hip Hop is something bigger than dance or music.”
“You can’t just be Hip Hop. You have to live it,” said Aizon.
These dancers are seen around Spokane throughout the year from the downtown streets, to parks and local events. Their goal is to educate those who don’t know about the culture and help others seek their own passion.
“We’re more than happy to teach anyone about breaking”, said Huynh.
“Not enough people appreciate the Hip Hop community; we dedicate our body and lives to this. We just wish that people knew how much fun this is”.