Definition of a language (continued...)
Neguin, Monika, and Paul left the room leaving Yasu, Archi and myself on the floor. Yasu and Archi couldn’t speak English but I’m sure they understood the key word: “Cypher”. He was talking about “the circle” where all of the bboys and bgirls have connected to create our current breaking community. This cirlce was the essence of the dance. So when Neguin put the word “real” and “cypher” together, the message hit us. I can’t quite explain the feeling I got when I heard those two words, but it was as though I was getting closer to something. After a moment, we all looked at each other, nodded and followed the others out.
By 12:00 am, the city streets were chilly, but the traffic on the street had not subsided. Neguin had already set up his boombox on the concrete and started playing DJ Lean Rock’s Lord of the Drums Mixtape. The volume was ramped up twice as loud as it was inside and either because of the crowd of people around us or the feeling of dancing on the street, we didn’t seem tired. Neguin went down onto the concrete with one of his airborne sets and then started to imitate other dancers from New York using their signature moves. It was clear that he was poking fun at Nemisis. We hi-fived each other and couldn’t help but to laugh.
Other dancers walking by the street joined us throughout the night, and with our limited English we exchanged contact information, talked about our beliefs and goals, and where we come from. And simply by watching the way that each of us danced, we were able to understand each other’s personality. Some people dance using comedic moves, others may focus on the acrobatics, and some focus on finesse and technique. Whatever each person brought to the floor, they’re emotions seeped out onto the concrete leaving an invisible stain that only us dancers could see.
We ended up dancing until 3 a.m. feeling the moment.
When native speakers communicate, they don’t prepare “sets” or repeat each other’s “moves”. They appeal the different things that each one of them want to say in order to hold a good cohesive conversation. And from 12:00 am to 3:00 am, all we were doing was having a good conversation. Even though, we spoke different languages in the most common sense, we had another mode of exchanging information. That night, the phrases that my language teachers in the past have told me came to light. “You can’t just learn a culture or language by taking a course or a class! You gotta get out there and see for yourself.” Of course! But it is a concept hard to fathom in practice until you’re actually intermixed in a community that speaks that language fluently: in my case break dancing. Whatever connection I made with people from that night didn’t come from those two dollars that I paid to Nemisis, but the true “knowledge” came from a place where only the music, people, and our dance existed. But I also learned that even within one language, there are always different dialects and cultures that drive people in different directions.
Months later I would come to realize my own mistake in attempting to understand a culture. Nemisis wasn’t doing anything wrong. In fact, one may say that he is the most versed in our language because he has been active in our community for about 24 years. So why didn’t what he was teaching feel right? Or was it? Sometimes setting a realization aside for a question can leave you wondering about the validity of the experience itself. Who was on the right side? Who was really a part of the culture? It seems as though, Nemisis and I speak different dialects of the same language and we plan on spreading them in different ways. The only difference is that there are certain things that people desire to preserve while others are forgotten. From our shared experience, Nemisis probably had a very different perspective about what it means to spread “culture”. There is no right or wrong in understanding a culture until we think about the community associated with them. Where do I belong? I belong with Neguin, Monika, Yasu, Paul, Archi, and other bboys that share our philosophy.
It will never be known to anyone whether or not we are teaching the right or wrong. The people will decide what language and culture to follow and live by.
Here, I would like to use lyrics from Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest to describe the purest moment.
we like our fun and we never fight
you can’t dance and stay uptight
it's a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight
dancing in the moonlight
everybody’s feeling warm and bright
it’s such a fine and natural sight
everybody’s dancing in the moonlight
By 12:00 am, the city streets were chilly, but the traffic on the street had not subsided. Neguin had already set up his boombox on the concrete and started playing DJ Lean Rock’s Lord of the Drums Mixtape. The volume was ramped up twice as loud as it was inside and either because of the crowd of people around us or the feeling of dancing on the street, we didn’t seem tired. Neguin went down onto the concrete with one of his airborne sets and then started to imitate other dancers from New York using their signature moves. It was clear that he was poking fun at Nemisis. We hi-fived each other and couldn’t help but to laugh.
Other dancers walking by the street joined us throughout the night, and with our limited English we exchanged contact information, talked about our beliefs and goals, and where we come from. And simply by watching the way that each of us danced, we were able to understand each other’s personality. Some people dance using comedic moves, others may focus on the acrobatics, and some focus on finesse and technique. Whatever each person brought to the floor, they’re emotions seeped out onto the concrete leaving an invisible stain that only us dancers could see.
We ended up dancing until 3 a.m. feeling the moment.
When native speakers communicate, they don’t prepare “sets” or repeat each other’s “moves”. They appeal the different things that each one of them want to say in order to hold a good cohesive conversation. And from 12:00 am to 3:00 am, all we were doing was having a good conversation. Even though, we spoke different languages in the most common sense, we had another mode of exchanging information. That night, the phrases that my language teachers in the past have told me came to light. “You can’t just learn a culture or language by taking a course or a class! You gotta get out there and see for yourself.” Of course! But it is a concept hard to fathom in practice until you’re actually intermixed in a community that speaks that language fluently: in my case break dancing. Whatever connection I made with people from that night didn’t come from those two dollars that I paid to Nemisis, but the true “knowledge” came from a place where only the music, people, and our dance existed. But I also learned that even within one language, there are always different dialects and cultures that drive people in different directions.
Months later I would come to realize my own mistake in attempting to understand a culture. Nemisis wasn’t doing anything wrong. In fact, one may say that he is the most versed in our language because he has been active in our community for about 24 years. So why didn’t what he was teaching feel right? Or was it? Sometimes setting a realization aside for a question can leave you wondering about the validity of the experience itself. Who was on the right side? Who was really a part of the culture? It seems as though, Nemisis and I speak different dialects of the same language and we plan on spreading them in different ways. The only difference is that there are certain things that people desire to preserve while others are forgotten. From our shared experience, Nemisis probably had a very different perspective about what it means to spread “culture”. There is no right or wrong in understanding a culture until we think about the community associated with them. Where do I belong? I belong with Neguin, Monika, Yasu, Paul, Archi, and other bboys that share our philosophy.
It will never be known to anyone whether or not we are teaching the right or wrong. The people will decide what language and culture to follow and live by.
Here, I would like to use lyrics from Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest to describe the purest moment.
we like our fun and we never fight
you can’t dance and stay uptight
it's a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight
dancing in the moonlight
everybody’s feeling warm and bright
it’s such a fine and natural sight
everybody’s dancing in the moonlight