Overview Of Krump Dancing Drama Essay

Overview Of Krump Dancing Drama Essay Krumping is an urban art form, reflecting the African American expressive culture and the street culture. The regional location and its history of violence has propelled the style into the mainstream. Born in 1990s from the slumps of Los Angeles, it blends elements of spiritual and physical energy. Krumping is an emerging movement that is quite fresh on the dance scene, exploding with positive energy it comes from a torn world of poverty and oppression. As a spiritual art form it encompasses core elements of its history and religion through its powerful movements and sounds. Through its spiritually Krump transforms its African American dance form to a communal public art form while incorporating its street culture through its music as a creative outlet for the hardships of urban life. Each element in Krump excretes pure energy in a unique way that releases the pent up frustration of each performer, from its highly energetic movements, expressiveness and the physical toll on the perfo rmers body, the art form has yet to hit its peak. The history of Krump and its spiritual energy originates from the hard streets of South Central Los Angeles, California, but can also be traced back to its African tribal culture. Born amongst the 1965 Watts riots, a large-scale riot which lasted 6 days in protest to the American Civil Rights Act leaving the African American community a feeling of injustice and despair, and the 1992 Rodney King riots, were the acquittal of LAPD officers in the trial of the beating of Rodney King sparked a further 6 days crime spree, the dance created an escape for the youth. Being brought up in a community upheaved by of violence and oppression blighted by racism, left the youths pursuing a sense of belonging and nurturance from there distressed families of substance abuse and violence. Turning to gangs for a sense of compassion, the ongoing harassment and recruitment of gangs left a sense of hopelessness, were within a dance movement emerge, from the dissatisfaction of their daily struggles, classif ied as an urban hip-hop variation, Krump like Capoeira started as a way for trouble youths to express themselves, and escape their gang filled lives. Krump dancers would form structured and organised crews or families, a tight-knit group of individuals whose loyalties and commitment extends beyond dance. These dance circles of fellow Krumpers provide the support and stability many in their community dont receive from their own families at home. Thus through their oppressed urban culture a sub-culture of Krumping immerged, providing an alternative to the gang life style. Seen as an aggressive competitive dance due to its release of the performers personal anger, hiding beneath the rebellious exterior, lays a religious imagery of enslavement calling out for protest. There is a spirit in the midst of krump-ness. There is a spirit thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦most people think, theyre just a bunch of rowdy, ghetto, heathen thugs. No, what we are is oppressed. (Julie Malnig, 2009) Krumping at its roots are connected by its history but also at its core there are traces of the African tribal culture, Dancers would perform in a circle, as a way for them to assert their wholeness. The circle is an arena of a warrior, the ring shout of slave times, in which slaves would move in a round circle while stomping and clapping. The circle of the dance is a permissive circle: it protects and permits. At certain times on certain days, men and women come together at a given place, and there, under the solemn eye of the tribe, fling themselves into a seemingly unorganized pantomime, which is in reality extremely systematic, in which by various meansshakes of the head, bending of the spinal column, throwing of the whole body backward -may be deciphered as in an open book the huge effort of a community to exorcise itself, to liberate itself, to explain itself. There are no limitsinside the circle. Frantz Fanon (1961) But also a spiritual ritual; combat, competition and artistry build a world within and the circle contains elements of a spiritual energy, a holy dance and religious trances. Even as their paths in lives may seem fray and unbound Dancers accomplishments in krumping gain them street credibility, earning respect and absorption from a life of violence. Furthermore embodied with competitiveness and spiritual aspect krumping provides sanctuary of the urban city, a state of mind with no boundaries, lines or limitations, just a sense of freedom. Rize follows the practitioners of krumping from its origins at childrens clown parties to the popular dance form that has reached mainstream audiences. LaChapelle never explores krumping beyond its inner-city setting, enforcing the krumping as an authentic art form in the city of Los Angeles in direct opposition of the materialistic, commercialism of mainstream. Beginning with Tommy the Clown, an American dancer and the inventor of clowning style, it quickly spread and evolved in to dance-battles serving as an alternative to gangs. Tommys performances developed loyal followers, growing throughout Los Angeles. Taking it upon himself he used this opportunity to give the youth a chance by being a model living positive at all times. As dancers got older the style continued to morph into even more outrageous styles. The abrasive nature of Krump makes it difficult to locate its sacred connotations; the spiritual energy brewing within its movements often convey sexuality, violence and suffe ring, but within the circle of Krumping this is the only way of making ourselves feel like we belong. (Julie Malnig, 2009) During these moments of belonging, the dancers become a contest of physical and spiritual energy, revealing their spirit and raw emotion that Krump demands. The energy and vigor of Krumping in a spiritual sense exorcises the demons and conjure spirits, but thought Krumping look wild and out of control to the unaware, it is actually self-governing and defies claims that youths are inherently violent and disruptive. The music in Krumping is danced to hardcore, beat-heavy hip-hop tracks, sometimes with no vocals. These amorphous circles and repetitive rhythmic loops entrances dancers to a spiritual state. During Rize a dancer falls under a trance which then she loses spiritual control and consciousness, collapsing into the arms of a fellow Krumper, when she is asked what has happened, she answers, I dont knowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I just let go. (Rize, 2005) The circle of spiritual energy is also used as organised healing and cathartic release, Krumpers channel their anger into a positive form , making Krumping more than a dance art form; its a coping mechanism that reveals this sub-culture to be something another than youths engaging in criminal behaviours and mentalities. Derived from Hip-Hop and Breaking, Krumping fires up people with its energetic enthusiasm of its powerful emotional expressiveness in certain Krump movements, it may represent elements joyful and painful emotions; in which can help the performer in alleviating anxiety and depression while also sharing emotions artistically. The movement exhibits an electric body shock which moulds and distortions in the body of the head, arms, face, legs and pelvis. Krump is intended as an outlet for anger or to release pent-up energy, the dance movements reflect this type of physical release, both males and females display combinations of movements similar to a blend of street fighting, moshing, spiritual possession and aerobic striptease. It is described as a volatile, warrior-like, spastic and quaking dance that involves the vigorous banding of the spine, the thrusting and popping of the chest. While the overall appearance of Krumping may look violent with battles between dancers a central compone nt, Krumpers hit each other to get energised to dance in the radical expressive and explosive ways the dance is known for. The Physical Energy is used as an outlet for frustration this passionate dance is adapted to each performers unique style, with the level of intensity differing by the emotions felt in that moment, giving the dance its own personality. When performing these actions I noticed the energy involve, initially it was about the visual actions of throwing, tossing, grabbing smashing, breaking and slashing but the more I performed these movements the more I noticed the actions that require a lot of energy, momentum and physical power to execute. In power moves, the dancers relies more on upper body strength and is usually on his or her hands during moves. An arm swing entails the arm to be tense up; as they tighten into a stiff plank, and the hand is crunched into a fist. The basic arm swing motion, the arm tended to rise and fall into the body, the movement is rhythmic with each swing. There is lift upwards and outwards where the swing is grasping for contact, each swing is flung with a strong and fierce force, while tearing at the arms socket. As the arm falls it loosens and bends, contracting into the body. The hands and arms in each one of these movements begin a chain reaction that spreads through the body, resulting i n being covered with a cloak of pure powerful energy. Wavelike movements in the torso, arms and hips are descendent from the African origin. Theres a sense of being, and a connection to your body but also a sense of power and strength. Each movement is skilfully controlled to the beat of the music. Form the Arm swing to the power moves the movements in Krump give you a sense of being untouchable while being empowering. Krumpers face off one-on-one and try to out-Krump one another, this fusion of sport, dancing and fighting With a semblance of physical combat and African tribal culture in their dance movements, Krumping allows dancers to pop their limbs, gyrate their torsos and stomp their feet to hip hop music (Rize, 2005) The pace and intensity of the music is so frantic that it suggests a kind of spiritual possession, dancers seemingly and often are instructed to lose control, this loss of control has been lyrically manifested allowing the dancers to slip out of their constraints and boxes and just let go. After losing control in the beats, they recognise that there are both limits and no limits within the circle. This expression of their true self runs on their remaining energy before passing out. The Krumping dance style makes explicit claims to the importance of its regional location and history of violence as a major propellant of the style. Spiritual Energy Religion Sound Physical Energy Movement Journal (in body experience) Expression Toll

Harold and Maude and The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are Es

Comparing the Movie, Harold and Maude and The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are The character Maude, in the movie Harold and Maude, lives a life congruent with the ideas Alan Watts expresses in The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are. In his book, Watts explores the relationships between life, death, ego, and environment. Watts's purpose is not to lecture but rather to let the book serve as a "point of departure" (11) for its readers. Maude also serves as the "point of departure" for the character Harold. Under Maude's guidance, Harold transforms from a depressed teenager obsessed with death into a new, positive person. Maude, however, dies shortly thereafter because she cannot guide Harold for the rest of his life. Indeed she, like The Book, is merely "a temporary medicine...not a perpetual point of reference [for Harold]" (11). Both Maude and The Book are only starting places from which Harold and Watts's readers must learn to achieve peace and understanding within themselves. Watts first addresses the issue of religion. Although the goal of many religions is to lead followers to "enlightenment," Watts believes that "irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide, it is a positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world" (11). People become so obsessed with their religion and convinced that it is the only true religion that they become blind to new ideas and experiences. Instead of being incarcerating, religion should be enlightening. In the movie, Harold asks Maude if she prays to a god. Maude responds, "Pray? No. I communicate." Maude understands that it is restraining to blindly worship a god. By using the word "communicate," sh... ...ime in his life, Harold loves another person, Maude. When Harold tells Maude he loves her, however, she tells him, "Good. Now love some more." Now that Harold has found that capacity to love, he is able extend his love beyond only Maude. He has also learned about his senses: he "smells" snow, feels the contours of wood, hears music, and sees the beauty of nature. Finally, Harold learns how to accept death. Instead of continually pretending to commit suicide to desensitize himself to death, Harold realizes that death is an inevitable part of the circle of life. At the end of the movie, Harold lives, while Maude dies, because he has not yet experienced life. Unlike Maude, Harold is just beginning to defy the taboos of society and find himself. Works Cited: Watts, A. W. (1966). The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. New York: Vintage Books Harold and Maude and The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are Es Comparing the Movie, Harold and Maude and The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are The character Maude, in the movie Harold and Maude, lives a life congruent with the ideas Alan Watts expresses in The Book On The Taboo About Knowing Who You Are. In his book, Watts explores the relationships between life, death, ego, and environment. Watts's purpose is not to lecture but rather to let the book serve as a "point of departure" (11) for its readers. Maude also serves as the "point of departure" for the character Harold. Under Maude's guidance, Harold transforms from a depressed teenager obsessed with death into a new, positive person. Maude, however, dies shortly thereafter because she cannot guide Harold for the rest of his life. Indeed she, like The Book, is merely "a temporary medicine...not a perpetual point of reference [for Harold]" (11). Both Maude and The Book are only starting places from which Harold and Watts's readers must learn to achieve peace and understanding within themselves. Watts first addresses the issue of religion. Although the goal of many religions is to lead followers to "enlightenment," Watts believes that "irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide, it is a positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world" (11). People become so obsessed with their religion and convinced that it is the only true religion that they become blind to new ideas and experiences. Instead of being incarcerating, religion should be enlightening. In the movie, Harold asks Maude if she prays to a god. Maude responds, "Pray? No. I communicate." Maude understands that it is restraining to blindly worship a god. By using the word "communicate," sh... ...ime in his life, Harold loves another person, Maude. When Harold tells Maude he loves her, however, she tells him, "Good. Now love some more." Now that Harold has found that capacity to love, he is able extend his love beyond only Maude. He has also learned about his senses: he "smells" snow, feels the contours of wood, hears music, and sees the beauty of nature. Finally, Harold learns how to accept death. Instead of continually pretending to commit suicide to desensitize himself to death, Harold realizes that death is an inevitable part of the circle of life. At the end of the movie, Harold lives, while Maude dies, because he has not yet experienced life. Unlike Maude, Harold is just beginning to defy the taboos of society and find himself. Works Cited: Watts, A. W. (1966). The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. New York: Vintage Books

Human Papillomavirus Essay

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been established as a substantial threat to public health among the sexually active youth of America. HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease that primarily affects women. It is also responsible for thousands of cancer related deaths each year. There are about 20 million Americans each year that are currently infected with HPV and nearly 5 million people will become newly infected this year with the virus. There are over 100 different strains of HPV, however only four are primarily responsible for causing substantial health complications such as genital warts and cervical cancer. Nevertheless, recent efforts to eliminate these most dominant strains have proven to be extremely victorious with the development of a unique vaccine that can exhibit an extraordinary level of efficiency. As a result, the pervasiveness of HPV has begun to slowly dwindle, but the virus still continues to violently infect millions of sexually active individuals who still remain unexposed to proper vaccination. Of the 100 different HPV strains, types 16 and 18 have been proven to cause cervical cancer. Although cervical cancer is able to be prevented, it is the second most common gynecologic cancer worldwide and the third most common cancer amongst women in the United States. In 2008 alone, 11,070 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed in the United States, and among these, 3,870 cases were fatal (Linton 235). In order to effectively protect themselves, it is necessary that women frequently obtain regular cervical cancer screenings and Pap tests to detect any precancerous lesions early on and subsequently prevent any instance of invasive cervical cancer from taking a potentially fatal course. Ultimately, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are much higher among women who do not obtain these regular screenings. Pap testing is an effective strategy for reducing the risk of invasive cervical cancer. Pap smear screening involves taking cells from the cervix to identify the presence of any abnormal or precancerous cells. In an effort to combat the growing number of cervical cancer cases among young women in the United States, the Center for Disease Control recommends that women receive a Pap test within the first two years following their first sexual encounter (Roland 8). Moreover, since the virus infects women ages 14 – 24 more prevalently than any other age group, it is vital that every woman receives at least one pap smear before they reach 21 years of age, followed by regularly scheduled annual screenings until the age of 30 (Roland 9). In doing so, young women can substantially decrease the prevalence of the virus while also decreasing their risk of contracting cervical cancer through early detection of the cellular abnormalities caused by HPV. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that even the mere act of performing a Pap smear can produce an inflammatory, immunologic response to HPV which subsequently initiates the body’s defense mechanisms that could potentially lead to clearance of the virus. As a result, Pap testing has proven to be an extremely effective method for reducing the incidence of cervical cancer among women exposed to the virus (Roland 9). In addition to HPV prevalence among women, the virus can also affect the overall health of infected males. Although the male is generally considered an asymptomatic â€Å"silent† carrier of HPV, the virus can produce lesions or warts on the male genitalia and can even lead to penile cancer (Rosa 1032). However, currently there is no cost effective test designed to detect the virus in male carriers. The only methods of detection consist of a peniscopy followed by a second-generation Hybrid Capture test. In this process, acetic acid solution is used to identify any lesions on the genitals so that a biopsy can be taken from all infected areas (Rosa 1033). Unfortunately, this manner of detection is far too complex to be performed on a mass scale. Consequently, male carriers continue to spread HPV unknowingly to their sexual partners and subsequently increase the prevalence of the virus throughout the sexually active community. Due to this asymptomatic spread of the virus by male carriers, it is paramount that a male vaccine is developed to further combat the growing prevalence of HPV among young sexually active individuals. On June 8th 2006, the FDA introduced Gardasil, a gender specific quadrivalent vaccine which prevents the initial infection of the four most dominant and high risk HPV types, 6, 11, 16, and 18. Consequently, the vaccine not only directly prevents the development of cervical cancer in women but also defends against the lower risk types 6 and 11, which are generally known for causing genital warts in both genders. The Gardasil vaccine is very unique because it appears to be the only 100 percent effective vaccination ever created. Furthermore, there is no live material inside the vaccine. Instead, it is made up of the virus-like proteins which coat the outer portion of the HPV virus. The vaccine cannot treat individuals already infected with the virus, but it will protect the infected female from attaining any of the other strains in the vaccine (McLemore 559). The vaccination is a three dose process, with followup doses at two and six month intervals from initial vaccination. Furthermore, the observed side effects are minimal but can include fever, nausea, respiratory tract infection, insomnia, and several other complications. Ultimately, the Gardasil vaccine is recommended for women ages 9 – 26 in an attempt to effectively decrease the prevalence of HPV among the sexually active community and also directly lower the related incidence of cervical cancer in young women (McLemore 559). However, even with the development of this vaccine the human papillomavirus still continues to infect millions of Americans and is responsible for thousands of cervical cancer deaths each year. It is absolutely paramount that young sexually active women not only become vaccinated with Gardasil, but also continue to maintain regular Pap test screenings annually with their doctor. In doing so, women can substantially reduce their incidence of cervical cancer and effectively fight to combat the growing prevalence of the HPV virus in the United States. Ultimately, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are much higher among women who do not obtain these regular screenings, and therefore fail to identify HPV abnormalities and precancerous cells early in their development. REFERENCES Linton, D.M. (2009). Cervical cancer screening interval. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 13(2): 235-7. Roland, K.B., Benard, V.B., Saraiya, M., Hawkins, N.A., & Brandt, H. (2009). Assessing cervical cancer screening guidelines in patient education materials. Journal of Women’s Health. 18(1): 5-12. McLemore, M.R. (2006). Gardasil: introducing the new human papillomavirus vaccine. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 10(5): 559-60. Rosa, N.T., De Carvalho, J.J., & Syrjanen, K.J. (2007). Identification of males at increased risk for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among patients referred for urological consultation. Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. 39(11-12): 1029-37.

Injust and Inhumane Transgender Discrimination Essay examples

Transgender people are no strangers to society: the concept of not feeling comfortable in ones birth-assigned gender has been around since man can remember. Its quite puzzling to see that many centuries later, people still treat transgender people of an alien-like nature, of some sort of non-human species. Transgender people have been discriminated for long enough. The discrimination sent towards them is wrong: theyre just humans who made changes to their lives for the better as all people have. Transgender people are regular people who do not deserve the amount of discrimination directed towards them as they get right now. â€Å"Transgender† is an umbrella term that includes gender non-conforming people, transsexuals (female-to-male and†¦show more content†¦Transgender people are discriminated on an almost daily basis. They are discriminated in the workplace, as shown in a study commisioned by the Equalities Review. In a group of transgender people who have jobs and are prone to workplace-enviroment effects and opinions, â€Å"many respondents experienced harassment from co-workers and employers.† Nearly 29% of the group experience verbal abuse and harassment in the workplace enviroment, and about 4% received physical abuse. About 7% experienced threats, and about 27% experienced some sort of different treatment due to their gender non-conforming ways.(Whittle 38-39). In another study, it was found that being mistreated in the school years would have a negative effect on future outcomes relating to employment. â€Å"Those who were physically attacked in school were considerably more likely to stay in a job (64%) compared to those who were not (42%) (Grant 50).† They are also discriminated in public as well, adding on to the distress that many transgender people suffer from regularly, making it seem as if all transgender people are crazy. Transgender people are just more likely to be diagnosed as someone with a mental disorder beca use its helpful to see that those who have been diagnosed are â€Å"hurting and something needs to be done to help (Kreitler 1).† In