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Fantastic Poppers Review on Bustin Out
Dancing Unites Us, Not Divides Us
Step into the streets of desolation. The sun is
still up but suffocating behind a blanket of grey
pollution. The wind blows down empty sidewalks, tossing
autumn leaves and yesterday's papers helter-skelter.
Doorsteps lay empty with only shadows of those who
used to frequent them. Houses stand in waiting, bracing
for a rebirth. Smoke rises from the grates that line
the city, look closer.
The
smoke is winding with calculated motion. Listen
and you can hear a distant beat thumping in the air.
Touch the ground and you'll feel a pulse, the resurfacing
of Street Dancing in all it's glory, and who better
to lead the crusade than the Fantastic Poppers and
their comrades.
The FP'S and their friends want to take people
on a walk through the underground, through Street
Dancing’s past in North America from the
70’s to now. Their production, Bustin' Out,
showcases some of the best dancers in Canada, reviving
the lost art of Locking, Popping, Waving, the Robot
and many more funk styles.
"We want to bring back dancing to the forefront," says
one of the two founding brothers, Licorice Lloydd.
We're not back up dancers. We're our own act." Together
with the Lock O Matics, the Supernaturalz and the
Rhythmatic Funk Movement, they want to educate and
entertain their audience through dance.
The Funk Styles crew represent the west coast style
of dance from California, while B-Boys and B Girls
represent the east coast style from New York. On
stage they bring it all together for an amazing display
of motion like you've never seen before.
Costumes look like a polo match gone wrong, high
school spunk and a game of Mafia with Armani suits,
canes and cigars. All the while they're freestlying
like their bones are made of pure silk.
The whole crew moves with a fluid, natural ease like
the flow of water spilling over your hands.
The B-Boys defy logic, sporting track suits and moving
at light speed with rubber ankles, liquid legs and
power moves.
The Fantastic Poppers have been together for ten
years, and this is their second production at the
Leah Puslons Theatre.
Currently
they teach dance classes every Thursday at the
Canadian Conservatory Of Dance and have plans
to go cross-country in the future. “We’re
looking to tour in major theatres, like Mirvish Productions,” says
the other founding brother, Boogaloo Storm. Both
brothers are self-taught dancers, learning from movies
and the streets of Toronto.
In the
new year, they’ve got a five-year anniversary
coming up for their annual Funk Fo Yo Feet competition,
as well as an anniversary for the Fantastic Poppers
crew. The Poppers will be celebrating both with a
three-day event including Workshops, Panel discussion,
Jam and Competition. “It’s a place for
all poppers to get down and showcase there skills
and have fun,” says Storm, and bring the FunkStyles
culture to a whole new level.
Edit: Karli Vezina 10/16/05
Click
here for pics from our first production of "Bustin'
Out"
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