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e-weekend | B15
The ascendance of a shy b-boy
dance:
How Taiyo broke out of his shell and discovered a world of opportunities
More @
To check out b-boys Taiyo and Jheric Hizon bust a move, visit us online at theprovince. com/e-today
Special event
High School High Hip Hop Competition
Where: River Rock Show Theatre, 8811 River Rd., Richmond When: Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets: $15 from A Star Studio at 604-266-3053 or 604-8050558
.com
BY LENA SIN
STAFF REPORTER
Jeonju, a small town in Korea, is known for two things: Its ancient architecture and food (tourists flock here just to eat bibimbap, Koreas famous mixed-rice dish). Culturally speaking, its about as far away from the cradle of hip hop as one can get. So whats a kid hellbent on becoming a b-boy to do in a town like this? Well, in the case of B-boy Taiyo, he decided at the ripe old age of 16 to move to the big city (Seoul), join a group of like-minded dancers, practice like hell and then go on to win one of the worlds most prestigious break-dancing competitions, an ascent that was captured in the critically acclaimed documentary Planet B-Boy. (The term b-boy stands for break boy.) So when asked recently in Vancouver, where Taiyo currently lives, what he wants his dance students to learn from him, the answer comes naturally: Perseverance and patience. I want them to learn from me
about doing his or her best with patience, the 28-year-old says thoughtfully. He also tells them to stay in school. B-boy Taiyo, as hes known (given name Juhyun Seo), is one of three judges taking part in the High School High Hip Hop Dance Competition held this Saturday at the River Rock Casino in Richmond. More than 500 dancers representing 24 schools from across B.C., and one from as far away as Kenora, Ont., will be competing in the event, now in its third year, which will showcase popping, locking and break dancing. Of course, Taiyo remembers being their age, a shy kid in a small town who loved the energy of this urban dance so much he practised alone, mimicking moves he saw in American hip-hop videos. Then, as in now, it was all about the energy, that high you get from spinning on your head, throwing kicks in the air with controlled precision and gliding like a smooth operator. But mostly its about having a good time, he says. The most important thing is big energy, says Taiyo. And how much you express yourself to the audience and how the audience responds. Jheric Hizon and Anita Perel-Panar, founders of A Star Studio in Vancouver and organizers of the event, says
More than 500 dancers representing 24 schools are competing for hip-hop glory.
SubmiTTed pHoTo
the competition is less about winning and more about building community and giving kids confidence. I was a shy kid. But if you can be out there dancing in front of thousands of people, it builds confidence and self-esteem, says Hizon. Taiyo can relate. When he moved to Seoul, he lived in a tiny apartment with the Last For One crew, a group
of dancers from mostly poor families. They struggled to make ends meet but had a serious work ethic when it came to dance. The hard work paid off when the Korean team arrived at the 2005 Battle of the Year competition in Germany as underdogs and beat out better-known crews from the U.S. and Japan.
Now studying English in Vancouver and teaching break dancing on the side at A Star Studio, Taiyo can hardly believe how far dance has taken him. Next month, he will be moving to the Yukon with his wife, where he will continue to teach break dancing.
lsin@[Link] [Link]/lenasin2
Bridging the fame gap across the pond
BY LEAh CoLLINS
POSTmEdiA NEwS
Club gig
Biffy Clyro, with Moving Mountains
Where: Venue, 881 Granville St. When: Friday at 7 p.m. (early show) Tickets: $14 at Zulu, Red Cat, [Link]
In the U.K., they score Top 10 hits, land BRIT Award nominations and open for Muse at Wembley Stadium (on multiple occasions). In Toronto, where Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro pulled in for a tour stop last week, they played to a sold-out crowd . . . of some 350 people. The discrepancy doesnt faze the bands James Johnston. So says the bassist, chatting in a downtown Toronto hotel minutes after he and his bandmates, twin brother Ben Johnston (drums) and singer/guitarist Simon Neil, arrive via tour van from Montreal. Since earlier this February, the three-piece has travelled North America something theyve done before, notably, in support of Queens of the Stone Age in 2008
(that bands frontman, and fellow not-to-be-messed-with ginger, Josh Homme, even appears on Biffy Clyros current album, Only Revolutions). A headlining tour, however, is still a novelty for the group. Their next Canadian stop is Vancouver. Its a spot Biffy Clyro knows too well, even if its average citizen cant yet say the same about the band. For their fourth album, 2007s
Puzzle, the band entrenched themselves at the citys Warehouse Studio, working with engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Franz Ferdinand) and producer Garth Richardson (Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers). We spent a lot of time over there in Vancouver, Johnston says. Just a lovely city, and really beautiful, and our connection with Garth Richardson is really the reason we enjoy it there so much; he looks after us really well. Johnston admits they dont always sing the citys praises in print. Well, yeah, we had a tough time, he chuckles, going on to explain: We were there for two months in the rainy season and working really hard on our record, which took a lot out of us, you know. But the lessons learned albeit painfully by Biffy Clyro dur-
Biffy Clyro put their fourth album, Puzzle, together in Vancouver with the help of engineer Mike Fraser. SubmiTTed pHoTo
ing that first Vancouver trip served them well making Puzzles followup, Only Revolutions. That album, the bands fifth, officially arrived in Canada only this past January, though its been out
the U.K. since November 2009, giving it time to go to No. 3 on the albums chart (its their highest-selling record to date), spawn six singles and score a nomination for the 2010 Mercury Prize.
