"Breaking the Limits?" My article on the Cuban breaking scene is now published in the Global HipHop Studies Journal!

My article, an exploration of the Cuban breaking scene "Breaking the limits? Exploring the breaking scene in Havana, Cuba and belonging in a global (imagined) breaking community" is now published and available via Open Access in the Global HipHop Studies Journal. 

The GHHS Journal is the first academic peer-review journal on HipHop Studies, explorin all elements through contributions such as articles, artist-centered outputs or book reviews; with a experienced editorial board with scholars such as Adam Hautp, Griffith Rollefson, Murray Formen or Sina Nitzsche, it is published by Intellect.

You can download my article for free here

Abstract:

This article discusses the findings from my initial foray into the Havana breaking scene in February 2020. Inspired by ethnomusicologist and hip hop scholar Joseph Schloss’s (2009) ethnographic study of the New York breaking scene, I deploy three central aspects from his work: community as social entanglement, music as a creator of belonging, and movement as the connecting elements between dancers. I explore how these aspects are visible in Havana and suggest that there are various aspects, for example, heterogeneity, internet access and possibilities to travel, connect and exchange within a global dance community, that define the local breaking scene in Havana, which add to the three pillars Schloss develops from breaking itself. In addition, I question breaking’s ‘normed narratives’ ‐ for example, the assumption that b-boys and b-girls always draw inspiration from the United States, breaking’s country of origin ‐ to interrogate US and Eurocentric/western-nation perspectives. I also explore how I was able to dive in and conduct qualitative research with relative ease in a short period of time as a white European b-girl, hip hop, and dance scholar as well as a foreigner to Cuba’s breaking scene. I reflect on the importance of travelling as a means of knowledge acquisition, the idea of belonging to a ‘Global Hip Hop Nation’, an ‘imagined community’ and ‘connective marginalities’ as concepts to help untangle the forms of belonging within the global breaking community as they play out in Cuba. This research is based on a practice-of-theory approach that places the body at the centre of investigation enhanced with the idea of meaningful movement. Data is collected through participant field observation, qualitative interviews as well as my embodied and cultural knowledge as a b-girl, which informs my role as ‘hybrid expert’ in, and between, Havana’s breaking scene. 

Frost, F. (2022): Breaking the limits? Exploring the breaking scene in Havana, Cuba and belonging in a global (imagined) breaking community. Global Hip Hop Studies, Volume 2, Number 1, 1 June 2021, pp. 15-36

Two awards for HIT 7AYT at Détours Festival 2022!

Since nearly three years, I live in Morocco. This year, I could realize one of my long envisioned projects: Creating a dance performance with local dance talents. Together with Yassine Alaoui Ismaili aka Yoriyas, we started our research on the performance HIT 7AYT in January 2022. In July, we had a two-week artistic residence in the frame of TRIPHAZE 2022 at the Uzine in Casablanca with a work-in-progress showing.

In September 2022 we continued our work with a one-week artistic residence at Centre Culturel Bruegel in Bruxelles in the frame of the Détours Festival. Within the work-in-progress showing, that was also a choreographic competition, we received 2 prizes for our creation!

The hiphop institution Lezarts Urbains and the research space Grand Studio picked us as favourite performance. Thank you for choosing us, we are looking forward to future collaborations!

Here the teaser of HIT 7AYT حيث حايط ("because of the wall")

Choreographie: Friederike Frost & Yassine Alaoui Ismaili

Dance: Houssine "Ocean" Ait Belbaz, Mohammed "Omiz" Guechri, Mohamed "Polini" Bouriri and Othmane Oubella.

Music: Antonio de Luca

Artikel: SUPERHEROS UND CYPHER BATTLES

In the last year I visited the BC One Cypher Germany 2021 as one of the first in-presence breaking events in Germany since the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on my observations and several Interviews with dancers such as B-Girl Jilou, B-Bgirl Alicia or B-Boy Lafilove as well as with the judges Storm, Movie One and Hong10, i wrote a short article. The article is available in German language for download on Academia.edu 

Im letzten Jahr konnte ich den BC One Cypher Germany 2021 beobachten, als eines der ersten Breaking Events seit der COVID-19 Pandemie, und habe daraus einen kurzen Artikel geschrieben. Dafür konnte ich Interviews mit Teilnehmer*innen wie Jilou, Alicia oder Lafilove als auch mit der Jury Storm, Movie One und Hong10 machen. Der Artikel liegt auf Academia.edu zum Download bereit :) Lese den Artikel hier

Abstract:

Around 150 dancers have gathered in Stuttgart on July 10, 2021 for the Red Bull BC One Cypher Germany. Cyphers are formed in which the B-girls and B-boys show off their moves, practice them, exchange ideas, and warm up for the Cypher Preselection. The room is filled with energy - it's been a long time since B-Girls and B-Boys from all over Germany could cypher together. Since the Corona pandemic, lock-downs and event cancellations, this is the first big breaking event in Germany. How do the B-girls and B-boys feel about competing against each other on a big stage after one year of event breaks? How and where did they prepare, and how did the Corona pandemic impact them?

Rund 150 Tänzer:innen haben sich am 10. Juli 2021 in Stuttgart für den Red Bull BC One Cypher Germany eingefunden. Es formen sich Cypher, in denen die B-Girls und B-Boys ihre Moves zum besten geben, ausprobieren, sich austauschen, und für die Cypher-Preselection warm machen. Der Raum ist gefüllt mit Energie – es ist lange her, dass B-Girls und B-Boys aus ganz Deutschland gemeinsam cyphern konnten. Seit der Corona-Pandemie, Lock-Downs und Event-Absagen ist es das erste große Breaking-Event in Deutschland. Wie fühlen sich die B-girls und B-Boys, nach einem Jahr Event-Pause auf großer Bühne gegeneinander anzutreten? Wie und wo haben sie sich vorbereitet, und wie hat die Corona-Pandemie dies beeinflusst?

"Awesome HipHop Humans": new publication on hiphop, gender & queerness in Germany

 Last year, i could contribute a chapter to the book "Awesome HipHop Humans" edited by Sookee and Gazal, that gives a platform to voices of queer hiphop activists, space for discussions on gender in hiphop, on rap in Germany and more. 

Together with Murat Göngür, Hannes Loh and Bettina Lösch, I contributed a chapter discussing on hiphop, rap, breaking and gender, the body, and masculinity: "Grenzüberschreitungen zwischen Sprache und Körper". If you are interested in our discussion, check it out in the book! 

Small dummer: It's all in German... (;

Güngör, M.; Loh, H.; Frost, F. & Lösch, B.: Grenzüberschreitungen zwischen Sprache und Körper. In: Sookee & Gazal (Hrsg.) (2021): Awesome HipHop Humans. Queer*Fem*Rap im deutschsprachigen Raum. Ventil Verlag.

 

NUTRO 10 - Eine nutrospektive im tanzhaus nrw

Das Kollektiv nutrospektif ist seit 2020 Factory Artist am tanzhaus nrw und feiert mit NUTRO 10 sein zehnjähriges Bestehen. Dieses Jubiläum ist der Anlass zur nutrospektive und eine Einladung zum gemeinsamen Fest!

Das Publikum erwartet ein reflexives und bewegtes Portrait, inspiriert von der Geschichte des Kollektivs: eine Erzählung über eine kollektivische Identitätssuche und über die Kraft der Selbstermächtigung im Spannungsfeld zwischen urbanen Tanzkulturen und künstlerischer Vision. Den inneren Kern (nutro) gezielt zu beobachten (spektif) und immer wieder die Perspektive aus der eigenen tanzkulturellen Identität einzunehmen, um künstlerisch zu schöpfen, ist essentiell für die fünf Tanzkünstlerinnen. 

„Wer seid ihr eigentlich, nutrospektif?“ – Während einer zweiwöchigen Residenz am tanzhaus nrw hat sich das Kollektiv in einen Reflexionsprozess über sein 10-jähriges Bestehen begeben und möchte dies in einem von performativen, interaktiven und kommunikativen Elementen lebenden Fest mit dem Publikum teilen. Von der Retrospektive, zur Perspektive hin zur Prospektive! In multidisziplinärer Weise tauchen in dieser performativen Party immer wieder Fragmente vergangener Werke, Bildungsskizzen, experimentelle Arbeitsweisen, aktivistische Ziele und Forschungsdesigns auf. Aus Sicht der einzelnen Künstlerinnen betrachtet das Kollektiv den gemeinsamen Werdegang und lässt das Publikum daran teilhaben. Und sicher gibt es auch Kuchen und die ein oder andere Überraschung.

Dauer: 75 – 90 Min.
Achtung: Einsatz lauter Musik

50 % Rabatt beim Besuch mehrerer Veranstaltungen des Factory Finales 

Von und mit: nutrospektif (Bahar Gökten, Daniela Mba, Daniela Rodriguez-Romero, Frieda Frost, Yeliz Pazar) und Gäste.

https://tanzhaus-nrw.de/de/veranstaltung/2022/03/nutrospektif

 

Hip Hop Conference "PANTHEON" from 26-27.01.2022 on Zoom

Don't miss the upcoming hip hop conference "Pantheon" of the European HipHop Studies Network that will happen ONLINE from 26-27.01.2022!

Chek the programm & information how to register here: programm & registration