B-Boyin' - The Truth

Despite popular belief, b-boying began in the 70’s, in the boogie down Bronx of New York, but its true roots can be found much earlier in history. Like the birth of any new dance, its creators were innovative and talented, but expressed themselves in a way that reflected the culture that they were a part of. That culture was hip-hop. The establishment of hip-hop was cultural movement devout on promoting the positivity of an ethnically diverse life in urban America. Sadly, corporate America found this to be an opportunity for profit, and soon utilized bboying as the next best thing to advertise your product. Suddenly, bboying became ‘breakdancing’, and the media was saturated with the art, until it became as common as sliced bread. Bboying was rapaciously exploited for every penny it was worth, with little, if any, profit going towards to true innovators of the dance. This is the sad truth of what happened in the 80’s, and why the common person today assumes that breakdancing was merely a fad that ‘died’ in the 80’s.

However, Bboying (or Breakdancing) is alive and well, with all the nuances of any type of dance. Although it remained underground in North America for the last couple decades, it has since become a worldwide phenomenon, with countless countries taking part in international events that celebrate the diversity of the dance. It is appearing in mainstream culture in North America once again, in the form of music videos, dance productions, and TV/Movie appearances. Wary of the mistakes of the past, its practitioners vow to keep the dance true to itself, and provide the art with a bright future.

"East Rock Crew"

East Rock Crew (ERC) has evolved dramatically since its creation. The crew was initially formed by serious members of MUNMoves. In September 2004, ‘MUNMoves’ was recognized by the Student Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). The club’s purpose was to make the dance available to anyone interested, and promote it as a rigorous exercise as well as a unique art of self-expression. Performing at numerous MUN events and some other venues, MUNMoves became well-known and new members joined.

Though the group was growing at MUN, they still wanted to do shows and demonstrations around the city and province. This is why East Rock Crew (ERC) was formed in March 2005. Current executive members include B-Boys: Ahhsum (Tony Ingram), Square (Greg Bruce), Naga (Dave Gardiner), Ugly (Matt Power), Soul Rock (David Yoon) and CC (Jeremy Brown).

Since the crews formation the members became more performance and business orientated. Business and management efforts are moving the crew further and faster than ever before.

 Working with youth in schools and community groups ERC provides a healthy living alternative and promotes positive living through dance. ERC believes strongly that streetdance is a serious art form and a positive activity. Working hard to promote the dance here in NL they hope to see more people discover this art for themselves and see positive social change as a result.

MUNMOVES is the student body concerned with the promotion and practice of the street dances in their original forms, particularly B-boying/B-girling (Breakdancing), and Popping and Locking. We support other street dances as well, including Hip-Hop, House and many others. MUNMOVES main goal is to promote positive Hip-Hop in Newfoundland and Labrador. The original founding members have gone on to form Eastrock crew, Newfoundland’s first performing and competing breakdance group. Through collective efforts, MUNMOVES offers weekly breakdance lessons (As taught by Eastrock crew), free practices and jams on campus. The two organizations work together to expose b-boy/b-girling to the general public, while creating new possibilities for the local dance community, like bringing special guest instructors from outside NL. MUNMOVES desires to grow NL Hip-Hop scene so that we can establish and more importantly maintain our own breakdancing element.

The Society's Administrative Team:

Active standing President: Matthew F.J. Power

Active standing Vice President: Paddy Greene

Active standing Treasurer: David Christian Yoon