Austin360 blogs > Almost Urban > Archives > 2007 > May > 02 > Entry
‘Inside The Circle’ at B-Boy City
B-Boy City is infinitely compelling for the same reason “American Idol” is the biggest entertainment juggernaut in America. It’s about young people who work hard, dig deep and step onto the stage (or into the circle as the case may be) and leave their hearts on the floor. But while the Fox talent competition presents a safe display of clean-scrubbed singers warbling through overplayed radio hits, B-Boy City presents the opposite — scruffy, sweaty, dangerous freestyle. It’s raw, it’s tough, and yes, sometimes people get hurt.
Since 1998, veteran break-dancer Romeo Navarro has been producing B-Boy City twice a year in Austin. It’s an outlet for young dancers, who spend all year training both as crews and individuals, to put their skills to the test. The first time I went to the B-Boy City competition finals it literally blew my mind. I wasn’t at all prepared for the level of intensity, both physical and emotional. From the pure athleticism displayed in the circle to the dance battles that sometimes seem treacherously close to erupting into brawls, there’s no doubt these kids give their all.
Now, what began as a local grass-roots movement dedicated to keeping a crucial element of hip-hop alive is getting shine on the big screen thanks to a new documentary by Marcy Garriott called “Inside The Circle.” Garriott filmed for four and a half years covering multiple B-Boy City competitions and following two rival break-dancers as they transformed from “at-risk” 17-year-old youths into young adults. Set against a pulsing soundtrack composed by local musician Adrian Quesada, “Inside The Circle” exhilaratingly captures the heat of the battles at B-Boy City. It also provides a moving testament to the power of hip-hop as a cultural movement. In an e-mail conversation jotted out between flights to the East Coast to promote the movie, Marcy and I talked about the film. I was also able to get a few comments from b-boy Omar Davila, one of the film’s principal subjects.
Almost Urban: Was your experience with B-Boy City your first encounter with hip-hop as a true cultural movement?
Marcy Garriott: I was aware of hip-hop as a cultural movement through the media, but it was the first time I had experienced it directly. B-boys and b-girls feel a strong and direct link to hip-hop’s origins and ideals, to its original joy and defiance. And they very much feel that they live the hip-hop culture, that through their actions they express and evolve the culture. A breaking event like B-Boy City takes this expression to a high level of intensity — it is reunion, competition, artistic performance and community all rolled into one.
Were you struck with the extent to which these kids carry the art form with them throughout their walks in daily life?
Marcy: Absolutely — I think this is part of what made b-boying so appealing to me initially as a documentary subject. B-boys don’t dance as a hobby or to perform for others; they live their lives through dance.
How did the rival B-Boys Omar and Josh emerge as the central characters in the film?
Marcy: Romeo, who organizes the B-Boy City events and dedicates himself to helping keep b-boying “alive” in Austin, was a natural initial focal point for the film. I knew that I also wanted to focus on some of the younger b-boys, the ones just coming up. At age 17, Josh and Omar were already extraordinarily dedicated and talented dancers, and they were both facing interesting crossroads, important decisions, in their lives. They had gone from being best friends to joining rival crews, which meant that their stories would also likely stay intertwined in interesting ways.
In this kind of documentary film, you of course don’t know which way the stories will head, or what decisions the subjects will make, so there is a very instinctual process of deciding what to follow. And fortunately for the film, Josh and Omar’s stories unfolded in a fascinating way.
Over the course of the film, we watch your young subjects experience serious growing pains. Was it difficult to remain a passive observer in the face of these trials?
Marcy: As a documentary filmmaker, I do consciously try to stay a “passive observer,” and the major events in the film took their course without any intervention from me. But over the four years of making the film, there were definitely occasions when it felt more appropriate to react as a friend rather than an impartial observer, and I did that. There is a complex relationship between a filmmaker and a subject, and trust is part of that relationship. Without trust, it’s hard to expect someone to open up in a natural way on camera, to express their hopes, to show their vulnerability. And it’s hard to build trust without also genuinely forming some level of friendship.
As you followed the b-boys over a period of four years, how much do you think the presence of the camera affected them?
Marcy: The primary impact that I observed was related to the interviews. Since I shoot interviews by myself, without a crew, they tended to be like long personal conversations. And I think that having an outside person to talk to about some of the tough issues they were going through gave them a chance to be a little more reflective or self-aware than they might otherwise have been.
Omar Davila: I think the film had a huge impact on helping me grow into the person that I am today. There were a lot of personal issues I was facing through out the entire time the documentary was being filmed. It was really interesting to be able to go back and watch interviews or other situations caught on tape, call it a wake-up call for certain situations and decisions. All in all, I think it worked out in a positive manner and helped me out a lot.
You really manage to capture the heat of the battles. What was it like trying to film in the midst of the intensity?
Marcy: It’s crazy, because shooting a 10-hour event nonstop takes a lot of stamina — you’re concentrating on getting everything technically right, and you’re also feeling the intensity of what’s going on in the circle — the anger, the conflicts, the excitement, the humor, the joy. So you end up feeling exhausted by the time everything winds down at 3 or 4 a.m., but then you’re thinking, “Wow, if I’m exhausted just standing here, how can the b-boys still be going so strong when they’ve been dancing all night?”
When Omar travels overseas and is exposed to international b-boy culture it seems to change him almost immediately. Can you share your observations as well as your own response to the international b-boy scene?
Marcy: Omar and I were on different flights, but I was there to see and film his international debut in Rotterdam. I think it gave him an enormous sense of confidence to do so well under such pressure, and I think it gave him a stronger sense of where his talent could lead him. The IBE event is a great way to first experience b-boying outside of the U.S., because the battles take place in a real “circle.” The crews are on the floor, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd, as opposed to on a stage as with so many other European events. There are no judges for the battles; the outcome is left to each participant and each audience member to decide for themselves. The astounding energy of the audience feeds the energy of the crews and vice versa — it was exhilarating.
Omar: Ever since I fell in love with the dance and found out that you could travel doing it, it was my dream. I remember being young and telling my mother that I wish I could travel the world someday. My first trip to Europe was like a reality check; I saw it as my one opportunity to prove myself. My one-way ticket, and it was in my hands to do what I could with it. So when the opportunity came around for the first time, I took that ticket and ran with it without looking back. The rest was history!
How has working on this film affected your overall perception of hip-hop, both mainstream and underground in American youth culture?
Marcy: Working on the film hasn’t changed my perceptions of mainstream hip-hop, but it opened up a whole new world for me in terms of the underground scene. B-boying, a major form of underground hip-hop, is very pure in a way, strongly linked to the original ideals of hip-hop, and free of commercial pressures. As Romeo likes to say, “b-boys hold the document.” Being out of the media glare has allowed b-boys to evolve their art form in astounding ways, without having to meet expectations of outsiders.
How did you decide on Adrian Quesada as the soundtrack composer, and how was it working with him?
Marcy: Adrian is brilliant, and I was incredibly lucky to have him on board the project. He is a co-founder of Grupo Fantasma, and many people know him through that music. He also founded Brownout, an instrumental Latin funk band “committed to keeping the spirit of ’70s Afro-Latin-funk music alive.” B-boys still like to dance to the funk breaks of the ’70s, and Brownout is always hugely popular when they play live at b-boy events. Adrian is a prolific and eclectic composer, and seemed a natural fit for the project. He came on board very early in the editing process, which is unusual compared to the many films that turn to a composer near the end of editing. I knew that the flow between the music and the editing needed to be two-way — that each needed to drive the other rather than just force-fitting the music on top at the end. And so Adrian would compose, and I would edit, and we would share our results back and forth, each influencing the other, the process taking over a year. Bavu Blakes supplied the film’s rap songs, Hydroponic Sound System of Dallas contributed a few extraordinary songs, and DJ Baby G added some flavor here and there. The soundtrack also incorporates a few b-boying classics, songs that DJs play at almost every event, worldwide. The music is integral to the film, beginning to end.
Event information: B-Boy City 14 takes place from May 3-6, 2007.
May 3: “B-Boy City History” photo exhibit opens at Gallery Lombardi
May 4: “Scratch King” DJ competition at Emo’s ($12 at the door)
May 5: Registration qualifiers, battle preliminaries, vendors, artist trade show at the SkatePark of Austin from 2 p.m. to midnight (cover unspecified)
May 6: “Inside The Circle” screens at the Alamo Downtown at 2:30 p.m. ($7) and B-Boy City Competition Finals at Paradox from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. ($15 at the door)
(All photos courtesy of insidethecircle.com)
Comments
By mermaidshoes
May 3, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this
this movie was excellent. anyone who hasn’t seen a live battle before should try and make it to one this weekend. it’s an amazing and unique experience.