by ERIN MACLEOD

Anyone who’s paid attention for a coupla minutes over the past few years has had to have noticed what was once underground dance cropping up everywhere—not only in music videos, but also in commercials, TV shows and on the big screen. Montreal hasn’t been sleeping on the phenomenon. Though the street dance community here is small, it’s growing. And if Alexandra “Spicey” Landé’s Unkut Productions has its way, the growth ain’t gonna stop. The Mirror spoke to Landé about the second edition of street dance convention Bust a Move happening this weekend.

Mirror: So what is it all about?

Alexandra Landé: It’s bringing all the street dancers together in one place. The aim is to bring everyone together, to have battles on stage in five different categories of street-style dance. Judges from around North America will represent five different categories (locking, popping, hip hop, house and b-boy). The next day, in conjunction with Masters at Work workshops, at Urban Element, all of the judges will be giving a workshop. It’s going to be really hype.

M: What kinds of people come out?

AL: It is a melting pot of people, first of all in terms of culture. About a third of people are dancers, with another third who know about the dancing from classes and a third who really knew nothing about it or had never seen or heard of it, and they were like, “This is crazy. I didn’t know this existed in Montreal.”

M: What do you say to people who are intimidated?

AL: There are all sorts of open cyphers (dance circles) where you can peek and watch, but you don’t have to go in the circle. It’s a big fiesta—you don’t have to be a good, practised dancer. It’s a big party. People are not there to judge anybody.

M: What separates street dance from traditional dance?

AL: The culture behind street dancing is what I think differentiates it from studio dancing. The culture made the dance. Every move that you make is an expression—you suddenly see the music. But for it to be natural it takes a lot of understanding of the culture. If you want to become a better locker, popper, you need to research, you need to go back. It’s an ensemble of things.

B-glossary

As Judge Fon deVuono-Powell says, “Categories that one can invent are descriptive impositions, not necessarily facts on the ground.” That said, here’s an attempted breakdown of three main schools of street dance schools:

Hip Hop: Founded in New York, the funky, soulful sound of hip hop with its breakbeats inspired dancers to highlight the drum sounds. From party dancing came b-boys (top rock, footwork, freezes) and hip hop (amalgam of dances that were not connected with b-boying) styles.

House: Founded in Chicago, ’80s house music culture gave birth to dance styles such as jacking, skating, stomping and heel-toe.

Funk: Founded in California, from the early days of Soul Train to P-Funk and beyond, funky music has accompanied locking (soulful, funky dance style based around a move called the “lock” invented by Don Campbell) and popping (dance based on contracting muscles to highlight the rhythm, with a fluid style, invented by Boogaloo Sam).

At Kola Note (5240 Parc) April 1, 9 p.m., $10–$12 April 2 Workshops at Urban Element (370 Jean-Talon).