New York City performers offer hip-hop twist

Guitarists, bassists and vocalists are the usual suspects to steal the show at live performances, but not this time.

Percussionists, step dancers and even a violinist took the spotlight at “Hip-Hop Unique,” a free event sponsored by the Campus Activities Board in Paws in the University Union Friday night.

“I figured a unique hip-hop event would be something different,” CAB programming chair Travis Payne said. “I wanted a little variety between percussion and dance. When I came to Towson, this is what I pictured as a Friday Night Live event, something to get you involved with the performers and something to end your week on a good note.”

The Street Beats, a New York City dance and percussion troupe and Svet, the hip-hop violinist, rocked out in front of a sizable crowd preceded by a special performance by the Black Student Union’s rhythm step team.

“It’s hard finding drummers to do this show because drummers usually sit in the back while the guitarist rocks out,” Zoilo Ruiz, founder of The Street Beats, said. “In this show there is none of that. We are moving our bodies and we are more in the front than hanging back like a normal drummer.”

Ruiz also recently contributed to the video game “Rock Band 2,” in which he performs as the game’s virtual drummer.

“We use props from the street,” Ruiz said. “One day I started banging on a trashcan, and ever since I could remember I started to make sounds out of everyday objects using different props.”

The drummers used other street props, including traffic cones, buckets and long poles. Two break-dancers accompanied the drummers.

Svet, 22, has played violin since he was three years old. He was born and raised in Bulgaria where he was trained in classical violin for 12 years. When he moved to the United States, he fell in love with hip-hop and fused his love for violin with it.

“It’s hard to pick good songs because you have to pay attention to the melody but I’ve performed songs like ‘Thong Song’ by Sisqo and ‘Overnight Celebrity’ by Twista,” Svet said. “I love watching people dance to hip-hop. When people think of violin, they think of classical music. But when I combine it with hip-hop, it energizes everyone. I’ve even performed at nursing homes and they enjoyed it. Hip-hop has a bad name in some ways but an instrument like violin can get people to respect it.”

BSU’s Rhythm Step Team is composed of students who stomp their feet and clap their hands on different body parts to make beats.

The theme for their show was cops and robbers.

A highlight from the show was when the students playing cops patted down the students playing robbers while keeping a beat.

“It is an art because it’s a gift and talent that certain people are particularly blessed with,” freshman Ololade Ikuomola, said. “We are not afraid to get out there and basically we want to carry the crowd with us.”

Comments

3 comments

matt

Mon Apr 20 2009 22:58

Dear BSU Rhythm Step Team Supporter,

Thank you for reading my work, and I understand your concern. I offer you my sincere apologies for not providing a thorough portrayal of the BSU Rhythm Step Team. While the other performers were headlining the show I admit to hasty reporting of the team's performance. It is a privilege to write for the Towson community and it is not my intention to misrepresent any group of students. So, please let me start again.

The synchronized efforts by the dancers made me wonder if their hearts beat at the same time because these ladies are talented. These performers do more than just look good while clapping their hands and stomping their feet. They create music using simply their bodies and put on a spectacle of a show in the process. And they make it look easy too, but when I briefly spoke to Lade she informed me of the time and teamwork that goes into coordinating a routine. The theme of the show, "cops and robbers," would seem cliche, but the ladies put an interesting twist on it. Songs "The Black Panther Theme" and "Bad Boys" were incorporated into the act to make it even more lively. Also the costumes were simple, but made the characters easy to identify with. I especially liked the black masks on the criminals. It was incredibly impressive to see how fast they can move. My favorite part, which made me laugh out loud, was when the students playing cops sustained a beat while pretending to be "patting down" the criminals. Also when the ladies incorporated chairs into the act it kept the show fresh.

So, supporter, I still feel I don't know enough about the BSU and the Rhythm Step Team, and I would love to sit down with you and as many students in BSU as possible and talk about what you do for our community. Email me at mmarko2@students.towson.edu and we can write a news article together.

- matt

matt

Mon Apr 20 2009 22:57

Dear BSU Rhythm Step Team Supporter,

Thank you reading my work, and I understand your concern. I offer you my sincere apologies for not providing a thorough portrayal of the BSU Rhythm Step Team. While the other performers were headlining the show I admit to hasty reporting of the team's performance. It is a privilege to write for the Towson community and it is not my intention to misrepresent any group of students. So, please let me start again.

The synchronized efforts by the dancers made me wonder if their hearts beat at the same time because these ladies are talented. These performers do more than just look good while clapping their hands and stomping their feet. They create music using simply their bodies and put on a spectacle of a show in the process. And they make it look easy too, but when I briefly spoke to Lade she informed me of the time and teamwork that goes into coordinating a routine. The theme of the show, "cops and robbers," would seem cliche, but the ladies put an interesting twist on it. Songs "The Black Panther Theme" and "Bad Boys" were incorporated into the act to make it even more lively. Also the costumes were simple, but made the characters easy to identify with. I especially liked the black masks on the criminals. It was incredibly impressive to see how fast they can move. My favorite part, which made me laugh out loud, was when the students playing cops sustained a beat while pretending to be "patting down" the criminals. Also when the ladies incorporated chairs into the act it kept the show fresh.

So, supporter, I still feel I don't know enough about the BSU and the Rhythm Step Team, and I would love to sit down with you and as many students in the BSU as possible and talk about what you do for our community. Email me at mmarko2@students.towson.edu and we can write a news article together.

- matt

BSU Rhythm Step Team Supporter

Mon Apr 20 2009 15:10

Nice article, however I was disappointed with your description of the BSU Rhythm Step Team. They are more than students stomping their feet and clapping their hands, as the group is a power combination of strength and precision, as well as a celebration of a long honored dance form in the black community. Your description does nothing more than portray them as mindless humans awkwardly moving parts of their body without any real rhyme or reason. I would have appreciated it if you would have tried to make a better effort in understanding the group's concept as well as the idea behind the performance,instead of the basic 'cops and robbers' theme. Next time, don't spend so much time of the street dancers, and actually interview the step team, as they are actual members of the school community, and should not be relegated to a half assed description at the end of the article

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