Act 1. B-boy's Practice Room
Seok-yeon, who is the leader of a b-boy crew, is practicing break dancing with his team to show their break dancing in a hip hop square. Their dancing looks fun and free as usual. They leave the room in a hurry because it is near the appointed time.

Act 2. Ballerina's Practice Room
So-yeon is practicing ballet in the practice room with her ballet company. Their practice is disturbed by the nose from the hip hop square. So-yeon and her co-dancers follow the street dancers to the hip hop square.

Act 3. The Hip Hop Square
Various street dancers are enjoying dancing in the hip hop square. The b-boys become aware the ballerinas have come there, and then they do a dance battle with the ballerinas. The ballerinas lose out to the b-boy's brilliant moves and run away from there.

So-yeon was surprised by their dancing because she had never seen such powerful moves. After meeting the b-boys, she cannot forget their break dancing, so she starts to be confused about whether she wants to continue with ballet or switch to break dancing. She meets the b-boys again and realizes that she likes break dancing. Finally, she opens her mind to the b-boys, and they end up dancing together.




This is the story of A Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy, staged in 2007 by Extreme Crew, Illusion, and EX Girls. The performance was the first b-boy musical to be performed. I saw this performance with KMG reporters in May 2007. Although it was a nonverbal performance, it communicated with the audience.

Do you know what a b-boy is? A b-boy is a man who break dances, and the women are called b-girls. Break dancing came from New York in the middle of the 1970s. At that time, there were two groups in conflict. They had a break dance match when they had problems instead of violence. That is why a break dance match is called a "battle."

Break dancing is powerful and violent. This is one of the reasons lots of people see b-boys as trouble makers. However, we need to remember the important thing that break dancing has come from desiring peace and an escape from violence and poverty.

For a few years, Korean b-boys have climbed the social ranks. Big corporations feature b-boys as their brand models and the B-boy Theater in front of Hongik University was launched in November 2005. B-boy shows are now the hottest selling entertainment item. The performances have also spread to the larger market abroad. A Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy got a perfect grade from the Scotsman, a leading Scottish newspaper, at one of the largest festivals in the world, the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Other proud Korean b-boy performances, Break Out, Marionette, and Spin Odyssey were also performed at the festival with great popularity.

We heard good news that Korean b-boys won grand prizes at Germany's "Battle of the Year," Britain's "B-boy Championship," the U.S. "Free Style Session," and "Red Ball BC One."Now Korean b-boys are some of the top dancers. Even though Korean b-boys have a short history, how have they become so strong?

Some people point up the spread of IT. The third-generation Korean b-boy group Last for One performed Spin Odyssey and won at "Battle of the Year" in 2005. They said, "We didn't have anybody who gave us lessons in break dancing. We learned it through UCC (User Created Contents)." In fact, I was unfamiliar with b-boys before I watched Spin Odyssey. The performance shows the story after the Trojan War. Odysseus tries to find the Spin, who is a guide, to go back to his hometown. The performance mixes comedy, heavy metal, and break dance.

The New York Times said, "Spin Odyssey is the latest example of how a style many might consider an 80s leftover, as forgettable as leg warmers, is being transformed into an international art form." Also their success story was screened as the documentary Planet B-boy in 2007.

Other people point out the unity of Korean culture. Western b-boys emphasize technical moves while Korean b-boys emphasize harmonious moves."Mozart, would you tell me why you made an opera from an unsuitable theme, Figaro?"
"Majesty, it is only a comedy."
"Figaro is a bad play. It stirs up hatred between classes."
Mozart starts to explain his new opera, the Marriage of Figaro. "No one doubts your talent, Mozart. It's your literary judgment that is in question. Figaro remains a vulgar farce. Surely you can choose more elevated themes."
"Elevated! What does that mean, elevated? I am fed up to the teeth with these elevated things. Old dead legends. Why must we go on forever writing of gods and legends?"

This is a scene from Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. I was surprised while I watched the movie. Mozart is the symbol of the classics to us. However, he was a young and popular musician at that time. In the movie, people are wildly excited at Mozart's opera the Magic Flute. Some of them sing to the aria and others dance to the music. I thought that it is similar to young fans who are crazy about Justin Timberlake or Usher. However, the nobility do not like his advanced style.

Nobody can say that people will never think of b-boys as noble artists like Mozart. I think it's possible.