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comes from the dance, “The Charleston.” Several moves are
inspired from Kung-fu, and some have support actions that are
almost ballet-like. The muscles developed under this kind of
dancing are the same muscles used for boxing. Today, the
breakdancing culture is a remarkable discipline of dancing and
pure athleticism. One of the beauties of this form of artistry is
that its’ acceptance and involvement centers on dance skills;
therefore, freeing itself of the common race and gender boundaries
of a subculture, and has been widely accepted world wide.
In countries such as Korea, Bulgaria, Japan and France, breakdancing
is considered more fitness than dance, and it is currently
being offered in class format in more and more dance, karate
and fitness studios around the world.
There are five, basic elements that form the foundation of
breakdances: FOOTWORK, movement of feet meticulously,
TOPROCK, movement while standing up, DOWNROCK,
movement on the ground, FREEZES, acrobatic pauses in movement,
and POWER MOVES, large, strenuous movements often
involving full body rotation.
With over thirty-six years of training and experience amongst
the four fine men I interviewed, I was mesmerized by not only
their knowledge and maturity, but their passion for their art.
“BEAT WHAKZ” is the name of their group. It was derived
from their need to “dance on beat” and they “whack the beat,”
thus ― their unique name.
Ryan Wagner, the spokesman for the group, stressed that first
and foremost, these men are FAMILY. They know everything
about each other and each other’s families, they practice hard
together every single day, for at least two hours a day, and they
would do anything for one another. Truth be told, Mr. Wagner
didn’t have to tell me this; it was clearly evident from the
moment we met.
Mr. Wagner, Mr.
Duron Barkley and
Mr. Dominic Di
Matteo have
known each other
since they were in
middle school
together, and they
met their fourth
partner, Mr. Amir
Askari, six years
ago while practicing
at one of their
many stepping
stones along the
way, Beat Street in
Philadelphia.
Duron Barkley
When I asked them
how they got started into Breakdancing, each gentleman
answered the same way; they did not intentionally or purposefully
seek out breaking; it kind of sought them out. As boys
growing up, they were always mimicking the dance moves
they’d watch on their TV’s and DVD’s. They mirrored these
moves from music videos such as Michael Jackson, and movies
such as Flashdance, Wild Style, Beat Street, Breakin’ and
Electric Boogaloo. As they progressed, extreme kicks, martial
arts studies, and gymnastics studios enhanced their knowledge
and growing strength.
At that time, there was no such thing as a formal training program
for learning how to breakdance. It was clearly something
deep within their souls that continually motivated them to watch
a video, listen to more funk, read more articles on breakdancing
and try out different shows and attire.
All four men hold down fulltime
jobs during the day.
Ryan runs his own martial
art’s school and is a fourth
degree Master Black Belt,
Dominic managers a clothing
store at a local mall, Duron
manages one of the area’s
L.A.Fitness centers and Amir
works in his family’s jewelry
business, enhancing and
upgrading their sales by creating
and operating their online
store.
Even with demanding jobs
by day, these young men
commit to a strenuous,
focused two-hour session
working out a minimum of
five days a week. This
involves intense strength
training as well as augment-
March/April I 215-396-0268 I www.phillyfit.com PhillyFIT I 17