B-boys and B-girls from across Canada touched down this past weekend in Whitehorse, where they spun, froze and flipped their way over three days.
The coast to coast collection of breakers were in town for CypherFest, a hip-hop and breakdancing festival born in the Yukon’s capital in 2009. The event was sponsored by the Heart of Riverdale Community Centre.
Organizer Riley Simpson-Fowler says that despite the Canadian focus, the event is not restricted to Canadian breakers.
“One of the great things about this culture and this dance is it can bring you around the world and you can speak to people who speak different languages than you,” local B-boy Simpson-Fowler said.
The three day event was open to all ages, and included competitions, DJs, live music and a community barbecue. A panel discussion was also held where veteran breakers answered questions about breaking culture.
The festival kicked off on Friday, with a pair of breakdancing competitions and a block party at the Heart of Riverdale. The competitions included a two against two team event, as well as a solo event. The festival travelled to Carcross on Saturday.
A community born through culture
While competitions made up a significant portion of the event, it was the communal aspect of the festival that made it stand out.
“It’s pretty unique because it gathers like the best B-boys and B-girls from all over Canada and we’re out there in a camping space, spending time together, having time to exchange in different ways,” said Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, more commonly known as “Promo.”
“So it’s really a great opportunity to get to meet each other more deeply.”
Jackie Agudo, known as “JK-47” judged several of the events. She said mentorship is an important aspect of the event.
“Where it is our duty as practitioners and, you know, people who have been in the scene and to constantly pass down knowledge,” Agudo said. “To see the young generation take in this knowledge, take in this information and just go far beyond with it, it’s supposed to be like that.”
Simpson-Fowler says events like CypherFest are integral to the breaking community. He hopes that the event, which marked its 15th year this year, will continue to grow in the coming years, while staying true to its roots.
“My hopes are to make it as big as possible but also as small and intimate as possible,” he said.
Yukon Morning5:43Hip-hop and Breakdancing converged in the Yukon over the weekend at the annual Cypherfest
Hear Cypherfest organizer Riley Simpson-Fowler, Jayson Burdeyney, and Jackie Agudo. They were chatting to CBC’s Liam Baker.
CypherFest watches Olympic debut
The Yukon’s preeminent breaking event coincided with its Olympic debut, which was met with mixed reactions.
For some breakers, competing at the Olympics could mean sacrificing creative expression, because of the judging style in which a score for a competitor’s dance is broken down into multiple categories.
“They’re actually sacrificing their art because they know they’re being judged, and if they want to win, if the goal is to win, then they might give up a piece of themselves to try to achieve all the categories,” said Jayson Burdeyney, also known as B-Boy Jbugz.
Burdeyney says that flaws within breaking that could be judged negatively in competition can actually add uniqueness to a person’s individual style.
Agudo says that judging is very subjective, and that she tries to judge based on the breaker’s enjoyment, how they move with the music, and the originality of their performance.
However, she is among some breakers who see the Olympic inclusion as a way for the dance form to grow on a global scale, and receive more respect in the eyes of the public.
“It is just being put on a different platform and on a bigger stage for the whole world to see and to hopefully respect it on a whole other level,” Agudo said.
On Saturday morning, as Canadian Phil “Wizard” Kim spun and flipped his way towars an Olympic gold medal, sleepy-eyed CypherFest participants were glued to the television.
“Everyone slept for two hours and woke up and … cheered Phil on to the gold,” Simpson-Fowler said. “It was just such a good Canadian, proud Canadian moment, you know, our golden child is just like showing the world what’s up.”
