In Oakland, they call it turf dancing.
Turf Dancing has been around for years, but recently there seems to be a newfound interest in the urban art form.
The acronym “TURF” means “Taking Up Room on the Floor,” which is exactly what happens at a party or event when Turf dancers are on the guest list. And if they are not on that list, a street corner or sidewalk might be taken over as well.
It’s no surprise that turf dancing – or “turfing” as it is called – originated in Oakland. Historically, the city is recognized for being innovators of unique styles and trends. Anyone remember the “Hyphy Movement” which had people all over “going dumb” and getting “hyphy?”
Turfing was born in 2002 after Jeriel Bey founded a two groups,
“The Architeckz” and “The Animaniakz” (a spin on the Warner Bros. cartoon The Animaniacs).
Turf dancing is considered to improvisational, free-flowing form of dance that focuses on storytelling. It integrates unique moves that are truly mind-boggling, but also includes traditional dance elements like popping and locking.
There’s several steps or moves that are consider “foundation moves” like the “Brookfield,” which is named after a neighborhood in Oakland. The Brookfield is a “gliding” move, which heavily used because of its ability to create illusions.
The dance form is huge sensation on YouTube, with hundreds of videos featuring both individuals and groups turfing. YAK Films is a company that could be considered an advocate for turfing through its focus on producing many of the videos on YouTube.
Recently I interviewed Yoram Savion, or “Yo” as he’s called, at Youth Uprising where he works with its video production program. He’s one of the founding members of YAK Films along with his assistant Kash Gaines. YAK actually stands for “Yo and Kash.”
Savion started out as a volunteer at Youth Uprising in 2006, teaching video production to a group of about 15 kids and did it without any equipment. He literally had to borrow the equipment from friends and other people he knew.
I asked him what his definition of turf dancing was. “Turfing is telling a story, with different dance moves,” he responded.
He described turfing as being “completely fluid” and looks at the dancers and groups as almost being like tribes.
“I see it as a street or tribal thing,” he said. “Different dancers from different areas have certain style.”
Many people may look at turfing and say that it’s not dancing. “Turf dancing has a lot of haters, just like the Bay Area,” Savion said in response to the naysayers.
Whether or not you consider turfing to be dancing, there are people who believe that it’s just another unique creation to come out of Oakland and the Bay Area.
By:
Stephen Allen
