So I have a friend, a shocking and unbelievable statement to some of you, but I assure you that I really do.

For the purpose of this blog let’s call her Kelly.  Now my friend Kelly loves dancing, she did jazz and tap for 5 or 6 years in her younger days, but has never done any form of Hip Hop, with the possible exception of dancing to Akon or T-Pain in the car, but we won’t hold that against her.

Now Kelly has decided that she’d like to get back into dancing, but wants to give Hip Hop a shot. She looks up some schools and heads to some classes around the place.

This is where our story hits an iceberg. I saw her a few weeks later and asked how it was all going. She told me she was enjoying class and picking up the routines well enough and having fun.

“What about the people?” I asked

“Well all the normal people are nice, but the Dancers are pretty rude, they aren’t mean but they don’t really talk to us”

If that doesn’t worry you as someone reading a Hip Hop / Dance blog then start having a think to yourself about why.

Firstly after just 2 weeks of classes she has already developed and US and THEM attitude. “Normal” People and “Dancers”. Why?

Secondly if everyone is doing the same routine and same class – then why aren’t they all “dancers”? Why is there a defined split in the people in the class?

The third thing, and the one that bothered me the most, is why wasn’t I surprised? Surely I should have been shocked and appalled at this revelation.

 I should have been able to dismiss it as a one off, unlucky incident.

But I knew she was right.

Is this how we want our community to be seen? Segmented and Inaccessible?

We as a community seem to be constantly battling in prose and voice about the problems with Hip Hop / Dance.

About how the new generation is too commercial, doesn’t understand your particular style, or doesn’t “get” hip hop itself.

About how they don’t respect their elders.

About how the Hip Hop community doesn’t get respected in and of itself.

And yet we act like a bunch of High School kids in a little clique, and alienate newcomers. How can we ever demand respect from anyone until we show respect for them? How many talented, driven, and passionate people have turned their backs on hip hop dance because of this?

Is this elitism pure and simple? Is it just the way things go? Or is there something more?

Truth be told, I think there’s a core element who like it this way. Maybe they like to keep it inaccessible to the mainstream. Or maybe they like to be in the upper echelons of this little society we have decided to live in. By creating this little class system they have created a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts, they get to talk about newcomers being disrespectful, and getting no respect – whilst creating the exact situation which breeds such animosity.

On the other side there are people who do the exact opposite – they encourage the commercial side, and attract a certain crowd (especially youth). The result?  The hardcore heads discount them as commercial or not real hip hop. They learn to keep to themselves and never the two worlds combine. And once again we have our segmented little microcosm.

How do we combat this? Or do we accept this as the dramatic circle of life and ignore it?

Well, the truth is, people are combating it right now. Some of the respected voices in the dance (and wider hip hop community) are finding new ways to encourage young minds to take part, compete, contribute, take ownership; of the direction we are headed. There are events designed specifically for first timers to enter, and more importantly be encouraged about their performance. I’d love to see these progress further with some more even match making to avoid the inevitable “rookie getting destroyed by the Pro” battle but the point is the foundation is there.

Will there always be an element of us and them? Yes. Absolutely. It’s human nature.

There will always be battlers that look down on spectators and jammers.

There will always be funk stylists that look down on new schoolers.

But there is a distinct difference between competition and competitors and straight out haters.

But it’s up to you as an open minded, passionate, and dedicated member of the community to see the difference, and push it in the direction you see fit.

It’s up to you to encourage those who need it, help those who deserve it, and counsel those who do wrong.

Have a think about the community you want to take part in 2years, and then think about how you can get it to that point.

For the record, Kelly never returned to class, she went back to tap, and, last I heard, was loving it.

This little blog has asked lots of questions, and answered very few. I’m not going to tell you how to think. The important thing is you did think about the questions. And your answers to them.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Hopko