Breakdancing in Cambodia…
June 14, 2009
I’ve been meaning to talk about this for some time. I was out last weekend – in a club, on a boat in the river – and suddenly the music stopped, and we were made to gather in a circle on the dancefloor, and out came a whole host of interesting performers. An Irish Beat boxer opened the show – kind of random and incredible – and he was followed by Cambodia rappers singing in Khmer (the local language). I’ve read a little about the global influence of hip-hop culture, yet it seemed so bizarre to see them here…
The last act was a Cambodian breakdancing troup called “The Tiny Tunes” , about four boys and a girl (the girl was the coolest of the bunch, I have to say…). Pictured above, she exuded so much confidence and energy, and attitude. It was a really interesting sight, and they all were incredible. It turns out there is an unbeliveable story behind them – they were started by K.K., a man who was raised from infancy in Long Beach, California, but had arrived in the us as a refugee from the Khmer Rouge regime when he was a baby. At 18, a member of the Crips, he was busted for armed robbery and only then did he discover he was an undocumented immigrant in the united states, and was deported under a law that mandates deportation of convicted felons if they are undocumented. His story is absolutely amazing and was infact written up in the New York Times. It totally shows that positive change can absolutely be made through creative media such as this, by absolutely anyone…awesome and inspiring!
Copy and Paste this URL to read his story in the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30dancer.html
