Battles and Ballets

Abstract

Abstract Breakdancing arrived in France from the United States in 1982. Many of the initial practitioners were boys from working-class immigrant families. In France, the youngsters worked with professional concert dancers very early on, and were introduced to the aesthetics of classical dance and modern dance, as well as to a key facet of collective organization: the troupe. Public authorities also granted perdurable support to Hip Hop companies and to festivals. The development of formal training, critical discourse, and the intellectualization of the discipline also contributed to its artification. Thus, it was Hip Hop ballets and dance companies, essentially in the not-for-profit sector, and not, as in other countries, battles, that spearheaded enthusiasm and the process of institutionalization of this form. Battles did not develop decisively until after 2000. This, in turn, triggered an expansion of the dance in the commercial sector. Recruitment has also expanded to include more women and middle-class people. There is a paradoxical relation between the various scenes of Hip Hop practice, from battles and television to theatrical art venues. Persons, aesthetics, and values circulate among these scenes. All are intertwined in a dynamic interdependence.