Inside the Circle: Hip Hop is Love

Inside the Circle follows a group of Texas breakdancers, or “b-boys” (rest assured there are also b-girls, though few are featured in the film), over four years of ups and downs in breakdancing competitions and the rest of their lives. Omar and Josh, the two main subjects, take drastically different routes through the years documented by the film, but both end up breakdancing professionally. Both boys participate in B-Boy City events organized by Romeo Navarro, an Austin b-boy legend. The film chronicles some amazing dancing as well as some astonishing life circumstances, but hip hop and dancing continually prevail.

As Navarro notes, kids who are bored will either “cause trouble or create,” and he’s made it his mission to help out kids who want to create through dancing. The hip-hop in the film is a far cry from mainstream rap and hip hop, which are often stereotyped in negative ways. One b-boy sets the record straights: “hip hop is poor, hip hop is heart, hip hop is acceptance, hip hop is love.” Throughout Inside the Circle, we see examples of hip hop as all of these things.

The “circle” of the title is where breakdancing competitions take place: usually loosely dfined, the circle is held in mainly by huge crows of b-boys, b-girls, and hip hop fans watching the dancers let loose. The circle is a paradoxical place, giving rise to feelings of belonging and also feelings of conflict. Although the hip-hop community is tightly knit and most dancers have great respect for one another and their shared love of b-boying and hip hop, breakdancing is also about competition: hence the phrase “b-boy battles.” As Omar succinctly quips, “It’s not called ‘friends dancing in a circle.’”

And sometimes the battles get ugly: Omar tips off Josh’s hat during one battle; punches fly during others. At one point, it looks as though Romeo’s B-Boy City battles will be no more, as several dancers vow not to return after tensions surrounding some judging decisions. In the end, though, the boys remain friends, and the dancers come back for more. Romeo describes how, in the face of trouble, he needs only to think of “completing the circle,” and everything falls into place again. The circle serves as a powerful metaphor for acceptance, love, and dedication.

One of the film’s most poignant sequences comes at a festival in the valley, where traditional Mexican folk dancing is juxtaposed with breakdancing. The implication is that breakdancing, while much more recent in development, is nevertheless a legitimate form of cultural expression, no better or worse—just different and younger—than any other tradition. The physical, mental, and social dedication necessary to succeed in breakdancing are undeniable and impressive; the strong influence of hip hop culture is also undeniable, and has clearly had a revolutionary effect on some of the dancers’ lives.

Most of the b-boys portrayed in the film are from poor or troubled backgrounds. Josh’s father was murdered before he ever met him, he has a strained relationship with his mother, and he’s been in and out of jail and on probation several times. Omar’s father is a Mexican immigrant and wants his son to go to college rather than pursue his dancing. Josh’s b-boy crew, the Masterz of Mayhem, are poor high schoolers from south Texas who pray that money will “fall from the sky” to help them get to Austin for breakdancing competitions. Most of the b-boys spend anywhere from 3 to 5 hours a day, and sometimes more, practicing their craft. Their dedication in the face of adversity is truly phenomenal.

Watching the film, it’s easy to feel incredibly under-committed to your own goals and priorities in life: these kids faced with “hard” lives are able to rise up and devote themselves to something they truly love. We should all be so lucky to find such passion—but would we all be so dedicated as to pursue it to the fullest?

As one b-boy puts it early in the film, breakdancing is an “explosion of who you are.” The dancers in Inside the Circle truly put themselves on the line—or rather, in the circle—and give everything they have, material and spiritual, to achieve their dreams. Watching the film is nothing short of a religious experience: you’d never think the human body or mind capable of some of the things these b-boys do. We’re lucky to have such an amazing breakdancing organization here in town, and we’re also lucky to have the opportunity to watch this film that’s everything a documentary should be: fascinating, heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring.

B-Boy City XIV will take place May 4, 5, and 6, right here in Austin, Texas, and you’d be a damn fool not to attend. Check http://bboycity.com/ for information about which battles take place when, and if you’ve never seen live battles before (or even if you have), prepare to be blown away.

Additionally, the Youth Advocates program in Houston that helped Josh navigate his legal troubles is starting a chapter here in Austin. Check out the website and donate your money or time to this positive cause.