It’s official: urban dance has made a permanent move from the local streets and into the hearts of people around the world. Reality based television dance competitions are now among the most highly watched programs, and the internet is littered with groups who’ve recorded their moves to share with hungry fans from all over. Even the grainiest homemade video can attract millions of internet views if it appears to showcase some new dance craze about to make its way into the mainstream. Take Yak Films for instance, a group of young filmmakers that travels the world documenting local dance styles. To date, their YouTube channel has over 41 million worldwide views.
Text: Robin Finley Photography: Carlos Andres
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(Left) David Style illustrates a few moves. (Above right) Rompe Stylo on their home turf in the Villa Del Socorro barrio, Medellin
This global phenomenon has made its way high up into the barrios of Medellin as well, where dance crews in predominantly Afro-Colombian communities have thrown their hats in the ring by setting champeta, dancehall, and folkloric rhythms to synchronized, choreographed hip hop-style dance moves to foster an emerging scene called New Style. But this somehow hasn’t gone far enough for a young five-member dance crew from a barrio called Santa Cruz; while respectful of a local scene that has been nurtured by Medellin’s esteemed hip hop schools, they felt the need to push some of the boundaries of what we call “style”. They call themselves Rompe Stylo, or Break Style.