Tag Archives: Hip-Hop

Rokafella: The Story of a Female Break Dancer

Posted on by

Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting female Break Dancer, Rokafella, in East Harlem. I met her at a meet and greet hosted by Momma’s Hip-Hop Kitchen.

I am not into Break Dancing but was interested in her story of how she became a female Break Dancer during a time when it was strictly for the fella’s  and how she had enough stamina to actually keep it up until today.

This is the story she told me:

My name is ‘Rokafella’ because I seriously used to ‘rock the fellas’ back in the day. I used to show the guys that women could Break Dance too. I used to spin on my head and everything…I started Break Dancing in 1994. I danced all types of styles; Hip-Hop, House, Salsa, and African. I felt Break Dancing was missing so I started to Break Dance. Even though I danced all those genres, I am known for my Break Dancing.

I came up against misogyny and the gender thing. The better I got at my craft, the more people were resistant to hiring me. I had this determination to continue because I was capable of continuing my training. The more I trained, the more determined I became. 

My parents were not really supportive of me Break-Dancing because they saw me struggling; and you know, parents don’t like watching their children struggle…

It was in Manhattan where I trained. I was in an all guy group. One of the guys from the group is my husband today.

Today, I am still dancing. Along with my husband, Kwikstep, I founded a dance company name Full Circle. It is a dance organization that preserves Break-Dancing and other Hip-Hop dance forms. 

This year Rokafella will be performing at Teatro Pregones Theater with her husband, Kwikstep. They will be sharing their love story with the world on stage on Thursday, February 14 at 7pm. If you are in the Bronx and are looking for something different to do on this Valentine’s Day, I would encourage you to attend Rokafella’s show.

Rokafella and students from Full Circle will be performing at Hosto’s Community College March 2. This is their fifth year being apart of Momma’s Hip- Hop Kitchen’s program.

Rok- da- Bridge

Photo Credit: Yu Wadee

Dr. Naison & Liz

Posted on by

 

In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday I thought I’ll blog about Dr. Naison and his lovely wife who have been married for over 30 years.  If family is not one of the main things to be thankful for, what is? By looking at this photo one can tell that they are still happy with one another. It was satisfying to be around them too. They are very down to earth and warm people.

Dr. Naison is the head of the African-American Studies Department at Fordham University and while I was in school, I took his class titled, From Rock and Roll to Hip-Hop.

I learned so much in that class. It was the only class I was able to talk in dept about the music I listen to…and I was a music major. In addition to it being the only class that allowed me to express my love of Gospel music, it was not (and still isn’t) considered a music class at Fordham.

Every time I think about how Fordham doesn’t include music classes that talk about music besides Classical and Jazz, it really annoys me. I tried talking to the Music department but nothing was changed. How Fordham University is going to be in the heart of the Bronx (where Hip-Hop music was born) and doesn’t include Hip-Hop music in its course selection?!