Rize....

Well, happy new year everyone. Hope the start of 2006 has been magnificent...

I was expressing to Lewis the other day that I am unsure of the direction to take this blog. I sometimes think that I am just rabbiting on about stuff I have been doing without much reflection or consideration. However, I try to monitor what I say as I don't always think it is appropriate to mouth off all that I am thinking and feeling as that may not always be responsible or kind, depending on what has been going on or what I am considering...hhhmmm I will continue to ponder this one methinks.

On another note, I had a bit of a cinema and film binge over Christmas. One of the highlights was Rize, which is a documentary about a dance phenomenon that started in LA. It was started by Tommy the Clown, who began clowning to help out a mate and began this incredible movement and dance known as krumping. Young people that would possibly be involved in gangs and drug dealing are instead part of clown sets and get together, paint their faces, entertain and dance. There are artistic differences between the clowns and the krumpers and they settle these by hosting dance contests.

The film was fascinating, as it explored a few different angles to the phenomenon, including some of the spirituality behind it. It was so exciting and refreshing to see young people expressing their anger and emotions in such a positive way and brilliant to see them developing family and community through this. It was also great to see the church portrayed in a positive light. There are some interesting parallels between krumping and the early hip hop DJ battles. It is really worth seeing, especially if you work with young people or you are a young person... which is probably most of the people that read this!