Ana “Rokafella” Garcia was born in Spanish Harlem, NY. This sista has been dancing for over 21 years, adding her dope and unique flavor and style to the art of Hip Hop. she does it all from from uprock, house, african to popping , salsa, and of course, breaking. and on top of that, she has taken it upon herself, via the non-profit owned by herself and her husband, Kwikstep, to educate the next generation of dancers and keep rockin..
when she was 16 years old, Rokafella started hitting the clubs of NYC where she began honing her craft by doing backup dancing for freestyle singers. The love and passion that she had for the dance led her inevitably to the streets, where it seems so often things infused with soul begin. on that concrete is where she began her true growth, getting busy with crews like The Transformers, The Breeze Team and The New York City Float Committee.
Linking with Kwikstep in 1994, he (like all those brothers in Hip Hop that support us women) encouraged her to audition for GhettOriginal, a dance company formed by members Magnificent Crew, Rhythm Techniques and The Rock Steady Crew. She was embraced and was further exposed to the "original" styles that formed the art.
Through her work with these folks and others she was able to experience the international love and appreciation of Hip Hop and that's when she made her decision to contribute to its legacy by offering her knowledge. She began teaching classes and giving workshops at Howard University and NYU as well as high schools and community centers. Thats when she started Full Circle Productions with the man who would become her husband, Kwikstep (uber sick at all this himself, I can co-sign). Full Circle Productions is a non-profit that serves the community with educational and multimedia urban-themed performances. Their first theater directorial project was "Soular Power'd" which debuted on Broadway at the New Victory Theater to rave reviews.
In recent years with the resurgence of the art of breaking, popping and locking, Rokafella has appeared in videos for artists like Fabulous and has been recruited by Red Bull and the International Battle of the Year in Germany to judge competitions for up and coming breakers.
now, here comes my favorite part: similar to my motivations for writing this blog every friday, Rokafella decided the time had come to create a lasting image of women in the art of breaking and so she has made her film directorial debut with the documentary "All the Ladies Say", based on the struggles and successes of 6 female street dancers from around the country that have carved their niche in this physically challenging, male dominated world of breaking.
by now all my readers know that I like to get the perspective direct of the sistas I profile so even though Rokafella is getting ready to go hard on promoting this amazing and overdue documentary she still did me the solid of answering the questions that I and prolly you also, would like to know:
me: how long have you been dancing?
Rokafella: for over 21 years.. but breaking 15 years.. popping 19 .. when i first started i was going trendy social dances like the wop and uprocking.. then learned house at clubs and african dance.. and salsa was always there in my family.. but i seriously got into breaking when i was 23 after dancing on the street--hitting as it was called.. and it took over my soul!
me: what has changed from when you first started to now, in the art of breaking as well the female in the art of breaking?
Rokafella: now i can see more females participating and there are more opportunities to work and travel than before.. also the commercial world has opened up a little..but not as much as it is open to males breaking.. our time has yet to come.. but we are closer.
me: how often do you practice?
Rokafella: on a good week i practice 3 times a week 2 hours each time.. maybe more.. but my schedule varies depening on work load.. and my energy.
me: what do you think will be the future of breaking?
Rokafella: for me i have leveraged my breaking to usher me into theater realms, music performance, stand up /storytelling, and educational forums such as university settings.. so i believe after the launch of this film that i have directed entitled ALL THE LADIES SAY many more doors will open up and i intend to help many others to evolve their craft in which ever way they feel..
i just feel the sky is the limit if you can build your courage up enough to present your skills on the mic, the wall, the dance floor, a runway with your designs..etc.. hip-hop was meant for us to use as an instrument, a shield, a magic carpet.. but you gotsta train ..and be uniquely excellent at what you do.. undeniably impressive!! and keep evolving.. cuz the next PERSON is rockin after you .. male or female and they bringing it!
Most recently she has started to branch out, singing and rhyming with her band RPM, acting in the independent film "On the Outs", writing poetry, as well as the intro to the photo book by Martha Cooper "We b*Girlz". always putting forth a positive image of women in Hip Hop, she is a sista that's proud of both her Latino and hip Hop cultures and works hard to preserve and promote both! and that's why Rokafella is SO FRESH, ya heard!
when she was 16 years old, Rokafella started hitting the clubs of NYC where she began honing her craft by doing backup dancing for freestyle singers. The love and passion that she had for the dance led her inevitably to the streets, where it seems so often things infused with soul begin. on that concrete is where she began her true growth, getting busy with crews like The Transformers, The Breeze Team and The New York City Float Committee.
Linking with Kwikstep in 1994, he (like all those brothers in Hip Hop that support us women) encouraged her to audition for GhettOriginal, a dance company formed by members Magnificent Crew, Rhythm Techniques and The Rock Steady Crew. She was embraced and was further exposed to the "original" styles that formed the art.
Through her work with these folks and others she was able to experience the international love and appreciation of Hip Hop and that's when she made her decision to contribute to its legacy by offering her knowledge. She began teaching classes and giving workshops at Howard University and NYU as well as high schools and community centers. Thats when she started Full Circle Productions with the man who would become her husband, Kwikstep (uber sick at all this himself, I can co-sign). Full Circle Productions is a non-profit that serves the community with educational and multimedia urban-themed performances. Their first theater directorial project was "Soular Power'd" which debuted on Broadway at the New Victory Theater to rave reviews.
In recent years with the resurgence of the art of breaking, popping and locking, Rokafella has appeared in videos for artists like Fabulous and has been recruited by Red Bull and the International Battle of the Year in Germany to judge competitions for up and coming breakers.
now, here comes my favorite part: similar to my motivations for writing this blog every friday, Rokafella decided the time had come to create a lasting image of women in the art of breaking and so she has made her film directorial debut with the documentary "All the Ladies Say", based on the struggles and successes of 6 female street dancers from around the country that have carved their niche in this physically challenging, male dominated world of breaking.
by now all my readers know that I like to get the perspective direct of the sistas I profile so even though Rokafella is getting ready to go hard on promoting this amazing and overdue documentary she still did me the solid of answering the questions that I and prolly you also, would like to know:
me: how long have you been dancing?
Rokafella: for over 21 years.. but breaking 15 years.. popping 19 .. when i first started i was going trendy social dances like the wop and uprocking.. then learned house at clubs and african dance.. and salsa was always there in my family.. but i seriously got into breaking when i was 23 after dancing on the street--hitting as it was called.. and it took over my soul!
me: what has changed from when you first started to now, in the art of breaking as well the female in the art of breaking?
Rokafella: now i can see more females participating and there are more opportunities to work and travel than before.. also the commercial world has opened up a little..but not as much as it is open to males breaking.. our time has yet to come.. but we are closer.
me: how often do you practice?
Rokafella: on a good week i practice 3 times a week 2 hours each time.. maybe more.. but my schedule varies depening on work load.. and my energy.
me: what do you think will be the future of breaking?
Rokafella: for me i have leveraged my breaking to usher me into theater realms, music performance, stand up /storytelling, and educational forums such as university settings.. so i believe after the launch of this film that i have directed entitled ALL THE LADIES SAY many more doors will open up and i intend to help many others to evolve their craft in which ever way they feel..
i just feel the sky is the limit if you can build your courage up enough to present your skills on the mic, the wall, the dance floor, a runway with your designs..etc.. hip-hop was meant for us to use as an instrument, a shield, a magic carpet.. but you gotsta train ..and be uniquely excellent at what you do.. undeniably impressive!! and keep evolving.. cuz the next PERSON is rockin after you .. male or female and they bringing it!
Most recently she has started to branch out, singing and rhyming with her band RPM, acting in the independent film "On the Outs", writing poetry, as well as the intro to the photo book by Martha Cooper "We b*Girlz". always putting forth a positive image of women in Hip Hop, she is a sista that's proud of both her Latino and hip Hop cultures and works hard to preserve and promote both! and that's why Rokafella is SO FRESH, ya heard!
0 comments:
Post a Comment