Dance
Street dance, cultural importance and Swedish influences
Swedish street dancer Theresa "Tr3sa" Gustavsson moves us through the different styles and explains how and why street is so much more than just dance.
It's more than just moves and grooves. Street dance is an umbrella term for multiple styles all originating from the streets and clubs, where dance is so much more than just, well, dance. Theresa "Tr3sa" Gustavsson shares her street dance experience and explains characteristics and emotions but also the importance of culture and its origin. She is one of sixteen handpicked dancers who will compete at the all-styles street dance event Dance Your Style in Stockholm this august. Theresa explains what makes the format - a one-on-one battle style where the audience picks the winner - both tricky and exciting and what she thinks it’ll take to win.
This is a three-part series about the Swedish street scene where we meet three influential dancers from the scene today. Read more here:
Tell us bit about yourself and how you started dancing?
I’ve been active within the dance scene for a pretty long time, since around 2005, but the culture has been with me for even longer. As I originally come from Värmland, the hip hop culture wasn’t something I was introduced to naturally - it was more of a forest culture haha. It was when I moved to Karlstad I later in 2003 came in contact with a group that immersed themselves within the culture of breaking, popping and locking, led by one of the Swedish pioneers within the street Fredrick “Freeze” Herranen. That’s when it really kicked off. I started going to jams and battles, and did my first international travel to the great event Battle of the Year in Germany, the biggest breaking event at the time.
Since then it’s been pretty non stop. I’ve gone to Åsa Folkhögskola, the best school for learning street dance including styles like hip hop, breaking, popping, locking and house. I lived in New York 2007-2008 and got to meet and dance with a lot of legendary dancers and to understand the history and club scene. Today I work as a freelance producer, choreographer, teacher and dancer. I work closely with a non-profit organisation called AFIA, lead by Joanna Holewa Chrona and myself, where the goal is to produce culture events and performing art to celebrate, acknowledge and strengthen African traditions/cultures and Streetdances from the African Diaspora, and to broaden the culture range of expressions in Sweden.
What type of street styles do you dance and do they have anything in common?
I’ve danced most of them, but in the past two years, I’ve focused more on hip hop and house. The styles within the street dance umbrella are very different, at least in my opinion. That’s why I love dancing all of them - it's a way to express different sides of myself. Each style makes it possible to express different kinds of emotions. In for example popping, I can be creative and playful and even play hard, whilst locking makes me feel strong and powerful. Locking has its roots in the Black Power movement and it’s a privilege to express myself within that style of dancing, especially as a white person. I would never take that for granted. Locking is really funky, the music comes with so much emotion and character. In hip hop I can really dive into myself and all my feelings, I allow myself to be vulnerable. Or the opposite, I can let it all out on the dance floor. Last but not least, house makes me connect with my vulnerable side whilst simultaneously being both playful and rhythmic.
Theresa loves to explore the different emotions that come with each style
© Dance Your Style
... In for example popping, I can be creative and playful and even play hard, whilst locking makes me feel strong and powerful.
How important are culture and heritage when it comes to street dance?
To me, it’s very important. Hip hop culture and dance are so much about community and the understanding of where it’s coming from: the history, origin and the social meaning and impact behind it. It’s not just about the steps and movements, it’s about understanding the culture and social context in which it’s derived. I’ve done a lot of traveling and networking, and I've met a lot of people, especially from those areas and groups where it originated, in order to understand and respect it properly. And I am still doing my best to learn more.
Has street dance developed a certain way in Sweden and does it have any special characteristics?
In my opinon, yes. The Swedish scene has always had a strong sense of respect for the origins of street dance. It’s been important to learn its history and the foundations of the different styles and cultures. I think that’s a very “Swedish” thing, being thorough and factual like that.
We also have some very strong individual dancers here in Sweden, influenced by their own expressions and feelings. In other countries you often see ten dancers with the same style, where there’s been one teacher and nine students for example. But here in Sweden dancers have often been shaped into individual dancers with very different styles. It feels like a strength we have here.
How has the Swedish scene developed since you started dancing?
It’s completely different today than when I grew up. Social media and the information age has changed it massively. It’s so easy nowadays to get hold of knowledge and emerge yourself in topics. An important difference is also Åsa Folkhögskola, which started in 2004. A dance school that not only attracts dancers from Sweden, but all over the world. It’s been a great tool to “spread” street dance across the country, from cities to more rural areas as many dancers have returned to their hometowns after their educations, to start up dance programmes and classes.
Generally however, I’d say that the street culture is still bigger in the cities. It is street culture after all. In Sweden, street dance had a “golden era” around 2010-13 with tons of dancers in the big cities, but then there was a dip. I’m not really sure why. It’s only in the last two or three years that it’s started really growing again, with a new generation of dancers adding new blood and energy to the scene. Also, there’s been a boom in dancers starting to DJ which has closed the gap between dance culture and the DJ and club scene. It’s so important with the connection between DJs and dancers so that there are clubs where we can go and just jam, have fun - not just do it in a training and school environment.
23 min
Get To Know Street Dance
Learn about the origins of street dance and discover the styles that have evolved from its humble beginnings.
When you compete in an all-style battle, how can you judge two styles against one another?
It’s extremely difficult, but I guess the bottom line is how well does the dancer connect and adapt with the music. How the dancer interpret the music and express themselves accordingly. Then it’s different depending if it’s judges deciding or the audience. Judges will know how well a dancer nails the basics, what it takes to do a certain movement and work together with the music. For example, if a dancer does a flip it might wow the crowds, but if it’s not done in sync with the music or with the right timing it might not mean that much to a panel of judges.
With the audience deciding the winner at Dance Your Style, will it change your approach to the battle?
It should, haha. As dancers we all have different characteristics. You can be a trick dancer or an emotional dancer. Tricks normally wow the crowds more than emotions, and as I am more of the latter I should probably add some tricks to my repertoire. But I am also there to do my thing because at the end of the day that’s what I do best.
Other important factors will be emotions, facial expression and how well you immerse yourself in the music and portray certain feelings. The strongest thing a dancer can do is fully immerse themselves and get in the zone, when you connect that way with the music it also transfers to the audience. They can feel it too.
Expressions and connection will be vital when the audience decides who wins
© Jesper Gronnemark / Red Bull Content Pool