Breaking
Breaking
B-Girl Jo on a life of breaking, hip-hop, yoga and women's empowerment
Find out about the life of India's B-Girl Champion, Jo, in her episode of Rise of the B-Girls, then read up on how hip-hop and breaking are helping her make a difference for dancers all over India.
Having won the 2019 Red Bull BC One India B-Girl Cypher, B-Girl Jo will be the first-ever Indian B-Girl to compete at the Red Bull BC One World Finals. And with the finals taking place in Mumbai this year, the India breaking scene is buzzing with excitement.
It feels like a dream for Jo that she'll soon be representing her country on one of the biggest stages in breaking, but breaking, itself has already been a therapeutic, life changing, journey of self-discovery. She's connected her practice of yoga with breaking, been on a mission to use hip-hop and breaking culture to empower other Indian women and also been spreading a very positive message of growth and togetherness.
Meet Jo in her episode of Rise of the B-Girls:
Check out what B-Girl Jo had to say about all the ways breaking has influenced her life and the message she wants to spread and build as a result.
What's it like being a B-Girl in India, on the scene and in general?
Being a B-Girl in India is difficult because being a woman itself in India is difficult. It's difficult to walk on the street and look up because many people stare at you as it is, so we grow up very conscious of our bodies. When you begin breaking it's not easy, and for the first year you kind of look really weird and uncoordinated until some shapes get into your body, so it's really hard to keep your confidence up and to believe in yourself. Also, I didn't have many B-Girls to look up to in my country, so I was confused with things like how to dress as I didn't have any clothes for breaking. To find your identity is quite difficult as a B-Girl in India.
What's the B-Girl community like in India and are you interested in getting more girls into breaking and hip-hop?
Before me there were about three or four B-Girls, but they were not very connected and I think they all faced challenges of their own. In my generation there are three or four of us who are very united. We created a WhatsApp group and we have about 36 B-Girls in the group now, from all over the country. But there are a few language barriers because every state in India speaks a different language.
I've also been very proactive in the past three to four years asking every organiser to have a B-Girl category at their jam because I knew that if B-Girls are constantly getting knocked out in the top 16 and not getting battle experience, it's going to be very hard for them to grow. As soon as there's a B-Girl category to get some experience and confidence then they can come back into the solo category and really make a mark. It's been incredible because in the past two years there have been many more B-Girl categories at competitions here. Also, at jams, I make an effort to go up to the girls, say hi to them and give encouragement because I don't like hostility, especially amongst women, the community is too small for any hostility.
These are the small things I like to do to get more women into hip-hop, and I'm interested in getting more girls into breaking, it's a huge goal of mine.
Do you feel breaking can offer women in India something that can help them grow?
I definitely feel breaking can give women in India something that will help them grow; confidence, physical empowerment and being more in touch with themselves and their identity are three major things I would put my finger on. I think breaking is a beautiful art form, it's such an individual journey but at the same time it's collective. I feel women breaking also changes the way men and women connect. For example, before I couldn't go to the park and strike up a conversation with a teenage boy, whereas now I can go to the park and start breaking and they watch and are intrigued and may ask about it and have a conversation with me.
Before, there was such a big barrier and that's how things leads to sexual violence and sexual repression, so I think breaking can be a huge connection where finally men, women, young girls and boys can exist in the same place and can stand their ground and be equals. It's very common in India to still have schools where there are only girls or only boys, and they're separated up until the age of 18 or 19, and it really doesn't work well for our country. Breaking helps us connect across genders and understand the opposite gender, which I think is essential.
What inspired you to put breaking together with yoga for your conscious movement practice?
After going to Outbreak in 2017 I realised that India has so much to offer to breaking. Often we look to the West, that's how we are as a culture and even within the breaking scene, with many people wearing Bronx and New York on their clothing. We rarely look into our own culture and I felt that we were always asking international dancers and judges things like, 'how do you have stamina and breathe?' But yoga is a way of life that also prescribes how to breathe well with exercises, so I felt that there were hidden jewels of knowledge about movement practices that originate from our country and that we really need to be proud of, understand, study and spread. So when I got back from Outbreak I started this thing call 'Break Brahma,' 'break' is 'breaking' and 'Brahma' means 'consciousness', so it's conscious breaking and conscious movement and it's about combining the eastern and western philosophies and understanding breaking in a more spiritual way, just like yoga.
Jo is the Indian B-Girl champion of 2019
© Little Shao
What are the goal that you want to pursue with or through breaking?
My goals are to really make a mark, have a really distinct style and see how far I can push in this scene, but ultimately I started breaking to empower other women and that's going to be my goal. While competing it's really difficult to have all these other things going on, but I want to train really hard so that later I can change the focus and I can set up a hip-hop school. I want to have a community centre in India that kids can come to and from a young age have the space to explore hip-hop, the freedom, the creative movement and the connection, and not be judged. Kids are really judged in India, they're put into lines and are forced to conform from a very young age, but I feel like if the kids can experience that freedom it would change the way they look at life. So, establishing a hip-hop community centre is really one of my goals.
I also want to be able to be authentic on the stage, that's another goal, I want to be able to be myself no matter where I am.
What advice would you give to up-and-coming Indian breakers wanting to improve and grow within your scene?
My advice to any up-and-coming Indian B-Girls or B-Boys is to really enjoy the journey and immerse yourself in practice as much as you can. Try to understand it from all points of view as breaking is much more than what you see at the surface level. If you're interested in breaking, it's probably meant to be in your life in one way or another so to really explore it watch interviews, read books, and try and understand the philosophies of hip-hop. Try to travel as much as you can to experience authentic hip-hop and enjoy life with hip-hop by your side. If hip-hop has uplifted you, don't be selfish and keep it for yourself, see what you're good at and find how you can give back to the scene. In our country we need people to be empowered, we need women to be empowered, so go that extra mile. If breaking and hip-hop are giving you light and love then spread it with that message.
