Swordfish: The History

Swordfish: The History

ØOnce while visiting his brother in Australia, Vinit Shetty was exposed to the Break dancing culture. Inspired by the moves of B-boy Ryan, he decided to train himself in the same. On his return to India, he observed no such ‘break culture’ in the city. It was up to him to now spread the same enthusiasm and passion for this dance form amongst the youth.

ØFor the following few months Vinit (a. k. a. B- boy Pirate), his brother, Vinayak Shetty along with Vishwesh Singh (a. k. a. B- boy Hustler) recruited young talent from nightclubs across the city.

ØOver the months the crew has grown to 18 members strong. They vigorously rehearse everyday at their own studio at Parle East, Swordfish- The Dance Zone, Carter Road or the Road behind Mithibai College which is the secret behind each members unbeatable talent.

The talk of the town today, Swordfish ® , is setting new standards for Street Culture in Bombay. The crew members who excel in every dance form have proved their prowess in battles across the city with B-boys from around the country.

Crew Members

B- boy Pirate

B- boy Hustler

B- boy Flame

B-boy Ray

B- boy Sky

B- boy Flipper

B- boy Cactus

B- boy Illusionist

B- gal V

The crew members outclass in Hip-Hop dance styles such Breaking, Locking, Popping , and Krumping. These styles are the oldest and most established of all the hip-hop dances.

Ø Breaking/B-boying

It is considered the purest form of hip-hop dance. Breaking includes four foundational dances:

• Toprock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into more acrobatic maneuvers.

• Downrock (or "floorwork") includes all footwork performed on the floor. It typically involves complicated contortions of the lower body and may be as highly variable and personalized as toprock. Downrock transitions into more athletic moves known as power moves.

Power Moves are actions that require momentum and physical power to execute. The breaker is generally supported by his upper body, while the rest of his body creates circular momentum. Notable examples are the windmill, swipe, head spin, and flare.

•Freezes/suicides: Freezes are stylish poses, and the more difficult require the breaker to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength in poses. Alternatively, suicides can also signal the end to a routine. Breakers will make it appear that they have lost control and fall onto their backs, stomachs, etc. In contrast to freezes, suicides draw attention to the motion of falling or losing control, while freezes draw attention to a controlled final position.

Ø Locking

Locking, originally called Campbellocking, was created in Los Angeles by Don Campbell and introduced to the country by his crew The Lockers. Modern locking looks similar to popping and thus gets confused with popping all the time. In locking a dancer holds their positions longer. The lock is the primary move used in locking. It is similar to a freeze or a sudden pause. A locker's dancing is characterized by consistently locking in place and after a quick pause moving again.

Ø Popping

Popping is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit. Each hit should be synchronized to the rhythm and beats of the music.

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Ø Krumping

Krumping is an urban street dance form characterized by free, expressive, and highly energetic moves involving the arms, head, legs, chest, and feet. Unlike other hip-hop dances krumping is entirely freestyle (improvisational); it is rarely, if ever, choreographed and is danced frequently in battles or sessions. It includes four primary moves: wobbles, arm swings, chest pops, and stomps.

Ø House Dance:

House dance takes from many different dance elements such as the Lindy era, African, Latin, Brazilian, jazz, tap, and even modern.It has been debatingly broken down in three styles: Footwork, Jacking, and Lofting. It includes a variety of techniques and sub-styles that include skating, stomping, and shuffling. It also incorporates movements from many other sources such as whacking, voguing, Capoeira, tap, and Latin dances such as salsa. One of the primary elements in house dancing is a technique that came from Chicago that involves moving the torso forward and backward in a rippling motion, as if a wave were passing through it. When this movement is repeated and sped up to match the beat of a song it is called jacking, or "the jack". All footwork in house dancing is said to initiate from the way the jack moves the center of gravity through space.

SwordfisHÒ- The Dance zone

ØThe trained instructors at Swordfish ® teach various dance forms like B- boying, Hip- hop, Locking, Popping, Krumping, Salsa, Jive and Bollywood.

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ØClasses are held throughout the week catering to over a hundred students.

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ØSwordfish ® choreographs and performs for many Corporate Events.

Swordfish ® is the only registered crew in India.

Ø Swordfish ® has choreographed dance sequences for prestigious institutes in and around Bombay and have also been choreographing the Hip- Hop sequence for the Mithibai dance team since past 2 years.

Ø Our professional dancers (B-Boys) have performed in many corporate events for companies like Big Bazar, Hip- Hop Collision nights (for Bottles & Chimney in Hyderabad) and have taken various dance workshops (in Surat, Raipur among other cities) all over India.

Swordfish Crew has performed shows for Force INDIA Team.

Swordfish crew is also 1 of the all India Hip-Hop champions at channel (V) India Fest

Many well known newspapers like DNA, Bombay Times etc. have covered Swordfish ®