If Cities Could Dance
Oakland Turf Dancing
Season 2 Episode 6 | 3m 6sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Turf dancers combine abrupt, angular movements with graceful footwork.
Emerging from the streets in the early 2000s, turfing has become synonymous with Oakland. Short for 'taking up room on the floor,' the dance form unites dancers across The Town, with older dancers passing down the craft through all-ages battles and after-school workshops.
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If Cities Could Dance is a local public television program presented by KQED
If Cities Could Dance
Oakland Turf Dancing
Season 2 Episode 6 | 3m 6sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Emerging from the streets in the early 2000s, turfing has become synonymous with Oakland. Short for 'taking up room on the floor,' the dance form unites dancers across The Town, with older dancers passing down the craft through all-ages battles and after-school workshops.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[Jesus El] There's a heavy connection and sense of pride when you're from Oakland.
We have a lot of rich culture.
Our ability to persevere through trials and tribulations, whether it be with dance, with music- it's our way of life.
♪ I walk into the function like an OG ♪ ♪ I got everybody staring ♪ like they know me ♪ ♪ Yeah, I'm that kid ♪ with the white T on ♪ ♪ And we slap Mac Dre ♪ ♪ We get hyphy bro ♪ [Phillip] Turf dancing originated from Oakland, California.
Contorting arms while gliding and popping and waving.
When I saw the dance, I was like, "I gotta learn how to do that."
And the beautiful thing about it is it's a whole movement and culture behind Oakland turf dancing.
[Jesus El] Turf dancing, it came from the streets.
It derived from boogaloo, struttin', poppin', lockin'.
Jeriel Bey named it turf dancing in 2006, 2007.
And the Architeckz was the first organized dance group in Oakland.
Then the Animaniakz, and all these other teams started popping up.
[Garion] My crew is the Turf Feinz.
The year that I came on, the time, the era was like one of the worst eras of Oakland because of all the violence.
So me and my group, we made these dance tribute videos for people that we've lost.
What made us keep doing it was the families.
When you can translate those feelings into how you move, it's a beautiful thing.
We're making sure that Oakland see us, and we're making sure that people see Oakland.
[Phillip] In Oakland, everybody's mixed in together, it's like a big cultural thing that everybody respects.
But our people, a lot of minorities, are getting pushed out.
I want us being more together.
With my dancing, I wanna uplift everybody.
Travel the world and show where I come from, and show how we live this life.
♪ Hard work beat talent, ♪ when talent don't work hard ♪ ♪ Mama off at two and by six she ♪ back at work y'all ♪ ♪ Tell myself I never slay ♪ for somebody else's dream ♪ ♪ Drive for it, never whine ♪ for it, got it like me ♪ ♪ We ridin' ♪ ♪ Pull up to the city, we're shining... ♪ [Jesus El] There's so many different people that has pushed the culture forward.
So it's just something that we pass along to the next generation.
- Arts and Music
How the greatest artworks of all time were born of an era of war, rivalry and bloodshed.
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If Cities Could Dance is a local public television program presented by KQED