The Krump, a superbly edgy urban dance

One word: krump. Try it out to see. Let it rise in your mouth, clear your throat, and spit it out, showing your teeth. To pronounce it is already to experience the intimate rage that found an outlet in dance, in the early 2000s, in the South Central ghetto, in Los Angeles. This is where the krump is born, as the film flamboyantly tells Rize, directed in 2005 by David LaChapelle. And it is by discovering this documentary at its release that Grichka Caruge, pioneer of krump in Europe, switches to this superbly edgy urban style. ” I went to see Rize five times in a row and I took all my loved ones there, he recalls. I was shaking, I was crying I was so impressed. There was such power in this dance beyond the gesture that I felt transcended. I was told that my hip-hop dance was too energetic, I chose the krump. “

Standard bearer of the movement, Grichka Caruge, which belongs to the Madrootz collective, bringing together French and international personalities, opens, Saturday April 3, at the Grande Halle de la Villette, in Paris, the 8e edition of one of the four most prestigious battles: the International Illest Battle. Alongside the German EBS, the Russian Krumpire, the Japanese KOB, the French tournament, created in 2013, is a platform for the French community, which has some 230 Krumpers, but also worldwide, with 8,000 performers spotted. “Krump is not yet mainstream like hip-hop, but things are moving, says Grichka Caruge. It is a difficult dance that requires a lot of physical effort and rigor. Some start, then quit.

“Street codes”

If courses are available today to the curious, Grichka Caruge, he spun in 2006 in Los Angeles to meet the founders Tight Eyez and Big Mijo. He discovered with them the history of the movement, its roots, its codes. Originally, dancer Tommy the Clown hosted birthday parties with his group of “hip hop clowns”. Dance is invented as a formalization of daily violence. In the battles that are played in the street, the krump, more tense, more raw, soon emerges from the clowning. “Clowning was more festive with Tommy putting on his wig and clown makeup to entertain, continues Grichka Caruge. But the krump has become more popular, more demanding too. Its codes, which come from the street, were put in place, in phase with the very harsh reality that was that of Los Angeles. “

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