Abstract
This article discusses findings from a study conducted in Melbourne, Australia with a small group of primary and secondary school age young people of refugee or recently immigrated backgrounds to explore their experiences of participating in hip hop dance classes and as part of a hip hop dance crew. The study sought to understand the young people’s reasons for participating and what benefits, if any, they felt they gained from it as they and their families transitioned into Australian society. Findings from the study suggest that for these young people hip hop dance is an important element in promoting quality of life as it is a medium that can help them navigate through and across family, local, and global cultures. From this study, hip hop dance emerges as having a double value: as a vehicle for expressing the often-harsh realities of the young people’s experiences and situation, whilst at the same time enabling them to build self-esteem and shine in the eyes of peers, audiences and others.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ahearn, C. (Producer & Director). (1983). Wild style [Motion picture]. USA: First Run Features.
Australian Government, Department of Social Services. (2013). The people of Australia: Australia’s multicultural policy. Retrieved from https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-and-multicultural-affairs/publications/the-people-of-australia-australias-multicultural-policy
Banes, S. (1994). Writing dancing in the age of postmodernism. Middletown, CT. Wesleyan University Press.
Beaulac, J., Olavarria, M., & Kristjanssonl, E. (2010). A community-based hip-hop dance program for youth in a disadvantaged community in Ottowa: Implementation findings. Health Promotion Practice, 11(3), 61S–69S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839909353738.
Bond, K. E. & Stinson, S. W. (2000/2001). ‘“I feel like I’m going to take off!”: Young people’s experiences of the superordinary in dance. Dance Research Journal, 32(2), 52–87.
Brabazon, T. (2002). Dancing through the revolution: The political and social meaning of the rave. Youth Studies Australia, 1(1), 19–24.
Byrne, B. (2016, February 9). Our job to end racism. Maribyrnong leader. Retrieved from http://maribyrnongleader.localnewspapers.today/
Carter, T. (Director). (2001). Save the last dance [Motion picture]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.
Duncan, J. (2015). Hot Brown Honey is unsticking stereotypes aimed at indigenous with hip hop. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2015/09/09/hot-brown-honey-unsticking-stereotypes-aimed-indigenous-hip-hop
Durand, A.-P. (2002). Black, blanc, beur: Rap music and hip-hop culture in the francophone world. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.
Fensham, R., & Gardner, S. (2005). Dance classes, youth cultures and public health. Youth Studies Australia, 24(4), 14–20.
Fensham, R., Gardner, S., & Komesaroff, P. (2008). Dancing beyond exercise: Young people’s experiences in dance classes. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(6), 701–709.
Firstenberg, S. (Director). (1984). Breakin’ 2: Electric boogaloo. [Motion picture]. USA: TriStar, Cannon.
Fletcher, A. (Director). (2006). Step up [Motion picture]. USA: Walt Disney.
Glow, H., & Minahan, S. (2008). “I’m here to save you:” a case study of the arts and managerialism in Australia. Journal of Workplace Rights, 13(2), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.2190/WR.13.2.c.
Hage, G. (2012). White nation: Fantasies of white supremacy in a multicultural society. London: Routledge.
Halberg, L. (2006). The “core category” of grounded theory: Making constant comparisons. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 1, 141–148.
Hassard-Donald, K. (1996). Dance in hip hop culture. Droppin’ science: Critical essays on rap music and hip hop culture (pp. 220–235). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Lathan, S. (Director). (1984). Beat Street [Motion picture]. USA: Orion.
Mansouri, F. (Ed.). (2009). Youth identity and migration: Culture values and social connectedness. Altona, VIC: Common Ground.
Maxwell, I. (2003). Phat beats and dope rhymes: Hip hop down under comin’ upper. Middletown, CT. Wesleyan University Press.
McCarren, F. (2012). French moves: The cultural politics of le hip hop. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, T. (1998). Australian hip hop as a “glocal” subculture. Paper for the Ultimo Series Seminar, University of Technology, Sydney. Retrieved from http://snarl.org/youth/tonym2.pdf
Mitchell, T. (2003). Local noise: Australian hip-hop as a subculture. Youth Studies Australia, 22(2), 2–13.
Mitchell, T. (2008). Australian hip hop’s multi-cultural literacies: A subculture emerges into the light. In S. Homan & T. Mitchell (Eds.), Sounds of then, sounds of now: Popular music in Australia (pp. 231–252). Hobart: ACYS Retrieved from https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/8171/1/2008002722.pdf.
Omar, Y. S. (2011). Integration from youth perspectives: A comparative study of young Somali men in Melbourne and Minneapolis. Unpublished doctoral thesis, La Trobe University, School of Social Sciences, Melbourne, Australia.
Peacefender, M. C., & Mitchell, T. (2007). Hip hop from Auburn to Beirut. Retrieved from http://peacefender.com/source/Media/Publications/4-Peacefender%20Hip%20hop%20from%20Auburn%20to%20Beirut%20UTS%202007.pdf
Perkins, W. E. (1996). Droppin’ science: Critical essays on rap and hip hop culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Ransdell, L., Oakland, D., & Taylor, A. (2003). Increasing physical activity in girls and women: Lessons learned from the DAMET project. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 74(1), 37–44.
Rose, T. (1994). A style nobody can deal with: Politics, style and the postindustrial city in hip hop. In T. Rose & A. Ross (Eds.), Microphone fiends: Youth music and youth culture (pp. 71–88). New York: Routledge.
Schafter, M. (2015). Hip hop’s new wave tackles racism and what it means to be. Australian Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4327196.htm.
Silberg, J. (Director). (1984). Breakin’ [Motion picture]. USA: MGM/UA.
Silver, T. (Director). (1983). Style wars [Motion picture]. USA: Public Art Films.
Skrbis, Z., Baldassar, L., & Poynting, S. (2007). Negotiating belonging: Migration and generations. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 28(3), 261–269.
Stretch, B. (2009). Buddha Stretch (Elite Force) interview. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4if1XfMr78w
Stretch, B. (2010). Buddha Stretch interview - About hip hop (part 1) - March 6. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3wPcDnLszk.
Stretch, B. (2012). Buddha Stretch (Elite Force) interview. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7NJY0hK_mo
Thomas, H. (1993). An-other voice: Young women dancing and talking. In H. Thomas (Ed.), Dance, gender and culture (pp. 69–93). London: Macmillan.
Thomsen, S. (2016). Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says refugees take Australian jobs. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com.au/immigration-minister-peter-dutton-says-refugees-take-australian-jobs-2016-5
Wells, R. (2015, November 12). Apple shop apologises for “racist” eviction. The age, News 3.
Williams, R. (1977). Marxism and literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wulfhorst, R., Rocha, C., & Morgan, G. (2014). Intimate multiculturalism: Transnationalism and belonging amongst capoeiristas in Australia. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 40(11), 1798–1816.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Richards, J., Gardner, S. (2019). Young People’s Experiences in Hip Hop Dance Participation. In: Bond, K. (eds) Dance and the Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95699-2_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95699-2_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95698-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95699-2
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)