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Shebang Crew!
Femme fatales…
YOU WANTED TO KNOW
Mae hem’s twirling on her head, then enter Blazin’ and Ms Mighty, who are causing a stir with their windmills, jennrock’s ready to bring the house down with her amazing handspring…and then there’s DJ Dalia looking pretty spinnin’ tracks. Think that I’m talking about the newest super(s)heroes coming to a theatre near you? Think again. Mae hem, Blazin’, Ms Mighty, jennrock and DJ Dalia are members of Toronto’s dopest b-girl dance crew called Shebang! (as in the whole shebang, not “she bang” as in Ricky Martin’s ditty a few years ago).
Shebang! was conceived by these five driven girls. They met in a b-boy class taught by the infamous dancer, Bag of Trix, and their desire to break was what brought them together. Their goal was to simply get better and find out more about breaking.
In mid-June, I met up with mae hem and I got the low-down on what these girls are all about.
Why did you guys start Shebang!?
It was very simple the way we came about. In the beginning it was like a practice…a support group for b-girls. It was intimidating to dance with the boys who already knew how to do stuff. Back in the day I was very intimidated. I didn’t know how to do anything. I just wanted to practice with just a few people and feel comfortable.There were other girls in the class, but we (Ms Mighty, jennrock, Blazin’ and mae hem) shared a common goal…we just wanted to break and get better.
jennrock had a very feminist outlook on it. She said, “Mark my words – I will start an all b-girl crew.” Seven years later, here we are. We formed officially in September of ‘99.
What’s a b-girl?
There is a lot of debate about the definition. My definition is a female breaker who embraces not only dance, but also the culture of hip-hop and breaking.What is breaking culture?
It is very community-based…not only based within your own community [city]. We throw jams so that we have somewhere to go and dance. You organize practices so that people can go to it. It is also community-based internationally in that we support each other internationally. I would go on vacation to see a b-boy battle.How did you guys come up with the name?
jennrock wanted to call us Shebang! When she was very young, she had a dream that if she were ever to have an all female band, she would call it “Shebang!” No one objected to it until that Ricky Martin song came out.What do you guys do?
We break, we do a lot of things that involve breaking. We do shows, teach, battle, travel to battle. We hang out and have sushi! We hang out and watch cheesy teen movies…any film that involves dancing. Doing what I do, we have to see them.We also do artsy stuff like anything from doing shows at the Harbourfront, to corporate promotions. We also performed at Fashion Cares, and we’ve done shows like the Warped Tour.
What’s it like being in an all female breaking crew?
I think that it’s a lot of fun. I love it. I think that if we had boys in the group we would be better breakers. It would push us more to try harder things. But at the same time, we formed this kind of bond and friendship I don’t think that we would have if we were in another crew. We are like best friends. To me, that is the best part of being in an all girl crew. I have four best friends.On the flipside, it’s unfortunate because there is no bar set for the level of skills that a girl should have. To call a guy a good breaker you should consider several things: Can he do this? Can he do that? Girls get judged in a completely different way and there is no skill set in place. That’s the annoying part. The biggest challenge for girl breakers is that no one expects anything of you.
What was the first breaking move that you mastered?
The first time that I did a freeze I was very amazed. The first time that I actually did a headstand – to me being upside down was always very scary. When I was a kid I got picked to be in gymnastics but I was always too scared. When I was younger I fell and I broke my nose – I was dropped on my head. Three years of my breaking life I didn’t want to do it. Now I can do a headstand. The first time I did a headstand I was amazed at myself.Are you the first female crew in Toronto?
Yes. There have been all girl crews in other cities…Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver. We’re the first group in Toronto.Who have you performed with?
Beastie Boys, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, Kool Herc, Le Tigre, and others. We’ve also been featured in Nelly Furtado’s video for “On The Radio.”What are some of your Shebang! highlights?
My highlight of my career was meeting Kool Herc in 2003. He started hip-hop! I was almost in tears. He was really down to earth. My other highlight was performing with the Beastie Boys. They are just sooo cool! I think that I got approval from my mom for quitting my life and for devoting my life to dancing. She loves the Beastie Boys [their political beliefs].I heard that you host “Break and Enter.” What is it?
It’s a b-boy battle, which we started in 2001. We started it because at the time we only knew of club nights to go dancing, and we knew that some kids didn’t always have a place to practice. We wanted to have something for the kids. There aren’t enough places for jams. We’ll rent some turntables and then there would be a battle. Because we are girls, we thought that we should have a Bonnie and Clyde. A Bonnie and Clyde battle is a b-boy and b-girl pair battling a b-boy and b-girl pair. We are encouraging girls to dance, and to dance with boys.What do you guys do when you’re not performing?
I decided to quit my [9-5] life and be a dancer and open a dance studio. Ms Mighty decided to quit her life and move to Los Angeles and become a full-time dancer, Blazin’ works for a pharmaceutical company, jennrock works with Care Canada, and Dalia (our DJ) works at City TV.Since the crew is a little bit scattered at the moment, we don’t practice regularly at all. When we do shows, we recruit other girls to dance with us. Once my studio is open, we will have a regular space to practice.
Do you have classes?
We used to teach classes at several locations – at Diesel Fitness, and then at Trinity Church. Both of those classes are now on hold because of the studio. So once the studio is open it will be a full-time studio. There won’t be classes in breaking everyday, but there will be different street dances being offered. (Street dancing encompasses all of the dances that are not traditionally classical – they originated from the street.) Anything from popping, locking, hip-hop, reggae, house.If you could be known for something, what would you like to be known for?
For the dance studio. Giving street dancers a place to thrive and learn and validity to what they do.I want to start breaking!
Once it’s open, come on down!Meeting mae hem was mad cool. She encouraged me that if you really want to try something, you just gotta go for it! I will hold her to that breaking lesson. I want to get my b-girl on! ¤ Michelle
For more information on the Shebang! Crew, visit their official website at www.shebangcrew.com.