Rize: a new documentary by David LaChapelle shows how dancing can save your life

It was three years ago, while directing a Christina Aguilera video in Los Angeles, that photographer David LaChapelle first encountered a group of teenagers who were engaged in an aggressive style of hip-hop dance known as krumping and who would serve as the basis for his new documentary, Rize. Originally known as "clowning" for the intricate face paint the participants wear as they battle one another in West Side Story--esque dance-offs, krumping first emerged in the neighborhoods of South Central L.A. in the aftermath of the 1992 riots. The phenomenon has evolved from a form of street-corner protest into a mode of creative expression at once party-ready and political. While the movements are visually arresting--violently expressive, quick-hit pop-and-lock moves that fold into pole dancer-type undulations--Rize exposes far more than just an inner-city craze. Shot with LaChapelle's signature verve, the film spotlights a group of kids who stand in stark contrast to the more celebrated bling-bling aspects of hip-hop culture, kids who, in krumping, have sought respite from their troubled lives, formed familial bonds where they were lacking, and found an artistic outlet for their everyday frustrations.

Jarret McNeill last wrote about hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari in the April issue.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning