Streetdance 3D Part 2

Street dancer Lex Milczarek is equally enthusiastic about being shot in 3D. "Before I got the role, the film company chose a handful of dancers to do a 3D test trailer as an example of what the film will be like," he explains. "I was one of them, and we got a chance to go and watch the trailer in 3D at the Odeon Covent Garden. It was amazing; we really jumped out of the screen. I'm so stoked to be part of the first 3D film in the UK."

Hugo Cortes agrees: "We are making history!" he grins. "I have seen some of the playbacks in 3D and it just looks incredible. Seeing the final thing will be a trip."

Rocking Kicks: Inside the Wardrobe
"I love Carly's wardrobe," enthuses Nichola Burley of the uniform of baggy sportswear and huge trainers. "But it's nothing like what I would normally wear. In rehearsals, I was wearing my own clothes and, on the first day, Kenrick the choreographer said, 'come on, we're going shopping.' Then he made me spend stupid amounts of money on tracksuit bottoms and the 'in' trainers. I didn't have a clue because I'm not very street. But, as soon as I got the new clothes, it made me feel like somebody else, like Carly. The clothes are really comfortable, but still sexy."

Costume designer Andrew Cox describes street dance style as, "Eclectic, fun, sexy, cool and, as the kids say, 'dope!'" Having previously worked on gritty British thrillers such as The Firm, The Heavy and Outlaw, Andrew Cox was inspired by a variety of sources. "It was a combination of reference material I gathered on British street dance crews and visits to the Royal Ballet school, as well as observing people on the streets of London." he says, "Also, I used the cast's own personalities, Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini's passion for cool British fashion and the desire to do something different."

The costume design had to represent the evolution that all of the characters go through over the course of the film. "From a story point of view, our street dance crew becomes stronger and bolder," explains Andrew Cox. "Especially Carly. As she takes control of the situation and grows in confidence, her look gets more distinctive and brighter. Meanwhile, our ballet dancers blossom from the rigidity of uniform to a more eclectic, relaxed and cooler feel as they became part of the street dance world."

Working with the street dancers, many of whom had never acted before, posed a variety of challenges for Andrew Cox. "Much of the cast were used to performing as themselves and not as characters, so the challenge was to get them to wear something out of their comfort zone that would still make them feel great for the part but be more the character than themselves," he says. "Over the course of preproduction, and even in to the first few weeks filming, the looks evolved and got stronger as the cast relaxed in to their roles, trusting the vision we were trying to achieve and working their looks with confidence. On the flip side, Nichola Burley, being an actress and not a trained street dancer, had the reverse to achieve. We went through several stages to achieve a look that gave her 'the swagger' she needed to feel like and be a street dancer."

As for Andrew Cox's favourite look in the film? "That's a tough choice," he sighs, "but it has to be Shawna's opening outfit: her black and red military look."

In fact, Shawna's wardrobe became one of the most talked-about looks on set.

"Shawna is really quirky," laughs Teneisha Bonner, who plays her. "Normally, I tend to dress in classic styles and wear a lot of black and grey. I don't break from the norm in terms of my dress. But Shawna's style is crazy and it has inspired me. I'm definitely going to take some of her style over into my real life."

Sacha Chang is similarly enthusiastic about her character's look. "Aimee cares a lot about the way she looks," she explains. "She's quite flashy, wearing the latest designer clothes and dancewear. The wardrobe is amazing. I want to keep everything. I love it all!" George Sampson also admits to having his eye on "a pair of Adidas trainers that I hope I'm going to get to keep."

The ballet dancers, of course, have a very different wardrobe, particularly Charlotte Rampling as dance teacher Helena. In the scene where she offers the street dancers an ultimatum about using her studio, she is majestic in a structured black dress that would not look out of place on the catwalk at Balenciaga. But, this being a film set, not a Parisian couture show, there was rather a tighter budget and Andrew Cox improvised with an array of excellent high street steals. "Can you believe that dress is from Warehouse?" breathes Jennifer Leung as Rampling strides past in her black showstopper. "The wardrobe department have done an incredible job on this film."

Contrary to the image of ballet dancers as being from extremely privileged backgrounds, Richard Winsor explains that Tomas actually has very little money to spend on clothes."He basically has his staple jeans and one pair of trainers," explains Richard Winsor. "So his wardrobe doesn't have anything flash, but he always looks cool and sexy."

In one scene, the street dancers take the ballet dancers out to a club, in order to give them a taste of street style. Of course, the ballet dancers are dressed entirely inappropriately for the baggy swagger of the club. "We stand out a hell of a lot," laughs Winsor, between takes. "I actually think this jacket is pretty cool but it's very wrong compared to this grimy club where everyone's in baggy jeans, big caps and huge earrings. I feel quite out of place, but that's the idea."

Overall though, Richard Winsor is a fan of Tomas's look. "I would describe his style as 'indie smart,' and it's not that dissimilar to what I would wear in real life," he admits. "Although Tomas is very keen on clothes that accentuate his ballet physique. I would probably never walk around in a vest, like he does. But then he is still at college: he's young and virile!"

The Music
The music, of course, was always going to be integral to the film and James Richardson brought in Lol Hammond, his long-time music supervisor to oversee it. "It was with great excitement that I found myself involved in this vibrant and original film project," smiles Lol Hammond. "It's totally original in the sense that it's the UK's first street dance film, and it's also shot in glorious 3D, which is the icing on the cake."

Coincidentally, Lol Hammond found that the UK urban artists he chose to feature on the soundtrack were becoming increasingly popular as the film was being made. "We placed tracks by Ndubz, Tinchy Stryder, Wylie and Chipmunk in the film," he says, "and then watched with amazement as their careers took off. No longer the domain of the UK underground, this sound was going overground, and doing it with a style and swagger that had not been seen for years. Not only that, but Diversity and Flawless became a street dance phenomenon and genuine mainstream stars, thanks to Simon Cowell and Britain's Got Talent. Along with George Sampson, they're a real inspiration to kids up and down the country. It's exciting times indeed."

Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini brought in producers Terri and Si to write Sugabitch, the track that plays when the two groups of dancers meet each other for the first time. Then Hammond brought in London-based production duo LP & JC (Lloyd Perrin and Jordan Crisp) to write the majority of the original music. "LP & JC very much represent the sound of a young, fresh, vibey London town," explains LolHammond.

Michael "Mickey J" Asante (who formed Boy Blue Entertainment with Kenrick Sandy), also contributed to the film's incredible soundtrack, writing the finale and some of the other tracks.

Before working on the movie, Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini had made the pop promo for Ironik's Tiny Dancer for Elton John and Chipmunk. "That track summed up the movie for me," explains James Richardson. "The grand master of British pop, Elton John, with two of the newcomers of British R&B. Ever since watching that video, I wanted the track in the film."

As for the final track, We Dance On, Richardson says it was a no brainer. "It just landed on Lol's desk," explains Richardson. "And, as soon as he handed it to Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini and myself, we all said, 'that's our end credit track.'"

Lol Hammond nods in agreement: "Musically, it's a real feast," he explains. "And, I'm sure, a fabulous compliment to this brave and unique project."

Street Dance: A History
Street dance is fusion of hip-hop, breaking, popping and locking that's hugely complex, precise and physically demanding. The term "street dance" covers every style of dancing that originated naturally on the streets and in the clubs, rather than being taught in a controlled environment.

The origins of street dance can be traced back to the early 1970s. DJ Kool Herc is credited with inventing the breakbeat in 1972, by isolating the drums and mixing different speeds together. At the same time, in New York's South Bronx and Harlem, kids would get together for breaking battles, becoming the world's first b-boys. Meanwhile, on the west coast of America, funk styles such as popping and locking became popular on the streets of Fresno in California.

Elements of these styles existed many years earlier - Earl 'Snakehips' Tucker was an early pioneer of waving and sliding in the 1920s - but it wasn't until the 1970s that breaking, popping and locking became hugely popular and hip-hop dance became commercially successful. Since then, other styles have emerged - such as krumping and crip walking - that fall under the street dance umbrella.

Improvisation and evolution is key to street dance, which is why street dancers today look very different to the innovators back in the 1980s .

"When you watch videos of street dancers from the 1980s it's like, how did they come up with that?" says George Sampson, incredulously. "But street dance moves on so quickly. Now it's all about double flips, and it's more gymnastic. Some of the original b-boys in America aren't happy that it's changed, because they started it and they created these moves. But I think it's great that it has developed. Everything has to."

StreetDance: A History in Brief
1920s: Earl "Snakehips" Tucker introduces Harlem to an early version of waving and sliding. His rapidly moving hips were considered extremely risqué.
1960s: A style of dancing called "the jerk" becomes increasingly popular in America's nightclubs. It is now considered a precursor to popping and locking.
1972: DJ Kool Herc develops the breakbeat in a Bronx nightclub in response to enthusiasm on the dancefloor.
1973: Street dance group The Lockers is formed. They are pioneers of American street dance, particularly locking.
1977: The Electric Boogaloos form. They go on to appear on US TV show Soul Train, and perform bodypopping in time to breakbeats.
1979: The original Rock Steady Crew is established in the Bronx. The name soon becomes a franchise for hip-hop crews around the world.
1981: The Rock Steady Crew and the New York City Breakers turn breaking into a pop-culture phenomenon when they battle each other in public at the Lincoln Center.
1990s: The streets of Los Angeles see early versions of krumping.
1996: Event production company G Force organises the world's first street dance competition in a school auditorium in south London, attended by eight competitors and just 75 spectators. The competition was called Street Dance Weekend and is now a huge annual event.
2009: Street dance crew Diversity are voted winners of Britain's Got Talent.
2010: StreetDance is released in cinemas.

How to be a Street Dancer: All You Need To Know
1. Get a Tag: Your actual name is no longer enough. Kenrick Sandy's street dance name is H2o, and the boys in Flawless are variously known as Swoosh, FX and Neo.

2. Get Bigger Clothes: Nothing is small in street dance. You need the biggest, baggiest hoodie and the most low-slung jeans you can find. Accessorise them with a massive baseball cap that obscures half your face.

3. Learn the Lingo: Never use the word "breakdancing" - real street dancers call it "breaking" or "b-boying." Scatter a few uses of "dope" and "sick" into conversation and you're halfway there.

4. Be Yourself: Costume designer Andrew Cox insists that anyone can look like a street dancer. It's about getting "the swagger." He explains: "This look is about being yourself and showing off your personality. Don't be scared about trying something different."

5. Work Hard: "If you want to be the best, there's no such thing as getting there," explains Kenrick Sandy, firmly. "Don't ever think that what you're doing is enough. You will never get to the destination of perfection. But, if you strive for it, that's what becoming the best is about. Make sure you're constantly training, gaining wisdom, gaining knowledge - and don't hold back. You need to enjoy it."

6. Really Throw Yourself Into It: Immerse yourself in dance," says choreographer Kate Prince. "And get to class! Take as many different classes as you can from as many different teachers as you can because, if you only learn from one teacher, you will only be as good as that teacher. Take classes outside of streetdance for strength and diversity, such as ballet and pilates. Save up and travel to LA, NYC, Japan, Korea, Sweden, France... find out what is going on in their street dance world and learn from the best. Make dance your life."

7. Learn the Styles:
Popping: is the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, otherwise known as a pop or a hit. This creates a gliding motion. Michael Jackson's famous moonwalk is part of this style.
Locking: involves freezing from a fast movement and locking into a position, holding it for a second and then continuing at the same speed. It's all about fast upper body movements combined with more relaxed hips and legs.
Breaking: is the most well known style of street dance. It involves spinning the body on one body part - for example, the hand, knee or head.
Crip Walking: was originated by the notorious Crip gang from Compton, Los Angeles, when animosity between the Crips and the Bloods spilled over into rap songs and music videos. Key moves include the shuffle, the V and the heel-toe. Tutorials teaching the basics are extremely popular on YouTube.
Krumping: is less about choreographed steps and more about throwing yourself into the music. Originating in South Central LA, it's very aggressive, and involves arm swings, chest pops and stomps. If you're worried about freestyling, then krumping is not for you.
House: incorporates movements from many other sources such as Capoeira, tap, jazz, bebop, and salsa. Much of house dancing is based around waving, or jacking (see below).

8. Learn the Moves:
Waving: Also known as jacking. The idea is to make it look as though a wave is rippling through your body. Start with the armwave. Stretch out both arms and, starting with the fingers on one hand, let each part of your arm rise and fall. The motion should follow through your chest and back along the other arm. It's extremely important that the rest of your body remains very still to give the impression of a wave passing through you. Once you have mastered this, move on to the bodywave, whereby a wave should appear to pass through your body from head to toe.
The Windmill: This is the move that most people think of when they think of breaking. The dancer rolls his upper body on the floor, with his legs twirling in a V shape in the air.
Tutting: Thought to be named after ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, the move involves keeping your arms at rigid right angles. Yes, the Bangles were inspired by tutting when they walked like an Egyptian.
Slide: With your right heel lifted and left foot flat, slide the left foot away across the floor. Then lift the left heel, flatten the right foot and bring it across so both feet are together. Repeat in a gliding motion. It sounds easy, but takes lots of practice to make it look smooth.
TopRock: This is any sequence of steps that a b-boy or girl does while standing up, usually as a precursor to hitting the floor for some serious breaking.
Suicide: Normally used to finish your street dance routine with a dramatic flourish, this move involves acting as if you have lost control and dramatically landing on the floor on your back or stomach. As a rule of thumb, the more painful the suicide looks, the more successful it is perceived to be.