B-boy Orb: “What’s missing is originality.”

B-boy Orb from Circle of Fire (USA) is quite a popular name in the breaking community since a lot of years. He is from the generation when strong originality was the leading aspect in one’s dance. Apart from breaking, Orb is also an outstanding name in the house dance scene and definitely knows how to combine b-boying and house dance. 

Hello, Orb. We all know that you love dancing in every kind of form, so, please, share how you got involved in this culture? Who introduced you into hip-hop and breaking?

I got involved in the culture of Hip Hop because of the music. I wanted to rap when I first heard Children Story by Slick Rick on the radio in the 80s at age 5 or 6. I grew up in the all-black neighbourhood. There were kids older then me b-boying down the street in front of there house. Naturally, I gravitated to the dance first. My first breaking move was hand spins, haha. No one person ever show me how to dance. I observed by watching my peers. I watched and learned.

Back in the days when we watched your crew Circle Of Fire at Lords Of The Floor and other events, we definitely can see influence from other cultures as house dance, capoeira and etc. Tell us about how the crew combined back in the days and why its a mix of styles?

LOTF 1 and 2, 2001 & 2002 was a pivotal event for me and my crew. Of course, before that, I had already been dancing for 7 or 8 years. In Junior High School I started off as a freestyle dancer of hip hop and got back into b-boying in High School. Back then, we mixed the styles because to us it was all hip hop. Some of the other homies in Circle Of Fire had backgrounds in other art forms like martial arts such as Capoeira, gymnastics to name a few. When we got older naturally we mixed styles. Around the time of LOTF. People wanted set styles but we wanted to just dance and be ourselves. We got a lot of opposition for just being. Instead, we rebelled and did our own thing.

How do you feel when you battle in breaking battles and in house dance festivals? The attitude is way different and what is your approach to them?

I feel comfortable on both arenas. The attitude is different from each style of dance at these competitions but the mission is the same. Everyone still wants to represent and dance. I love b-boying but I also love the house. B-boying is the original dance for hip hop. So, when I hear breaks and hip hop records I get the hype. When I hear house I get the hype. I approach both events with an open mind to the music and people. That’s how I can adapt to different energies. Sometimes both house and hip hop can have the same vibes at events depending. When I compete in both I adapt to what the DJ plays. I go hard, soft, fast, slow. Which ever way the music takes me.

What is the most memorable battle in your dance career and why?

The most memorable battle is hard to say but if I can narrow it down to one it would probably be Lords of the Floor 2. I battled with my crew mate B-boy Free. I remember I felt like I needed to make a statement during that battle. So, I made my own shirt which had the face of Bruce Lee on it and I wrote just dance on my left-hand palm to remind myself to be free in the movement. Plus we were dancing against the highest calibre of dancers from around the country.  And we had to represent our crew and city.

Give us 3-4 things what breaking scene misses these days?

Originality, deeper understanding of music/musicality, the history, cyphers/sessions instead of just practice.

Would you support the statement that some of the most important things in hip-hop culture is evolving and bringing something new to the table, but without forgetting the roots? Some thought about biting and being original?

Yes, the evolution of this dance is so important. We evolve to grow stronger as a culture. I see the evolution in this dance for sure. But what’s missing is originality. And of course, you can’t forget about the roots. The ones who started it. Hip hop is only about 40 years old. So, there is a lot of room for evolution. Know the pioneers but we can’t get stuck on just foundational moves. We are still laying down the foundation. It’s better to be original then bite but I never get mad if someone does a move I came up with. It’s all been done before. I don’t even have names for my own moves haha.

If you have the opportunity to choose someone to do an exhibition 10 rounds battle who would you choose?

Hmmmmmm!I’m down to battle anyone with my b-boy mentality, haha. But if I had to pick and choose I would say Physicx, Caleaf Sellers, Kapela. To name a few….

Some advice to the young generation who read this article?

My advice to the younger generation is to try to be more original. With the use of social media and the internet, there is too much info out there. Too many people look the same. Dare to be different with of course respect to the culture and the pioneers who came before us.

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The final one. Write down some 3-4 names of any kind of hip-hop artist that deserve to be known worldwide and have an opportunity to represent.

As far as dancers in Hip Hop &House just to name a few.

1. Bboy Buckshot (Seattle WA)
2. Bboy Boxcutta (Seattle WA)
3. Toyin Sogunro House (Washington, D.C)

There is a dope MC named One Be Lo. He is a dope representation of a rapper who appreciates the Bboy scene and would love to represent at any jam world wide. Check his music out when you get a chance.

You can follow Orb on Instagram here.

Core Team is thankful to Orb for this interview and support to our idea of spreading valuable knowledge.

*Used images and videos are taken from the web or given by the interviewed person and belongs to their respected owners.