Here’s how you too can Krump your style

There's a new dance form that's all the rage with the city’s hip young set, and it's called Krump

You've heard of salsa, and the tango, and the waltz, but there's a new dance hitting Mumbai's streets and it's called the Krump. It involves a rapid rhythmic bobbling, stomping, clapping, arm-swinging and arm-throwing as well as intermittent flexing of the spine. Krump essentially stands for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise - how's that for name?  It started as an urban African American street dance form, and has hit Mumbai with a vengeance. Move over hip hop, we're going Krumping.

"We don't have the street dance culture yet in Mumbai, but that's what the Krump is all about, says Aanchal Gupta, owner of Arts in Motion Studio which has recently started teaching the dance, much to the delight of those are in tune with the newest world dance forms. "Krumping is a high energy dance and it will catch up soon; it is a dance for the go-getters," she says.

What sets Krumping apart from other more sedate and stately dance forms is the expressive and highly energetic moves, which demand stamina and concentration. It is a part of the Hip Hop dance revolution that incorporates popping, locking, b-boying, noise-making moves, freestyling and break-dance. The versatility factor in this dance enables people to adapt it according to their own personality. From a primitive beginning on the streets of Los Angeles, it has evolved into a dance form structure and style. It is often confused with clown dancing, though both are separate forms of dancing. As Hip Hop is very popular in Mumbai, Arts in Motion has decided to blend the two. "We are combining Krumping with Hip Hop and are calling it 'Krump Hop'. When we started belly dancing four years ago, people were apprehensive just hearing the name. But now belly dancing and salsa have become a part of the culture," says Gupta.

And because it gives the dancer's personality the space to perform, it's popular with young Mumbaikars. Seventeen-year-old Devika Bharadwaj can't get enough of it. "I had already learned belly dancing, and I wanted to learn a new form of dance. I attended a few practice sessions and I immediately decided that Krumping was for me. It a very lively dance, and it's more fun as it's not a totally choreographed dance," she says.

Any form of dance is driven by music. But this might not be the case with Krumping. Gupta feels that Krumping as a dance form creates lot of sound, so it doesn't need music. However, her choreographer Melwyn feels otherwise and says that music would enhance the mood further. They are planning to introduce a kind of fusion music for Krumping in the near future. This would integrate the Western bhangra as well Hip Hop.

And that's the great thing about Krumping — it's open to interpretation. Kunjan Sanghvi is more than pleased that she opted to learn Krumping, "It is a dance with attitude. This dance form is full of energy and it's lively," she says. With people opting for dance classes to tone their bodies, and generally be fit, Krumping has a lot offer. Says Gupta: "I have seen couples coming to learn dance together, and housewives who have never danced in their life want to learn the Cha cha cha. It's not going to be different with Krumping."

On the international stage, 'Krumpers' such as Willie the Kid, Hot-Lanta and Cray-G have propelled Krumping into the dancing mainstream. So if you want to have a good stomp, Krumping just might be your outlet.

m_brinda@dnaindia.com