Rize - 7

This is a documentary by David LaChapelle (most famous for his photography in magazines and music videos). It shows the krump dancing movement that has developed in south Los Angeles. The way LaChapelle tells the story krump developed as a performance art out of the Rodney King riots of 1992, and became mainstream through the work of Tommy the Clown. The climax of the film is when the rival clown/krump groups compete for a crowd of thousands. The film has long segments of music and krump, and even shows the comparison between native African dance (the footage looks like it from the 70's or 80's). The way the story is told krump is the performance art and bodily expression of freedom and oppression that African Americans have lived with. These dance/clown academies are also a way for kids to stay out of gangs and see positive change rather than a short life of crime (death or jail). A well made documentary that shows both the creativity and the risk and danger of imagining a better world and working toward it.