ELKOUT BREAKS IT DOWN
B-boy spills ahead of House of PainT
The House of PainT Festival of Arts and Culture kicks off Thursday, marking the end of a busy summer for dance director and local b-boy, Sami Elkout.
Last year, the Ontario Arts Council awarded Elkout — who founded Ottawa’s only street dance studio — a $14,500 career development grant, which he’s used to train with international b-boys.
Elkout was also all over the city the past few months, performing with Propeller Dance, tearing up the main stages at Bluesfest, and helping produce Heritage Canada’s Canada 150 kickoff.
Postmedia caught up with Elkout to reflect on his hectic year and his efforts to put street dance on the map in Ottawa. (This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
Q How did you get into breaking?
A I found breaking in my last year of middle school. It was something I used to see at school dances. My friends would do it, so I started picking up moves from them. I’d come home, clear the table away in my living room, and turn on MuchMusic — so many music videos had breaking. And it grew from there. Q What have been some of the challenges in establishing yourself
as a breaker in Ottawa?
A Early on, I was one of the few going out, finding opportunities, and then trying to pass those opportunities along to my crewmates or dancers at the studio. It was something I saw was necessary and started to do in hopes that other people would jump in and help steer the way, too. I think now, Ottawa’s at a certain spot where other people are doing other things. It gives me an opportunity to experience their events or their classes or their performances.
Q How did you feel after receiving your grant from the Ontario Arts Council? A Oh, I jumped for joy. It was something I’d worked hard on. One of my goals last year was to apply for more grants. I wrote two and that was definitely the one that I really wanted to get.
Q That funding has already helped you train in Toronto and Phoenix. What are your biggest takeaways from those trips?
A Some of the conversations with the artists and mentors — because they’re at a different stage in their careers. It’s interesting to see how far they’ve come and where they’re planning to go. It definitely gives me an idea of where I can take my own stuff, whether that be professionally, personally, or even community-wise. Q You’re completing your training
in the Netherlands this October. What do you want to get out of this last session?
A I’m really hoping to get more of a worldly perspective. I’ve had a lot of experience in North America but never really abroad. It’ll be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the communities — and even culturally, to see how they perceive breaking.
Q This year presented a lot of opportunities for you. What was it like performing at Bluesfest?
A It was really great. We performed six times over five days and we got to be on stage before some of the bigger acts. It was great to be a bigger part of Bluesfest and see how they’re taking the lead and adding other types of programming and performances to their music lineup.
Q Your studio, The Flava Factory, also turned five this spring. How do you feel about reaching that milestone?
A It feels great! It’s definitely an uphill battle, but it’s going in the right direction. It takes a lot of time to lay a good foundation. We’re starting to see a lot of long-term values and core beliefs really taking root and starting to blossom with the students that have been around for a while.
Q What are some values and beliefs you encourage in your studio?
A Our studio’s approach of being more about community and being less about performance is definitely one of the bigger values. At our events, it’s more about bringing everybody together, having them compete, and having them share. A lot of these core beliefs come from the dance — being respectful to others, giving other people opportunities and being diverse. It really gives people ownership over their creativity.
Q What are some misperceptions people have about street dance or street dancers?
A I think a lot of people perceive it as something that’s nothing — it doesn’t have any history, it doesn’t have any roots, it doesn’t have any technicality to it. And I think that’s baloney. I think it comes from the fact that we freestyle a lot but to be able to freestyle on that kind of level, you have to have technique and foundation. That perception’s going to be the hardest one to overcome.
Q What’s next for you?
A I’d like to compete more but it’s tough when you get a little bit older and you don’t have the time to condition as much. I’d like to be able to provide more performance opportunities — either through the studio or through something else. It was a really cool thing to book the performance for Heritage Canada because I was able to provide 15 dancers with a well-paid performance opportunity. And I think the studio fits in within the overall scene because it has provided a space for people to learn these dance styles. Beatrice Britneff is an Ottawa-based freelance journalist. She’s not a b-girl, but danced in a hip hop crew for four years and enjoys learning about Canada’s dance communities.