Afghan youth with busting moves
KABUL:
In the land of suicide bombings, burqas, and unending war, a group of Afghans have turned to breakdancing for stress relief and self-expression — even as fears the Taliban could yet return to power fuel worries of a renewed crackdown on the arts.
At the French Cultural Centre here, the group takes turns practising the basics top rocking, headspins and freezes, while watching YouTube videos on their phones of famous b-boys like Lilou and Hong Ten for inspiration.
“Breakdancing keeps us away from stress and war. It gives us freedom. It frees our minds from the stress of living in Kabul and we forget about the war and killings,” said Murtaza Lomani, 23, from the Top Step crew.
Still, breakdancing is a rare sight in the fiercely conservative Islamic society, where traditional folk music mostly dominates the radiowaves and dancing takes place mainly at gender-segregated weddings.
The cultural centre is one of the few places in the capital where the mixed-gender Top Step crew are able to practise and feel relatively safe, Lomani says. But even here there are risks.
Just five years ago, the centre was attacked by the Taliban as it hosted a play about suicide bombings, where Lomani was among the injured.
For Heja Aalia, who says she is one of just four female breakdancers here, there are other worries.
“If I train outdoors in our society, people insult you,” says Aalia, adding that young women are interested in breakdancing, but are unable to get permission from their families to try it out.
“It’s difficult for a girl to practise breakdance, especially in Afghanistan where people think dance is against Islamic culture.”
The sport first originated in New York’s Bronx borough in the 1970s, where “breaking” along with rap music and graffiti art formed the pillars of hip hop culture.
But while the rest of the world was quick to embrace that culture, decades of war and hardline Taliban rule in the 1990s prevented the phenomenon from taking root in Afghanistan.
“Afghan society has changed a bit in recent years, the generations have changed and people are thinking positively,” says Lomani, who admits that many laughed at their dance moves when they first started in 2011.
“But we have convinced some youth and now it is really good that we practise,” he adds.
“If the Taliban come none of us can continue,” says Aalia.
But despite those fears, and the backlash against female breakdancers, she has vowed to continue.
“One day if the Taliban comes, we can stop this publicly. But we will practise breakdancing underground or secretly.”