Ziad Aly. (August 4, 2020). KEN SWIFT || The Art of Breaking!
I had the opportunity to get in touch with Ken swift and ask him a few questions that I feel would help every dancer around the globe.
How did you get into dancing?
"I got into Breaking in 1978 in New York City, Uptown Manhattan. I saw a friend and then other people doing it and I got involved right away. At the time I just got introduced to Wall Writing, DJing and MCing. Breaking was different, I didn't really see it as a dance at first, I saw it as B Boying. The name just made it feel different than dance, even though it was dance."
Who were the key influencers that inspired you and influenced your dancing?
"I would say the first people I saw do it inspired me, people like Doze, Deno Rock, Kid Terrific, Frosty Freeze, Ice Ice, Fritz, Ty Fly and others."
Any advice you would give young artists and dancers?
"To young artists, study histories of experiences with the business and elders and their journeys. To dancers, the music is the key, explore as much music as you can to help inspire creativity and exploration."
Do you think social media has more positive effect on the dance community or a negative effect?
"It has a more positive effect. There are negative moments with human interaction, thoughts and opinions but overall I believe it has a more positive impact. Some of these dance forms survived for over 45 years and this says so much about its importance in the world & community."
