Trapped in the vibe

Follow the music.

It’s how dozens of passersby have been discovering a new weekly dance program at The Forks hosted by uber-positive dance teachers and DJs Eugene (GeNie) Baffoe and Marvin Joseph Barawid, a.k.a. B-boy Majo.

For the last two weeks, the pair has been blasting hip-hop music from the rooftops, beckoning dancers of all stripes to join the party.

“We had, at one point, about 60 people on the top floor of the parkade, having a good time,” Baffoe says. “There’s plenty of street dancers from the community and also randoms that hear the music and are like, ‘What’s going on here?’ Then they get trapped in the vibe and never leave.”

The Wednesday night events are part of Play at The Forks, a new summertime initiative designed to draw visitors to the downtown greenspace with free recreational programming and lessons.

However, the hip-hop dance sessions didn’t start as sanctioned events.

During the pandemic, Barawid set up speakers in the skate park and started hosting weekly battles and practices with his dance crew, the GAGO Brothers (which stands for “Good Attitude Great Outcome”). The sessions quickly became a public affair.

“People were more than welcome to jump in if they wanted and we then (would) teach them a move or two,” he says.

Outdoor, communal events have been part of Barawid’s dance journey since the beginning. As a teenager in the Philippines, he gained a reputation by dancing in the streets — literally.

“I would just block the street and assign someone to watch the other end for oncoming vehicles,” he says. “It was to give some room, or like a home, for dancers to just explore and have fun with their craft.”

Barawid is a self-taught breakdancer whose interest in the artform was piqued after watching the early aughts movie You Got Served. He copied the onscreen moves before developing his own style and eventually turned his community dance battles into a form of outreach for local youth.

He moved to Winnipeg in 2009 and linked up with the GAGO Brothers, an opportunity that expanded his knowledge of breakdancing and hip-hop culture. Today, he teaches dance classes through Graffiti Art Programming.

Barawid and Baffoe have known each other for more than a decade as battle opponents and collaborators within the local street-dance community.

Baffoe, whose family hails from Ghana and who was born in Montreal, grew up in a household full of music and dancing.

He fell in love with hip hop after watching his sister’s dance recital and begging her to teach him some moves. She assigned him the moonwalk and said if he could master it in two weeks, she would take him on as a mentee.

“After two months, she put me out of my misery and was like, ‘OK, I guess you’re serious about this, I’ll teach you some moves,’” Baffoe says. “From there, I recorded every Michael Jackson, ‘N SYNC, Britney Spears music video I could get my hands on just to learn the choreography.”

The family moved to Winnipeg when Baffoe was a teen. He danced with peers in high school before discovering the local street-dance community and is now artistic director of the BOSS (Built On Self Success) dance crew.

Baffoe and Barawid are both major boosters of the local dance community. Partnering with The Forks has given them another avenue to promote the style and bring newcomers into the fold.

“Our goal is always to find ways to show people that we’re here,” Baffoe says. “Winnipeg has got some of the most talented street dancers in the country and the world, I would argue. So finding ways to get together and train, but also showcase what we do in our city and create support … that’s the idea.”

Accessibility is another benefit of the free weekly dance sessions.

“Having it outdoors is easy access for us to meet up and share common interests and have fun at the same time,” Barawid adds.

The dance sessions run from 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday until the fall. The format includes casual lessons, demonstrations and a freestyle dance jam. The group currently meets at the top of the parkade but will relocate to the greenspace near the Winnipeg sign after the conclusion of the World Police and Fire Games later this month. Visit theforks.com for more information.

[email protected]

Twitter: @evawasney

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