Ernie Bender Oral History

Ernie Bender Oral History

B-boying/B-girling (Dance)

In this oral history,Ernie Bender discusses his past association with hip-hop and dancing and its impact on today's world. Ernie mentions that he first learned about hip-hop from television and from kids who moved to his town of Squaw Valley,CA from larger cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. He and his friends performed hip-hop dance moves such as popping, moonwalking, and windmilling. Ernie and his crew met other crews throughout California's Central Valley, including cities such as Reedley and Kingsburg. Bender recalls b-boying fading in the late 1980's, and goes on to describe it making a comeback in the early 2000's as evidenced by his own kids attending hip-hop dance classes. Among other things, Bender attributes the revival to the internet and to popular movies like Step it Up. Until he went to an event that featured dance crews from all around the world, he never realized that hip-hop dance had become a global phenomenon.. Bender also mentions that his kids have been instructed and mentored by Charles "Goku" Montgomery, a prominent Fresno b-boy.

Orbock, Joe (interviewer)

Oral history interview, 1 digitized recording, Straight Outta Fresno, Fresno State University

Digital publisher: Claremont Graduate University

The Valley Public History Initiative: Preserving our Stories holds all rights, title, and interest, including literary rights and copyright, to the oral histories and documents collected as part of Straight Outta Fresno: From Popping to B-boys and B-girls project. Oral history narrators retain the non-exclusive right to copy, use, and publish their oral histories during their lifetimes.

MP3

English

Sound

sof_0069

Fresno (Calif.)

Squaw Valley (Calif.)

Reedley (Calif.)

Kingsburg (Calif.)