Oral history interview with Ville Thao

Oral history interview with Ville Thao

B-boying/B-girling (Dance)

Break dancing

Hmong people

Smurfs (Crew)

Oral history interview with Ville Thao. Ville Thao was born in Danville, Illinois to Hmong refugee parents. In this oral history, Thao first reflects on his family’s migration history first throughout Asian and then in the United States before finally settling in Southeast Fresno. Once in Southeast Fresno, Thao notes that gangs became more common; in particular, Thao recalls prominent Hmong gangs like TRG (Tiny Rascal Gang) and ABZ (Asian Boyz) ran into conflict with the predominantly Latino, Bulldogs gang. Thao avoided gangs by getting involved in b-boying which he first saw practiced by his older brother Tong at Duncan High School. Thao’s brother Tong was a member of the predominantly Hmong b-boy crew Bumz; Tong eventually left Bumz and co-founded his own crew, Smurfs before leaving it in the hands of Thao and his peers, Boon, Low, Victor and Kong. In Thao’s own words, Smurfs “dominated the scene”, participating in and winning many battles throughout California’s Central Valley but also acknowledges that Fresno b-boys were not yet as advanced as their counterparts in the Bay area. Thao was also active in Roosevelt High School’s b-boy scene where he met many non-Hmong b-boys like Charles Montgomery and Pablo Flores and b-boy crews like Zoomies Dimensions and Mystic Motion. Thao recalls practicing and battling throughout Fresno including at Roeding Park, the Mosqueda Center, and Holmes Playground but also notes that he did not travel to Los Angeles or the Bay area to battle because of the distance and lack of transportation. Overall, Thao credits b-boying with keeping a lot of youth out of gangs.

Slusser, Sean (interviewer)

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

Digital publisher: Claremont Graduate University

2017-04-01

CB

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_0063

Fresno (Calif.)

Southeast Fresno (Calif.)

Theodore Roosevelt High School (Fresno, Calif.)