B-boy FourEyes Ng Yiu Cheong - Hong Kong Breakdance Coach: "I'll go to great lengths for dance."
【Never Give Up Column】Breaking, translated as "霹靂舞" in Chinese, is a style of street dance that will become one of the competition events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking the world by storm. In fact, there have always been many popular street dance movies released, such as the most famous "Step Up" series, which has a total of 5 installments; Hong Kong also has its representative works, "The Way We Dance" and its sequel "The Way We Dance 3," featuring passionate dance stories.
This time, the Never Give Up guest column is truly remarkable. We are honored to have B-boy Four Eyes Ng Yiu-cheong, a Hong Kong Breaking coach, for an exclusive interview. He has been dancing for 19 years and served as a judge for the "Hong Kong Breaking Olympic Ranking Competition" two years ago. Currently, he primarily focuses on education, such as assisting the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in promoting dance activities and teaching dance experience classes at schools. In addition, Four Eyes continues to participate in competitions as an athlete, pursuing his own goals.
"My name is B-boy Four Eyes, and I've been breaking in Hong Kong for 19 years!"
Why did you start learning Breaking?
"Around 15, I used to play basketball and hang out with friends at 'Po Bar' (Sai Wan Ho Youth Centre). One day, I saw a Breaking interest class for just $100 for 8 lessons, so I decided to sign up and that's how I got into Breaking. Later, I found out that the person teaching us was one of the most prominent breakers at the time. Back then, I was at 'Po Bar' dancing three or four days a week, and I've been dancing ever since." Four Eyes encountered Breaking by chance, and as the saying goes, it's easy to start but hard to maintain. So, why has he been able to keep dancing for 19 years? "Because Breaking is really fun. Even after all these years, I still haven't mastered all the moves in Breaking. It constantly gives me new challenges. After practicing with my right hand, I can train my left hand if it's not strong enough, then both hands. Then I can practice footwork, or try difficult floor moves, aerial moves, and so on. So, after all these years, I'm still constantly trying new things and learning."
"Breaking always gives me new challenges, that's why I've been dancing for so many years."
Dance is an artistic sport
"Breaking is not just a sport; it contains artistic elements. For example, everyone in class might learn the same Breaking steps, but the style, feeling, and ideas presented can be different. That's the fun part! Even now, I still really love Breaking!" Breaking is a highly individual and artistic sport known for its difficult moves. Dancers use their hands, head, and body to spin on the floor, and use their limbs to execute complex footwork variations on the ground. With fast footwork and large body rotations, it's a relatively challenging street dance. Breaking moves can generally be categorized into four elements: TopRock, Footwork, Powermoves, and Freezes.
"Everyone learns the same dance moves, but the style, feeling, and ideas presented can be different"
Balance between Dance and Life
Making a living in Hong Kong is tough; it's difficult to get by on a full-time job alone, let alone spending money to pursue one's hobbies. But there are indeed many "crazy" people in Hong Kong who scrimp and save for their passions, and Four Eyes is definitely one of them. "Initially, I worked as a salesperson. I'd finish work quite late, maybe 10 PM, then go dance for a while, go home to sleep, and wake up early for work the next day. I kept that up for two or three years. Plus, it was hard to take time off as a salesperson, but many dance competitions are on Saturdays and Sundays. So, I made a firm decision to find a nine-to-five job, so I could compete on weekends. The main thing was that I could leave work at 6 PM and go dancing, which allowed me to maintain my livelihood and my dancing."
Anyone who's experienced it knows that balancing hobbies and life in Hong Kong isn't easy at all. Four Eyes made a bold decision to adjust his work around his beloved Breaking. "Over time, I felt that work was taking up too much of my time, and I didn't have enough time for dancing. For example, compared to B-boys in other countries, they often spend more time dancing than working. We only have a little time after work in the evenings to dance. So, once, when I wanted to go to an international competition and my company wouldn't let me take leave, I quit my job!"
"My company wouldn't let me take leave to dance in an overseas competition, so I quit my job!"
For the sake of dancing, he quit his job. In Hong Kong, the hardest thing is maintaining a livelihood, but for Four Eyes, he has no regrets because the world he sees is more valuable than his job. "After traveling abroad, I absorbed a lot and, upon reflection, I felt I needed to dedicate more effort to dancing to reach the Next Level. So, at that point, I decided not to return to full-time work and aimed to become a full-time B-boy." "Being a full-time B-boy isn't easy, but I really like my current lifestyle. Soon, I'll be teaching Breaking experience classes in schools. Although it doesn't pay a lot, it covers my living expenses and gives me ample time to practice!"
"I dedicated more effort to dancing to reach the Next Level, so I decided not to workfull-time and become a full-time B-boy"
Understanding and Promoting Street Dance Culture
When it comes to street dance, the public may misunderstand it, believing it to be synonymous with rebellion, and prematurely associating dancers with "street kids." In the past, cultural centers, parks, and even underpasses were popular spots for dancers to spar and battle, but they were increasingly driven away by too many public complaints. This led dancers to shift to indoor studios for their exchanges, making it harder for the public to learn about street dance culture. "Hong Kong definitely has fewer people doing it! For example, some international competitions offer flights and accommodation for the winners of the Hong Kong qualifier, but only about 30 B-boys participate. One reason is the generational gap; there aren't many newcomers joining. Before, every district had a B-boy crew, but now it's always the same familiar faces." "Also, Breaking initially had low transparency and was associated with street kids. There were always reports linking street kids to B-boys, which I don't agree with! Nowadays, children have so many things they can get involved in. Parents won't let you just learn one thing; you have to learn several, which means none of them are learned in depth."
"There are always reports that street kids are B-boys, but I don't agree!"
In light of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) desire to attract more young people to the Olympics and to rejuvenate the Olympic Games, breakdancing 1-on-1 battle has been confirmed as a competition event for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Making its debut on the Olympic stage, this is a recognition for breakdancers, yet promotion and transparency are still lacking. "Until the Olympics announced that Breaking was an event, we didn't see B-boys under 13 years old. Even in the 14-17 youth category, there were only about 15 participants. In the adult category, there were at most 30-40 people." "In recent years, I've seen many dance shows in China and Korea, which really showed the general audience what Breaking, Locking, Popping, etc. are. This indirectly turned many participants into celebrities, and it's good for more people to learn about dancing. But don't forget your original intention, keep competing to improve yourself. Hong Kong actually had dance shows, but unfortunately, they were suspended for some reason."
"Dancing needs something to chase! Without something to chase, you don't know why you're dancing!"
Persist in dancing to chase dreams — undeterred by hitting a plateau
"Now I can tell my students that dancing Breaking can lead to representing Hong Kong and participating in the Olympics. At least there's one more dream for people to chase." Dreams and reality seem incompatible, but after my conversation with Four Eyes, I deeply realized that people with dreams understand how to live in the present better. As long as you follow the direction your heart truly wants to go, don't just dream, take action to turn your dreams into goals.
"Whenever I hit a plateau, I tell myself to go back to basics and remember why I started dancing! For all these years, I've relied on the freshness of dancing to give me things to chase and practice. Participating in competitions constantly reminds me that sometimes I might not feel it, or I'm tired and want to take a break, but as soon as I think about an upcoming competition in the US in April, I get fired up and continue practicing. There are many competitions every year for me to enter, and I've set my sights on international competitions."
"I can tell my students: you can dance Breaking all the way to the Olympics. At least it gives people another dream to chase!"
What does "Never Give Up" mean?
"Many people have many excuses to give up dancing, besides hitting a plateau, there's no money, or a girlfriend. Plenty of people give up dancing because they found a girlfriend, there are many external factors that lead to giving up. The venue can also be a reason, but you can actually dance anywhere, even on the ground, it just depends on whether you want to do it."
"I rarely use or think about the phrase 'Never Give Up' because I believe if you truly love this sport, you won't even consider it, so I don't really think about it. People always talk about how old they can dance until, but when you watch videos, there are still people in their forties and fifties doing headspins, so why would you give up?!"
"Persisting for 19 years is because I truly feel that I genuinely love this sport! It comes from the heart!"
I really want to say on behalf of Never Give Up, "Proud of you! We will continue to support you! Thank you for sharing your sport and sharing your love!"
By Ho.W.K.
NGU