65
Thursday, June 7, 1984/The Battalion/Page 7
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Breakdancing teaches unity
United Press International
BOSTON — The throbbing
music ignites the imaginations
and bodies of the excited young
sters awaiting the signal from in
structors Duggin and Marlene
Hill.
With the boys and girls spread
over a basketball court, Hill
shouts, “OK, let’s see your stuff.”
As the more advanced mem
bers of the class polish their
“windmills” and the beginners
concentrate on “waves,” these or
dinarily gang-oriented adoles
cents are united in the comradery
of break dancing.
The Hills, teaching free classes
in 10 neighborhoods in Boston
each week, are determined to mo
tivate aimless, bored and violence-
prone youth with the lure of an
acrobatic style of dancing born on
New York City streets.
“What you see is raw, wild tal
ent,” Hill said, as 50 participants
ranging from gawky but diligent
4-year-olds to streetwise teens
concentrated on the latest dance
craze with its mix of disco steps,
acrobatics and marionette-like
movements.
The Hills, used to the sophisti
cated modern jazz numbers of
Las Vegas nightclubs and the
Playboy Club circuit, have found
their biggest challenge in turning
youths off drugs and delinquency
and onto break dancing.
“The kids know they can’t get
high and manage the body twirls,
spins and flips they’re so anxious
to learn,” Mrs. Hill said.
“Since the maneuvers we teach
and those they create can be prac
ticed anywhere, they finally have
something to occupy their time,”
she said. She added they can
break dance on the street, on a
piece of cardboard over the pave
ment.
“Break dancing is a real break
through for these youngsters. It
directs their energies toward
something positive. It also pro
motes sharing and cooperation,”
Mrs. Hill said, adding these were
qualities previously alien to many
of them.
Noticing the restlessness of the
youngsters living in her own
neighborhood, Mrs. Hill, 29, and
her husband, who is 31, decided
to start break dancing lessons in a
nearby park.
“The kids loved it,” Mrs. Hill
said.
Soon the couple’s 1 apartment
was filled with youthful enthu
siasts diligently working their way
from the simplest body gestures
to the more difficult “breaks” —
floor movements such as the
“windmill” spin on the back while
bringing the legs overhead.
Even the LI ill’s 4-year-old son is
infatuated with his new pastime.
The sessions became so popu
lar the Hills decided to offer them
throughout the city in facilities
supplied by the Parks and Recre
ation Department.
The turnout overhelmed ev
eryone except the Hills, who di
vided the hundreds of aspiring
break dancers into smaller groups
of 50 the pair could handle.
The Hills find that tension be
tween different ethnic and racial
groups evaporates as youngsters
synchronize into routines. Kids
who used to quarrel now delight
in forming a line and moving
their arms to simulate the motions
of a wave.
Young girls who previously
balked at exercising now good-na
turedly limber up with Mrs. Hill,
adapting their stretches and leaps
to the music.
“I’m really getting into it,”
gushed Kari McBee, 11, acknowl
edging she would be “watching
soap operas or hanging around”
if it were not for the lessons.
Pointing to her prancing
friends, Kari said, “What we’d
really like is to become good
enough to perform as a group.”
“The discipline they learn here
carries over to other areas of their
lives,” Mrs. Hill said. Grateful
parents tell her of their child’s im
proved attitude and better eating
habits to keep in shape.
The Hills discourage head
spins, citing the possibility of bro
ken necks, and continually em
phasize proper weight distribu
tion to avoid unnecessary sprains.
The desire to emulate the suc
cessful, professional break groups
and their symmetry is the most
positive motivation, Hill said.
“These kids are streetwise,” he
said. “Nothing has captured their
imaginations like breaking.”
Disney purchases
greeting card firm
United Press International
BURBANK, Calif. —- Walt Dis
ney Productions continued its
corporate buying spree, announc
ing Wednesday it plans to acquire
Gibson Greetings Inc., the na
tion’s third largest greeting card
company, for an estimated $300
million in Disney common stock.
The Gibson acquisition is Dis
ney’s second major corporate
purchase in as many weeks. At a
May 17 press conference, Disney
Chairman Raymond Watson and
President Ron Miller announced
the purchase of Arvida Corp., a
* Florida-based real estate firm, for
$200 million in Disney stock.
Both moves are widely inter
preted as means to avert a take
over by New York financier Saul
Steinberg, whose family-owned
Reliance Financial Services owns
12.2 percent of Disney stock.
Miller refused at Wednesday’s
press conference to answer any
questions about Steinberg on ad
vice of Disney attorneys, he said.
Disney decided to purchase
Gibson, whose greeting cards
have been sold at Disneyland for
almost 30 years, after conferring
with Disney’s New York invest
ment counselor, Morgan Stanley.
Stanley called the terms of the
merger fair to Disney sharehold
ers.
Gibson was purchased by its
current management from RCA
in 1982 for $80 million. Watson
said it was unfair to compare that
figure with the estimated $300
million Disney will pay for the
greeting card company.
“Nobody would ever buy real
estate if you compared past and
present prices,” Watson said.
For the 12 months ended
March 31, 1984, Gibson showed a
profit of $23.2 million. That fig
ure could be used against Stein
berg if he claims — as he did with
the Arvida acquisition — that the
Gibson purchase will be detri
mental to Disney shareholders.
Gibson, which is based in Cin
cinnati and also has a gift-wrap di
vision, has exclusive rights to use
on its cards the Garfield cartoon
character, Bugs Bunny, Sesame
Street characters and non-exclu-
sive rights to use Disney cartoon
characters.
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