Young people who did not seem to have a hope in hell have found a goal and a meaning to their lives by turning to hip-hop dancing. Ming Yeung met a few of them.

Young under-achievers - many facing poor grades in school and having no confidence in themselves at all - are finding their way back on the dance floor, so to speak - or more precisely, as it's known to aficionados of hip-hop and funk - the cypher.

A group of pioneers with a few break moves of their own are helping these kids to shine and get back their self-confidence.

One of the prime movers, Cha Cha, is quite literally the first Hong Kong people to earn top rankings in four major street dance competitions in the United States. He bagged the top spot in the All Style Cypher King competition, third in Heartz and Mind - both in Chicago - second place in Floor Display in New Jersey and fourth in World Bboy Battle #1 in New York City.

It took only three months at the Broadway Dance Center in New York to transform a street kid loner and one-time triad gang banger into a dancin' machine who also learned to tap dance.

So when he walked into the cypher - that empty space shaped by a circle of spectators to battle it out, dancing up a storm with the other "breakers" - he had no end of moves in his improvisational repertoire.

Cha Cha has told his story to some of today's kids like he was, low self-esteem, who might otherwise have been well on their way to get certified with that big L, meaning loser, right in the middle of their forehead.

Cha Cha was only sweet 16 - hangin' out, bein' tough - when he came upon a group of dancers breaking on the marble floor outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Inspired by the flips, windmills, head spins, backspins and all those other dazzling moves, the shy kid mustered the temerity to ask the dancers to teach him how.

The dancers said OK, rather grudgingly, because some were not too happy this nervy kid wanted to crash their exclusive club.

Muscle aches got to be a regular thing. He didn't have the muscle mass and wasn't robust enough to do this back breaking exercise.

Time came for Cha Cha's first battle and he was scared like hell.

Blood-less battles

Hip hop is a culture unto itself that grew among poor African American kids in the 1970s. It's about rap, graffiti art and break dancing, with a couple of other things thrown in. The breaking, locking and popping moves of the dancers has spread over nearly four decades all around the world, to Japan and South Korea and only now is really taking off in Hong Kong.

Breaking - a slang term for getting crazy, came first, then came the jerking, freezing, popping and locking moves funk, and as they say the rest is History.

What passes off as hip-hop dancing today is more often freestyle dance competitions, known as "battles" and like we said the battles are waged in the cypher.

So here's Cha Cha in his first battle with all these other dancers out on the floor, performing their feats of solo improvisation, except Cha Cha could tell these improvisations had been well rehearsed.

"Learning to dance is like learning to write," he explained. "You get familiar with a certain word and then another one until you can compose a piece of writing. Likewise, you get familiar will all sorts of movements, you can connect them and the choreography just comes naturally."

The young disciple of this wisdom straight from the mean streets commenced to divide his time between breaking and hanging out with his triad pals. Time came to make a choice and he said he wanted to dance.

"Reason?" he asks and pauses for effect before letting out a burst of laughter. "It was all about girls. I was not very confident and I really wanted to do something so that I could be cool."

Ling Chan, founder of Youth Outreach's School of Hip Hop, says more than 70,000 young people in Hong Kong leave home every year - double of what it was 10 years ago. Besides, the kids are getting younger all the time.

"Ten years ago, the youngest were 12, 13 years old. Now some of them out on the street at night are 4 and 5 years old," said Chan. She's been working with youth services for 13 years.

Chan blames the increasing number of single-parent families, absentee parents, 24-hour fast food places where kids can just hang out.

Youth Outreach opened a 24-hour Internet bar in 2002 for kids who hate school. The School of Hip Hop, now nearing completion of its eleventh year, opened in 2004.

"We need to be on the same page with the young people in order to help them. What we see in them is their talents. Why don't we give them opportunities to do what they like to do?" she queried. That's how it started. And some of the early "graduates" now teach hip-hop dancing.

"It's a clear message to the young people that if you fail at school, never mind, find a hobby, make it yours," Chan said.

Perseverance pays

Little Fatty is one kid who needed a break. And when he got the break it took him from aimless street kid to boy wonder with a whole career ahead of him in dance.

Same story as you've heard before. Little Fatty was lousy at school. He cut classes way back in Form One and went out to play soccer instead. At 15 he quit school and one day he met an old school friend who was "Wow! He could stand on one hand." Now this had to be real. And that was how Little Fatty, now 23, learned hip-hop dancing.

"In the beginning, I felt this stuff was pretty cool and very challenging. Then slowly, after I'd spent time practicing it, I felt this sense of fulfillment," he said.

"My perseverance worked to my advantage. In the past eight years, not a single moment did I want to give up dancing," he said, adding that he would only take a break when he got hurt. And that happened a few times.

Keeping in mind a life's motto resonating from the slogan of hip hop dance - peace, love, unity and having fun - Little Fatty says has turned him into an optimist. And he's ready to take on whatever comes his way.

Cha Cha gets it. He's a righteous fellow who knows what it's like to have been an "almost loser", and he wants to encourage Hong Kong kids to follow their dreams and get good at something - if not breaking - something else. The resources are there, he says.

"I'm afraid b-boy (breaking dance) will eventually run out of gas (in Hong Kong) since there's not much improvement over the years. Young people have a lot of entertainment choices. They are not really hungry for anything," Cha Cha said, recalling his days in the US and having seen homeless kids in the slums dancing with wild abandon even though they had empty pockets.

For a city so hung up on qualifications, diplomas, international certificates and little gold stars, he thinks street dancing is another way for kids to learn to feel good about themselves - and things that make people feel good about themselves are pretty important. Some dancers like Little Fatty may even be able to make a career of it.

Cha Cha feels the recognition earned from accredited overseas studios and academies has made a big difference to his life. "The certificates are a proof of years of hard work - that of endless pursuit of excellence," he says. "Dancing not only gives you bread, it gives you a goal of life."

Contact the writer at mingyeung@chinadailyhk.com

Young dancers from 14 groups performed at "YO! Dance it UP! 2015" on Saturday. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Young people who fail at school find a life goal in hip-hop dancing. Roy Liu / China Daily

Little Fatty performed at "YO! Dance it UP! 2015" on April 18, after years of hard work. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Youth Outreach's School of Hip Hop, opened in 2004, is near completion of its eleventh year. Roy liu / China Daily

Cha Cha thinks the dancing recognition earned from accredited overseas studios and academics can help dancers make a career of it. Roy Liu / China Daily

(HK Edition 04/20/2015 page8)