Nocturnal paradox: how breakdancing reveals the potentials of the night

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    Abstract

    This chapter is an exploration into how breakdancing (‘breaking’) can be a vehicle for understanding the inherent tensions and dualities of the night, or what I term the ‘nocturnal paradox’. It moves beyond hegemonic discourses and regulations of night-time culture that are increasingly focused on its economic valorisation to show how breaking – an activity in Sydney (Australia) that exists outside economic transactions – can offer a means to experience and navigate the nocturnal city in new ways. At a time when the strict regulation of lockout laws has spurred a slow decline in the economic-viability of nocturnal cultural activities in Sydney, breakers utilise the empty urban landscape to freely experiment with creative expression. This chapter moves beyond the often-limited and paradoxical framings of night-time culture to show how breaking reveals the potentials of the night.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationNocturnes
    Subtitle of host publicationpopular music and the night
    EditorsGeoff Stahl, Giacomo Bottà
    Place of PublicationCham
    PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
    Chapter10
    Pages147-162
    Number of pages16
    ISBN (Electronic)9783319997865
    ISBN (Print)9783319997858
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Publication series

    NamePop Music, Culture, and Identity
    PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
    VolumePart F1525
    ISSN (Print)2634-6613
    ISSN (Electronic)2634-6621

    Keywords

    • Popular Music
    • Culture

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