#bboy marvelous

Interviewed by Mary Whitman

1. Name

Charles Joseph Zepeda (B-Boy Marvelous)

2. Age

19

3. Hometown/Current location

San Diego, CA

4. When and how did you begin dancing?

7th Grade at Rancho Del Rey Middle School in Chula Vista, CA

5. What dance teams or projects have you been a part of?

 Teams/ Crews I have been/ am a part of include: Urban Pandas Crew (discontinued), Cloud Walkers Crew [CWC] (current), Surreal Fidelity Dance Team (alumni), Full Effect Show Choir (alumni), Stateside Breaks [of San Diego State University] (current)

6. What are you currently working on now?

I am currently not working on anything special. I just attempt at being the “cypher king” for breaking jams I go to just to establish not only my name, but my crew’s name, Stateside Breaks.

7. What is the importance of a majority of SoCal dancers being Asian?

I believe there is no importance to a majority of Southern California’s dancers being predominantly Asian. There is too much value put on ethnicity that one may lose sight of what it is truly valuable; that being skill, passion, character, and will.

8. What do you think is the relationship between hip hop and the Asian American community?

In terms of the relationship established within the Asian-American community and hip-hop, I believe that within the community Asians believe they have a strong relationship to hip-hop culture, but other ethnicities not involved in Asian-American hip-hop fail to recognize the contribution made by Asian-Americans. “Samurai Champloo” was a great example of Japanese culture blending with hip-hop culture. Anime and hip-hop established by legend Nujabes brought life to old Asian-American culture, including The Way of the Ronin (Samurai). Unfortunately things such as this are unrecognized. Society sticks with stereotypes like “Asians can dance” or “White people can’t dance” which leads to misconceptions. Hip-hop and Asian-American culture may never establish a firm relationship that is universally recognized until ignorance has ceased.

9. What does it mean to be an Asian American dancer?

To be an Asian-American dancer means to spread awareness that hip-hop and Asians do have prominent role in the culture. This however creates a label that draws attention away from my capabilities and character. I do not want to be labeled as an Asian-American dancer, but rather a dancer who happens to be Asian-American.

10. Who are your Asian American dance inspirations?

Inspirations for dance I have include:

 Allan Twiford {Cypher City Kings [CCK]/  Stateside Breaks} He had first inspired me to start dancing when I was in 7th Grade and he was in 8th. I saw him battle someone and I told myself I wanted to do that.

Daniel Campos (B-Boy Cloud) {Skill Methodz Crew} I have always appreciated Cloud’s style as well as speed, which is a skill I crave when I break.

Quest Crew (Season 3 Winners of America’s Best Dance Crew) The work of Quest Crew had inspired me to go further when I was highly active in the b-boy community within my community.