Keeping it old school
Kwende Kefentse
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Lacasse: "Our story is as good as any of the ones you'd hear in New York and it happened right here in Ottawa"
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Ottawa's world-famous Canadian Floor Masters turn 25
It is a safe bet that in 1983 the majority of the hip-hop listening world was not even born yet. It was the year after the influential film Wild Style and the beginning of an era that would see hip-hop disseminated widely through film and television. Films like Breakin', Beat Street, Style Wars and, perhaps the most influential of all, an infamous 30-second clip from Flashdance would help take the culture, especially the breakdance or b-boy form, far beyond New York's boroughs. Yet who could have known that Ottawa would be such fertile soil?During the 1980s, Ottawa's Canadian Floor Masters evolved from humble origins into one of the world's most established b-boy crews. Under the tutelage and stewardship of Stephen Leafloor (a.k.a. Buddha), the crew has even become a pioneering social work team recently, organizing groundbreaking initiatives within Canada's First Nations communities and demonstrating what he believes to be hip-hop's transformative power.
"Really, what we do is show the way that hip-hop is a natural fit in the social work field - social work is what it does. We just need to articulate how it deals with a sense of control in one's life, which deals with empowerment," explains Leafloor. Since their first project in Iqaluit in 2006, Leafloor's Blueprint for Life team and the Canadian Floor Masters have been getting more attention; MTV's 4 Real even approached them about profiling their unique outreach efforts.
But how does a crew, who
got their name from the legendary New York City Breakers crew, get a start in Ottawa? For that you need the other half of the story.Wayne Lacasse (a.k.a. Kid Quick, a.k.a. Mr. Quick), co-founder of the Floor Masters, grew up in the Vanier-Overbrook area. "It was considered at the time as one of the roughest and most dangerous areas in Canada," he says, unloading vintage medallions, jackets and T-shirts on top of the table we're meeting at.
Growing up poor in his single-parent home, where his mother developed a substance abuse problem, the young Lacasse would escape to Lancaster Skate Lanes to unwind. That was where he saw Tribal Machine, a local dance group, and had his first real interaction with street dance culture and black music.
"I was watching a lot of What's Happenin', Donny & Marie and Soul Train etc.- I just loved it. The fashion was attractive, the music just stole my soul and I found myself different than all of my other friends because they were rocker guys, into Top 20, cookie-cutter stuff."
Like so many others around the world, Lacasse had a moment of realization. "I put two and two together - I liked music and dance and couldn't afford hockey and all of the rest, we didn't have that. But I wanted to be somebody. I wanted someone to notice me."
"One day, I saw Buddha at Rideau High School with a couple of guys from a crew called Freestyle Express. I was with a crew called the Ottawa City Crew, at the time, formed by a guy called Abbas. So I did a little floorwork and he obviously thought that I would be a good addition to his crew. But I was with the Ottawa City Crew and arrogant - I didn't think that I really needed them."
Still, after an inspirational demonstration at the Almonte Canoe Club in 1983, Lacasse would join with Leafloor to create the Canadian Floor Masters crew. He would later realize that uniting with Leafloor would be one of the best decisions of his life.
"I think that we took it for granted at the time. We were just a local group doing our thing. But coming from what I had? I didn't think that I would live past 50. I didn't see the future - I just saw hell. I felt like I was being trained to be like where I came from. This made me break away."
Towards the end of '84, the stage was set for a grand battle between local rivals Dynamic crew and the more dedicated Canadian Floor Masters crew. The battle between the rivals was arranged for the Nepean Sportsplex. All of the b-boy crews in town, about four or five in total, were in attendance. The Spanish Beat Connection, a notoriously tough crew, were de facto referees and security.
"Every time [Dynamic crew] challenged one of our guys, we took them out," relates Lacasse. "The crowd was screaming and, by the end, we didn't have to hear who won - we knew."
That victory galvanized the original Canadian Floor Masters crew. They would go on to affiliate themselves with the New York City Breakers, eventually having the opportunity to open for them on tour in Russia. The Floor Masters' ranks grew and they opened high-profile shows for James Brown and Ice-T. They even did a private show in 1985 for the Russian Kirov Ballet at the National Arts Centre, surrounded by wary KGB agents.
"Without Buddha, I don't think that the group would have lasted - I'll be the first to admit it," says Lacasse. "But our story is as good as any of the ones you'd hear in New York and it happened right here in Ottawa. A lot of people would be surprised."
Canadian Floor Masters
25th Anniversary
@ Dom Polski Hall
(379 Waverley)
2 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Info: www.canadianfloormasters.com
Hi there. I want to know if your group would come to Moberly Lake BC for a workshop? Our kids futures may depend on it. All the kids do around here is drink and drug and I want to help stop that way of thinking. I would like some information on your workshops as to how much you would charge for a community then we will see if we would be able to afford it. I think the kids would be happy to participate in something to lift their self esteem.
We will start a questionaire to see if the kids would participate before we decide any further.
Sincerely,
Beverly Walker
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Beverly Walker
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