ALL THE RIGHT MOVES 'RIZE' TAKES KRUMP DANCING FROM THE STREETS TO THE SILVER SCREEN.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

While the subjects of his documentary ``Rize'' were on the streets or in arenas, shaking every part of their anatomy, director David LaChapelle stayed behind his camera, never succumbing to the urge to get out and join the dance to ``get krumped,'' as the terminology goes.

LaChapelle, a New York-raised photographer and video director, laughs off the very idea.

``You just can't get up there and just do it. You'll kill yourself,'' he says. ``But it did inspire me. It inspired me in different ways.''

In this case, those who don't krump take pictures of those who do. And with that distance comes perspective.

``Can you ride your bike alongside Lance Armstrong? Can you compete with gymnasts in the Olympics tomorrow? No you can't. You could fake it, but you're not going to be anywhere near that level of athleticism,'' says LaChapelle. ``The dancers go on 'Regis and Kelly' and it's 'Can you teach us to krump?' That makes it cute, but you know this isn't about this little dance trend.

``It's art and you have to practice it,'' he adds. ``You have to live it and get obsessed with it to be any good at it.''

Krumping and its precursor, clown dancing, refer to styles of dance developed in South Central Los Angeles in response to the riots of 1992. The krump dancing of ``Rize'' - which opened Friday - blends elements of hip-hop, martial arts, stripper gyrations and African tribal rituals. The krump philosophy may focus on positive energy, but the moves themselves come across as angry, purging and - in competition - almost violent.

Juxtaposed against life in Watts and presented as an artistic, rage-channeling alternative to gang activity, krumping is no longer an underground phenomenon. Monthly Battle Zone competitions take place at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. In 2003, Thomas Johnson (aka Tommy the Clown) held a Battle Zone at the Great Western Forum.

``Krump is like a liberation process. It frees you up from everything you've been taught as a child: what's hot in the dance world, what's considered beautiful, what's considered sexual, what's considered cool,'' says Jason ``Dragon'' Green, a ``Rize'' performer without a dance background. ``It frees all boundaries and says you are free to be a living being. I believe krumpness is in touch with God.''

Lil ``C,'' one of the dancers of ``Rize'' and the man credited with developing krump dancing with fellow dancer Tight Eyez, talks about the movements as though they are a form of meditation.

``Some people may be dancing, and they'll scream and then they'll sock the ground, but in a rhythmic fashion,'' says Lil ``C,'' 22. ``It's the beat taking you over. You're manifesting your problems, but you're using the negativity to create something really positive. Which is the trick.

``You wouldn't catch someone in the Palisades krumping because they have no opportunity to get out of the 'hood because they're not in the 'hood,'' he continues. ``There's no oppression in the Palisades. When you live where we live, there's so much weight upon you.''

It was that weight that first inspired ex-con Thomas Johnson to put on a clown wig and makeup, tote his boom box to a friend's birthday party, develop a new style of dancing and embark on a new career as a neighborhood icon.

Lil ``C'' recalls first spotting Tommy at a birthday party, and not knowing quite what to make of this clown who was, well, cool.

``It's a clown but he's got on sneakers, not clown shoes, and this kind of cool little whistle and he's doing, like, these hip-hop dance moves,'' recalls Lil ``C.'' ``He was the hippest clown I'd ever seen. He had style. Tommy the hip-hop clown.''

Lil ``C'' and friend Tight Eyez eventually joined Tommy and the Hip Hop Clowns. A couple of years later, utilizing a different style of music, creating their own form of dance and with entertaining children no longer being the goal, they broke off to do their own thing. Krumping had begun.

``Another trend was rearing its head,'' says Lil ``C.'' ``Tommy got wind of it, and he said, 'What's krump dancing?' When he heard our names were involved, he was like, `Oh I know it has to be amazing. They used to dance with my crew.' ''

LaChapelle followed both trends purely from the perspective of a fan of the dance and a ``tourist'' of life in South Central. He watched competitions, interviewed performers and their families, and shot hundreds of hours of footage. ``Rize'' is meant to be uplifting, but the director does not shy away from the difficult lifestyles of its players. Poverty, broken families, gang activity and even death are all part of the ``Rize'' landscape.

``I felt like, here are kids from the hardest families with gangster siblings and friends, drug addictions in their families, and all kinds of issues and problems they've had to deal with,'' says LaChapelle, who now carries the designation of official ``krump photographer.'' ``They chose to create, to make something of themselves. So it was an important story,''

And a popular one. Tommy the Clown and the 20-somethings Lil ``C,'' Miss Prissy, Tight Eyez and Dragon have risen with ``Rize'' just as LaChapelle says he promised would happen.

``If you have the talent, you want people to see it. You want people to know it,'' he says. ``These are Los Angeles kids. They weren't plucked from a village somewhere in Eastern Europe. They're living right here. They were exposed to this kind of stuff and they wanted to be entertainers. So now they're experiencing a taste of that.''

The glamour and flash of ``Rize''-related publicity and recognition are in contrast to the lives these dancers came from and - in many cases - still inhabit. Lil ``C'' may choreograph for artists like Christina Milian and Missy Elliott, but he still lives in the same South Central neighborhood where he was raised.

``I'm not out of the 'hood. I'm in the same place I've lived for 15 years with my mom and little brother,'' he says. ``People see me on talk shows, videos and whatnot. And it's like, 'Oh man, you did great. You did this, you did that.' I did all right. Everything that happened to me, I know it's a blessing, so I know that it didn't come from me. I just try to remain the same humble Lil 'C' that I am.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) `RIZE' and shine

Documentary tells story of L.A. dance phenomenon

(2) David LaChapelle, director of ``Rize''

(3) Lil ``C,'' one of the dancers of ``Rize'' and the man credited with co-developing krump dancing

(4) Lil ``C,'' left, and Jason ``Dragon'' Green are two of the performers featured in ``Rize,'' which chronicles a dance phenomenon born on the streets of South Central Los Angeles.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer