1. Buy something directly from the artists

Musicians, filmmakers, painters and a lot of other artists sell their work. In today’s internet age, buying from them is often only a mouse click away – and not affected by Covid-19 regulations at all.

2. Take online classes

Especially in our dance world, teaching is one of the most reliable forms of income, which is off the table for many in a lockdown. Tech-savvy dancers take their classes to the internet. Join online dance-classes to get your regular dose of dancing and support your favourite teachers, while doing so.

3. Spread the word

This point does not involve any financial commitment. Still, it goes a long way by exposing artists to a bigger audience. Simply share the work of your artist friends on social media. Does someone offer a dance class? Give them a shoutout and let people know why the course is great.

Someone released new music? Share their Spotify or Bandcamp. Sharing art is golden, no matter if we deal with Corona or not.

4. Engage in social media

Another point that goes without spending any money: drop some likes and comments on social media. All these platforms are data-driven, and the algorithms that decide about the importance of the posts use comments, likes and other interactions to measure. Follow the artists on all platforms you use, this rates them higher as well.

5. Become a patron

Some artists have set up ways to send them money via Patreon, Ko-Fi or similar services. If you have some change, there is your chance.

6. Be a voice

When there are public events, petitions or similar ways that can be used to get in touch with government institutions to raise awareness for the topic. Be there.

7. Validate their work

Let people know, what you think about the artist’s work. There are a lot of rating systems and platforms out there, that play a central role in the perception of art, especially when people want to find out about artists they did not know before. Some are built-in into your favourite social media platforms but most of them are not.

When the artists have stuff available on Amazon or other online shopping platforms, rate their products. You don’t have to give it 5 stars if you don’t think the work deserves it, but 4 and even 3 stars are better for discovery than no review. Same goes for artist pages on Facebook, ratings on Google Maps, Tripadvisor (if we talk about venues or stores) and every other rating system you can think of. The more reviews, the better. In the Corona lockdown, people are more likely to shop online, so help them to make it easy, to buy from artists.

While none of us alone will save artists or people who work in culture from bankruptcy, the combined help might secure people’s ability to do the work that matters to them, instead of going back to a job that pays better but does nothing to relieve people from stress, inspire thought or entertain. Imagine a lockdown without music, movies, books or clips from fellow dancers on youtube. Doesn’t sound so funny to me.

Der Beitrag How to support art and culture in the Corona lockdown? erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.

The reality is, there are many ways we can help that depend on your situation, where you live, what you do, and in which community you are spending your time. For example, donating, signing petitions, send emails to authorities, supporting protests, find an NGO to work with, share news to your circles that would otherwise go unheard, and much more. When you flex your google skills a little, you will come up with more than enough things that you can do that are tailored specifically to you.

I will not talk about these specific things. Instead, I want to suggest one thing every human can do to purge racism. I did not come up with this myself, and I did not think I will write about the topic in the first place. I tried to process an overwhelming flood of information from people much more knowledgeable and most likely smarter than me to find the right way to help that works for me. Below I will share how I think that we can really combat racism.

Our responsibility against racism?

We must embrace the mindset that “racism ends with me.” Racism and oppression of people based on race burnt themselves into humanity over generations. Sadly, we can’t change the past and are not responsible for what our ancestors did. But every single one of us is responsible for what happens now and in the future. Doing that work is not an option. It is our responsibility.

The beauty of “racism ends with me” is that the theory is simple to understand. We need to do everything we can in our daily lives to stop racism when we experience it. If we all do this, racism would be gone in one generation. That is, most likely, not going to happen. But the more people join the cause, the faster it will.

How will it end with us?

1. Educate yourself about the problem. It is not someone else’s responsibility to teach you. Try to get high-quality information. Talking to people is best, but you can also research on alternative social media platforms to avoid censorship and filter bubbles.
2. Speak up when you encounter racism in your daily life. Just speak up instead of looking away. At work, in your family, with your friends, in public transport, wherever. And don’t vote for the wrong people when it’s election day.
3. Examine yourself to find every influence of racism in your beliefs, your mindset, and everything you think you know. Then get rid of it, dissolve it, destroy it. Some of us have been taught over generations that racism is right, but it’s not. If you can’t fix it yourself, get help. Most of us will need it. It’s similar to overcoming trauma.
4. Don’t pass it on to your children. Your kids can never see you commit an act of racism. They need to see you stand up against it. Children learn by watching you. If you do right, so will they. Get rid of your racist behaviour, and they will not learn it. If you fail, you put the responsibility on them.

Sounds simple enough to me, but it will be incredibly hard to pull off. It will hurt to see where our own minds are corrupted by the plague that is racism. It will be uncomfortable to raise our voices against idiots who still think it is OK to treat our black brothers and sisters like second class. And it will be exhausting to do it all the time. But that does not matter because it is the right thing to do, and all our discomfort is nothing compared to the suffering of generations of black people.

“White feelings should never be held in higher regard than black lives.”

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle

I want my daughter to tell her children that grandpa was “one of the guys who made a difference” instead of “yes, they knew but chose to remain silent.”

What about you?

#blacklivesmatter

Der Beitrag What can we do to fight racism? erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.

This list is for sure not complete but if you have spots or events to add, shoot me a message per email, in the comments or via any social media channel and I will add whatever you got. Thank you everyone for the support. Let’s check out Vienna and let me know which city we shall cover next.

Practise Spots

The first question that comes up most of the time: “where can we practise”? Here is a shortlist of places you can check out.

• The skatepark at the subway station “Längenfeldgasse” is a spot that b-boys and b-girls from Vienna use for practice
• Same goes for the halfpipe on the Donauinsel (thx for these two tips to Rudi Natterer)
• There is an Open Floor for all styles, that is happening twice a month, most of the time with the support of a DJ. Dates are available in the Facebook Group. (thx for this one to Tina Rauter)
• Tuesdays there is a breaking Open Floor at Fünferhaus. 18:00 to 20:00. (thx for sharing to Jan Janko)
• Also on Tuesdays, there is another Open Floor at WUK. 21:00. (thx Maira West and Kai Vel)

Parties

Good parties are hard to find. For now, we have two of them to check out:

• A party called Jack is a new monthly club night. Finest house vibes will make you move in no time. (highly recommended by Tina Rauter and Maira West)
• Funk Food brings the music to the masses, so you can seriously get down. I quote from their own page: The crowd is a beautiful representation of New York City soul and Vienna home-grown urban style. (shared by Mark Rodriguez, thx man)
• Eat Slay Love is Vienna’s premier Voguing Event hosted by Plenvm Ninja. Infos about it and more stuff on the thriving Vienna Voguing scene including classes, workshops and more parties is available on the facebook page of Voguing Vienna.
• Rockstep is a monthly Swing and Lindy Hop Party serving the music and dance culture from the late 20s to early 50s. Check the events section of Aera Wien for the next dates. (thx for the recommendation to Arne Haubner)
• New Style Hustle – Vienna brings you sessions where you can enjoy the free exchange of two beautiful souls unified in dance.

Studios, Classes and Workshops

Sadly I don’t know all of these studios by myself so I have to provide a simple list without comments. As soon as I find the time to check them out, I will add more infos.

• The Unity Dance Studio
• Empire Dance Studio
• Flow Motion Studios
• DMC Verein
• Vienna Dance Center

And more to come

I hope this list will be alive and grow whenever I have the time to visit Vienna and when residents share their dance spots. I also want to add events and spot that are indirectly related like record stores and hip hop labels that have stores, but this is a work in progress. Whenever you have something to add, let me know in the comments, via social media or per email.

Thx to everyone for the support.
Peace

Der Beitrag Where to dance in Vienna? erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.

What I want to talk about today are three easy ways that everyone can utilise to support and keep the momentum for everyone going. Things that most people don’t think about when talking about community backing.

Be at the events, take a class or visit a show

While a lot of people think about organising jams or teaching as a way of support, there is another side to it as well. Being at the events or in the class is also a kind of support? How so, you ask? Given that you pay for your entry or for being in the class you support the promoters or the teacher and therefore enable them to invest their time in doing what they do. This helps the scene grow. Same goes if someone has a gig.

On the other hand: If you could afford to buy a ticket but try to get on the guest list every time, you actually decide not to fully back the guys that are doing their thing.

Spread the Word

Often overlooked but it goes a long way. Tell people about what is happening. Do it in person if you meet someone who might be interested. Hit that like and share buttons on social media. It costs you nothing but a click but potentially shows the event to dozens of interested people, sometimes hundreds or even thousands.

If only one of the newly reached guys comes, it was worth it.

Buy from your community

This is not only true for food. Hip Hop has many small clothing labels, independent DJs, music producers and more creative peeps that create stuff. Buying their clothes, albums or whatever they are creating instead of the shirt at H&M or listening to their music only via Youtube, once again enables them to keep going.

Here you have it, three easy ways to support your community that do not require extraordinary amounts of time, skills or dedication.

If you can think about more of them, let me know in the comments.

Der Beitrag Supporting the community erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.

It’s that time of the year again. Circle Industry is going down next weekend and the b-boy and b-girls are gathering in our small city to find out who can beat the invitational guest in 2 vs 2 or the Checkmate battle.

We have an amazing lineup with the Red Bull BC One All Stars, the Squadron, Mafia 13 and United Lifestyle Kings for Checkmate.

Our judges Wicket, Xak and Kuzya teach classes on Saturday and Sunday. You can register for that classes here.

Grab your tickets for the 15th and 16th of March here.

Der Beitrag Circle Industry 2019 is coming erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.

I have put a little bit of research into this topic because it is nowhere close my core expertise. My intent writing this article was to present an overview of the existing labels and show the differences between them. I have sent some private messages and emails to the label creators asking for background info about their work. The answers I received made me rethink the approach for this post. There is a distinct pattern revealing itself – about what all these labels have in common.

The common ground

fair & sustainable
organic, local, unique

These values define the visions of the label creators. Fair & sustainable or synonyms where essential in all of the answers I received or the descriptions on the official websites.

Being unique is a thing that every serious fashion label strives for. Our austrian fashion brands are no exception.

The great thing about this common ground between all the brands is that it shows a deep understanding of the needs of our society. It shows that the fashion entrepreneurs that are close to the hip-hop scene value social progress more than profits. For my understanding, this is a noble trait that you seldom find in the business world.

Let’s jump into the differences, that matter far less, than the common things.

Esteem

The Salzburg-based label Esteem was built upon the idea to “create some shirts for ourselves and friends”. The following step to the own streetwear brand was not that far. The name stands for value, respect and acceptance.

The slogan of esteem is: create your own system.

Esteem produces all kinds of urban clothing and seeks out to fit the dancer’s needs wherever possible.

Check out the official Esteem Website.

Unleash.ed

Hailing from Graz Unleash.ed was found with the primary idea to support local subcultural movements like freerunning, tricking and the artforms from the hip-hop culture. The secondary idea was to create clothing that fits. Not in a literal matter but a symbolic one. The wearer should be able to identify with the clothes.

Unleash.ed goes by the slogan: by the community, for the community.

The primary products of unleashed are shirts and pullovers adorned with inspiring and creative sayings.

Visit the unleash.ed Facebook Page.

From the Soul

From the Soul is based in Innsbruck and takes the idea of sustainability one step further, by using clothes that are already there. The from the soul vintage market is a well-curated selection of second-hand clothing that is chosen with the urban dancer in mind. The majority of the pieces are sports clothing from the 80s and 90s as well as parts that fit the overall style of the era.

Their slogan: From The Soul, for the soul.

From the Soul has self-produced shirts and caps too and is working on finding suppliers they want to work with for the production of more stuff.

Check out the From the Soul Facebook Page.

Rachlé Art

Rachlé Art resides in Klagenfurt and is all about customs. They design most of their work per hand, directly onto the clothes. The items that are created this way are truly unique. The focus is on extraordinary and colourful designs that resemble the spirit of the customs from the origins of the hip-hop culture.

Take a look at their pieces on the Rachlé Art Facebook Page.

URBAN ARTISTS WEAR

not something for everyone – but for someone

Urban Artists Wear is a label that is focused on key-pieces for the hip-hop dancer. They see “the own style” not only as a way to express through the art of the four traditional elements but also an aesthetic presentation of one’s individuality through fashion. The search for possibilities to be individual in the pabulum of the big sports labels was a significant reason to found the brand.

All the items are self-designed and use patterns that differ from the norm while using established ideas from within the scene, like the oversized look. Jackets, shirts, pants, bags and more are hand-crafted as single items or in a low number of pieces.

Follow Urban Artists Wear on Instagram.

Mützenmafia

Mützenmafia (german for capmafia) is specialised on hand-crafting stylish caps, beanies and headbands. The company from Graz started creating headwear after desperately looking for it in a cold winter. As there were no satisfying options, the task was to develop it themselves.

Mützenmafia provides quality items to keep your head warm and stylish – no matter if it is cold weather or bad hair day.

Take a look at the Mützenmafia Online Shop.

Vresh

Vresh is not directly tied to the urban dance scene, but their clothes found their way into our realm nonetheless. Their clothes are meant to support people and projects from music, sport and the creative sector without going into a niche. They support what they like.

Their designs fit a wide range of demands, and it is easy to find something you like.

Follow us to the official website of Vresh.

My conclusion

Which of these brands will have the right items for you is a matter of personal taste. That is not a thing we have to discuss. Important is: no matter who you buy from, in all the cases above you support a company that upholds essential values instead of putting money in a conscienceless economy that only strives for profit.

There are some more brands that I did not get enough info from. Therefore, there might be a second chapter of this one in the future.

Der Beitrag Austrian Hip Hop Fashion Brands erschien zuerst auf FraGue Moser-Kindler - Dancer, Artist & Qi Gong Teacher based in Salzburg, Austria.