I wanted to share a story about an unlikely hip-hop dancer from Memphis who found himself in Beijing jookin on the Great Wall and in the company of Meryl Streep and Yo-Yo Ma. Full of contradictions, this 24-year-old jookin dancer or “Gangsta” walker looks like your average street kid but is full of charm, wit and wisdom. He has bridged multiple worlds: east and west, ballet and jookin, classical music and hip-hop, as well as young and old.
Up until recently, Charles Riley’s world revolved around watching his friends go to prison or die in gang violence. Leaving his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee or even the country was simply not on his radar. Then in November 2011, he found himself performing his unique dances in Beijing, the first in his family to step foot in China. Up until that point, he didn’t even know a single person who had been to Asia.
Riley is better known as ‘Lil Buck,’ the hip-hop sensation who shot to fame via Youtube. Riley decided early on that he would escape the fate of his friends by cultivating his talent and began taking ballet lessons to build his flexibility and strength. In 2007, when he was only 19, his ballet teacher encouraged him to improvise to classical music – to “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens. A video of his performance was eventually posted on Youtube. Three years later, former principal of the New York City Ballet, Heather Watts discovered the video and was so overwhelmed by it that she arranged for Riley to perform his “gangsta” interpretation of “The Swan” with Yo-Yo Ma in April 2011. The video of their collaboration drew around two million hits on YouTube and catapulted him into overnight stardom.
In November of 2011, Asia Society invited Lil Buck to Beijing to perform with Yo-Yo Ma once again, as part of its first U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture. Riley stunned audiences in Beijing with his smooth moves and drew a standing ovation at the National Opera House, as Meryl Streep, narrating earlier, looked on.
In a later interview with Evan Osnos, Riley commented on all the looks and stares he received while in China because he was often one of the only black people walking down the street. With startling wisdom, Riley explained, “The barriers between us, in a way, limit inspiration.” He hopes his story will tear them down.
And perhaps Riley will be the one to do it. While he has added dancing with Madonna and schmoozing with Colbert to his list of accolades, Riley is collaborating with Shannon Lee, the daughter of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee. He told the Wall Street Journal, “It’s going to be a dance show based on Bruce Lee’s philosophy. We definitely want to bring it to China.”
So what do you think – what for you limits inspiration today?