Break Dancing, Phnom Penh-Style

A former gang member from California teaches break dancing to at-risk kids in Cambodia.

Tuy Sobil, better known as “KK,” was born as a refugee from the Khmer Rouge and grew up in Long Beach, CA, where he became a local phenomenon in the break dancing world. He also got involved with gangs and after a felony conviction in 2004, KK was deported to Cambodia, the homeland of his parents and a country he had never visited.

After his arrival in Phnom Penh, a group of kids convinced him to give them break dancing lessons. Since then KK founded “Tiny Toones,” a drop-in center for at-risk youth. Four years after later Tiny Toones is working with the international non-profit “Bridges Across Borders” and offering more than just break dancing.

Blending urban culture from the U.S. and Cambodia, Tiny Toones offers classes in the English and Khmer languages, computer skills, as well as rap and break dancing. KK is proud to have found a way to be a positive role model, and he demands that kids keep away from drugs and be active participants in the center.

This New York Times video includes colorful footage of kids break dancing at the center and interviews with KK and one of the boys.

Length: 2:29

Reporting: Simon Doolittle, Seth Mydans & Mariko Takayasu
Videography: Mariko Takayasu
Additional Editing: Jigar Mehta

VIEW: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/11/29/world/asia/1194830077115/break-dancing-phnom-penh-style.html

SEE ALSO:

U.S. Deportee Brings Street Dance to Street Boys of Cambodia:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30dancer.html