No such thing as gravity

Back in the old-timey days of break dancing -- the early 1980s -- things were so much simpler. All it took to drive the teen audiences wild was a head spin, followed by, say, a freeze-frame pose with an elbow as a kickstand.

Cut to the 21st century, and you don’t dare call it break dancing, granny. “Street dancing” is OK. “Hip-hop” is better. Here in the future, only a rank amateur would try to pass off a few 360s on his skull as a virtuoso move. Today’s b-boys and b-girls must flout the laws of physics and, in general, perform like flying rubber chickens.

They literally bounce off the walls; explode into bizarre and precarious body sculptures; or catapult themselves, head over Nike-shod heels, over anything that will sit still for a few seconds.

This 2004 incarnation of street dancing -- born of traditional African dance, urban street contests and MTV choreography -- has now gone mainstream, via the 2-week-old Screen Gems film “You Got Served.” Despite an unknown cast and withering reviews, the film’s infectious moves have won so much adulation from young fans and just enough grudging cooperation from the box office ($26.1 million in gross at last count) to spur talk of a sequel. Not since “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” moonwalked out of theaters in 1984 has hip-hop dance enjoyed such a renaissance.

For the film’s dancers -- many of whom had no formal training or previous acting experience -- it’s heady stuff. Take Ivan “Flips” Velez, who four years ago was gyrating for change in New York’s Times Square.

“I would have been happy to get a quarter, maybe a dollar,” says Velez, 24. When an agent strolled by Velez’s outdoor performance pad and suggested he stop by his office, Velez was more annoyed than hopeful.

“I was busy spinning on my head,” he recalled during a recent phone interview. “I was like, ‘I want a dollar, not words of encouragement.’ ”

But he did stop by the agent’s office, landing a new career in the process. Velez scored a few video gigs and a spot in the Jessica Alba hip-hop flop “Honey.”

Velez got his nickname, Flip, from his love of catapulting himself over large objects. When he learned that popular hip-hop choreographer Dave Scott was seeking new talent for an upcoming film, Velez shot for the moon. He taped himself back flipping over stadium bleachers. After Velez landed on the field below, “he just kept on flipping,” Scott recalls. “I thought, ‘No, no -- no way! I have to see this guy.’ ”

Scott likewise had propelled himself skyward from a humble launch point. Growing up in Compton, Scott, now 27, taught himself to groove on a sheet of cardboard spread on his front lawn.

By the time he reached adulthood, Scott had another challenge: his 6-foot, 4-inch frame, which made him too tall for many hip-hop artists who preferred more compact dancers. He tried to dance shorter, but eventually shifted to choreography, overseeing tours for Brian McKnight and Tyrese, among others. He started molding his own stable of talent too, including the boy band B2K, whose members star in “You Got Served.”

When Scott and fellow dancer Shane Sparks signed on to choreograph “Served,” they knew they wanted to modernize traditional street dancing, incorporating fresh elements such as jazz, acrobatics and moves from black-fraternity step shows. They also were determined to showcase some grueling moves -- visual proof that a Juilliard degree isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for sophisticated dance.

“What people will realize, just from watching this, is that you can’t just do it,” Scott said.

“You do have to learn basic moves, but” -- unlike, say, the rigidly choreographed ballet -- “you must bring your own style to the table as well.” In fact, many of the dance moves in “Served” were improvised -- a nod to the signature “freestyle” element of hip-hop.

Lastly, Scott and Sparks wanted to revolutionize the way dance appeared on film. No teasing the audience with mincing steps or close-ups of batting eyelashes. Instead, as Scott puts it, “Attack. Attack. Attack. Attack. Boom. Boom. Attack the audience’s senses again and again. Make them go, ‘Whoa!’ ”

The future of Scott’s art looks downright dizzying. Scott’s working on what he calls a “top-secret” reality TV show, something along the lines of “Making the Band” but with undiscovered hip-hop dancers. Scott also is talking about nationwide hip-hop dance tours. He even dreams about a sports-style franchise, with dance crews facing off for paying audiences.

Taking the long view, Scott is hard at work on new moves that will make future hip-hop dancers look like rubber dolls. Even the hip-hop dance form itself, after more than two decades of evolution, isn’t finished morphing, Scott insists.

“I’m looking for a way to defy gravity,” Scott said, his tongue only halfway in cheek. “Some way to hover in the air for, like, three seconds.”

Velez has an approach of his own.

“Maybe if I spin fast enough, I can find a way to disappear completely.”

Given their success, such a vanishing act seems far from likely.