Inside the Circle

Filmmaker Marcy Garriot profiles three Texas men struggling to keep the b-boy dance dream alive: Austin promoter Romeo Navarro (a founder of the B-Boy City dance contest, who says that, “If you can hold yourself down in a battle, you can hold yourself down in life”) and small-town high school students Omar Davila and Josh “Milky” Ayers, whose friendship begins to fray when they join rival dance crews. Taking place over four years (starting in 2002), Garriot's Inside the Circle combines exciting dance battle footage with interviews of the principal subjects, parents, case workers, and members of both crews (such as Curly Fries, Stickapotamus, and Wurm, who all testify to the thrill of competition), weaving together a study of contrasts. Josh ends up missing 2003's B-Boy City event, because he's in juvenile detention for joyriding (and, after his release, has to find a job and a new place to live), while Omar jets off to competitions in Hollywood and Europe. But persistence and hard-won maturity ultimately pay off for Josh in this winning and inspiring documentary featuring Afro-Latin funk from Grupo Fantasma's Adrian Quesada. DVD extras include B-Boy City event highlights and an interview with California promoter CROS1. An award winner at 2007's SXSW Film Festival, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)