Crazy Legs
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- for the football player, see Elroy Hirsch
- for the Jeff Beck album see Crazy Legs (album)
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Crazy Legs (born Richard Colón) is a break dancer and graffiti artist, and is one of the original members of the Rock Steady Crew and its current president. Growing up poor in the projects of the Bronx, he saw the gang activity that his fellow Puerto Ricans were involved in. Choosing to make something of himself, rather than getting sucked into the gang life, he got into breakdancing and has since become the dominant face of breakdance culture to the world.
Richard "Crazy Legs" Colon, a b-boy since 1977 and veteran of Hip Hop culture, is one of the original members of the Rock Steady Crew and current president. His credits include many of the first Hip Hop tours in the early 80's, which set the foundation for what the culture has become.
He has been featured in such films as Flashdance, Beat Street, Wild Style, Style Wars and The Freshest Kids (which he co-produced) as well as various television programs and music videos. He has appeared in television commercials and print ads for major corporations including Coke, Sprite, Verizon Wireless, Sean John, Avirex and Nike. He participated in the Peabody Award-winning documentary Dance in America: Everybody Dance Now, the Great Performances 20th Anniversary Special, and co-produced the documentary movie The Freshest Kids.
As a member of the Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs has performed in a tribute to the Nicholas Brothers at the Kennedy Center Honors, the Royal Variety Performance for Queen Elizabeth II, the Boston Ballet Gala, and in the Lincoln Center Serious Fun! series. He won the 1991 Bessie Award for Choreography and the 1994 Hip Hop Pioneer Award from The Source magazine.
He was inducted into the Hip Hop Hall Of Fame in 2002, was presented with the Source Youth Foundation 2003 Image Award, the 2003 AARTS Award from the Bay Shore Schools Arts Education Fund, and was also honored as the National Godfather of the 2003 Jersey City Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Other career highlights include his role in the Off-Broadway play Jam On the Groove, working with Savion Glover, and teaching John Leguizamo to b-boy for his Tony Award-nominated play Freak. He has choreographed music videos for Wyclef Jean (which was nominated for an MTV Award for Best Choreography) and multi-platinum artist Moby.
He and some of the other members of Rock Steady Crew were the first B-boys to perform at Carnegie Hall on Jan 19, 2001. Along with the Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Japan, Australia, South America and Europe.
Crazy Legs hosts and organizes the annual Rock Steady Anniversary, a monumental community event that honors deceased members of the crew and celebrates Hip Hop culture both past and present. The Rock Steady Anniversary attracts deejays, B-boys/B-girls, emcees, writers and thousands of Hip Hop supporters from all around the world. The group also holds an annual Celebrity Basketball Tournament during the Anniversary Celebration that raises money for the Greenwich Village Youth Council in New York. In 2003, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proclaimed July 26th to be “Rock Steady Crew Day” in New York City during their 26th Anniversary Celebration at Pier 54.
When his schedule allows, he volunteers by teaching the art of B-boying and participating in several community outreach programs and workshops. It was his dance program at the Point C.D.C. for young people in the South Bronx that garnered him the “New Yorker of the Week” Award from New York 1 News.
2004 was a monumental year for Crazy Legs. He recently signed endorsement deal with Red Bull Energy Drink, which was picked up again for 2005. In 2004 Crazy Legs signed a deal with Fila Sportswear and was the first B-boy to get a sneaker company to honor a group like Rock Steady Crew whit it’s own sneaker. Additionally, the City of Las Vegas awarded the Rock Steady Crew the Key to the City on February 21st, and proclaimed that day to be “Rock Steady Crew Day” in Las Vegas. In July Crazy Legs was awarded the Liberty Bell In The City Of Philadelphia and was also honored with a citation for his contributions to the Hip Hop world. In 2004 the Rock Steady Crew was honored at the first annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors show.
Crazy Legs main goal at the moment is to continue to develop new members of Rock Steady Crew so that one of the pillars of Hip Hop will continue to last for generations to come.
Crazy Legs is the president of Backspin Productions, an entertainment company with the mission is to continue to produce Hip Hop events and eventually become a major entertainment company. Crazy Legs' success is a testament to the longevity of Hip Hop culture.
e-mail rsczulu@aol.com
Rock Steady Anniversary parties
As president of Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs hosts and organizes the annual Rock Steady Anniversary, a community event that honors deceased members of the crew and celebrates Hip Hop culture both past and present. These anniversary parties DJs, breakdancers, MCs, graffiti artists, and thousands of Hip Hop supporters from all around the world. Under his leadership the group also holds an annual Celebrity Basketball Tournament during the yearly Anniversary Celebrations that raise money for the Greenwich Village Youth Council in New York. In 2003, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed July 26 to be “Rock Steady Crew Day” in New York City during their 26th Anniversary Celebration at Pier 54.
2004 was also a big year for Crazy Legs. He signed endorsement deals with Red Bull Energy Drink and FILA Sportswear who was the first sneaker company to honor a breakdance group. FILA debuted the "Rock Steady Crew 77" sneaker in April 2004.
As of 2005, Crazy Legs is the president of Backspin Productions and remains president of the Rock Steady Crew.
Awards
He won the 1991 Bessie Award for Choreography and the 1994 Hip Hop Pioneer Award from The Source magazine. He was inducted into the Hip Hop Hall Of Fame in 2002, and was presented with the Source Youth Foundation Image Award in 2003. He has also earned the 2003 AARTS Award from the Bay Shore Schools Arts Education Fund, and was also honored as the National Godfather of the 2003 Jersey City Puerto Rican Day Parade. He was also nominated for an MTV Award for Best Choreography for his work with Wyclef Jean. His dance program at the Point C.D.C. for young people in the South Bronx garnered him the “New Yorker of the Week” Award from New York 1 News.