I pull the hood of my jacket over, half covering my sweaty face; I am exhausted. These are the confessions of a serial dancer.
About the Author. Looking for dancers to perform at your event? Contact: Trina.
Cibby threw up a nice post yesterday about a short video I sent him that my boyfriend made with 7 bboys, a bgirl and 2 trickers. I want to give this video as much exposure as I can because I really love it and not because i'm biased either - see for yourself. It sends chills down my spine each time ...
For those that don't know yet, the Australian Hip Hop Championships (AHC) is a hip hop showcase dance competition for crews with a qualifier in Sydney (April 5th) determining THREE overage crews and ONE junior crew to advance to the finals in Melbourne to be held on May 18th.
There's heaps of r...
This bboy comp is gonna be a big one. One of the biggest in a while, with flights to Korea to compete in the international finals for the winning crew put up as the prize. Come down and check it out, it'll be heated battles and a great atmosphere. I'm there for sure.
$5 ENTRY FOR ALL BBOYSBG...
This looks sooooooo dope.
PLATFORM 1 HIP HOP FESTIVAL, Sydney Australia
Friday 28th and Saturday 29th of March 2008
Platform 1 Hip Hop Festival is set to explode with two days of high-powered Hip Hop action, representing Breaking, Graffiti, Beatboxing, MCing and DJing. A fresh experience ...
I went to the special premiere screening of Step Up 2 coincidentally with all the Top 12 finalists from So You Think You Can Dance (Australia) and honestly it was one of the WORST movies I've ever seen, hands down the WORST dance movie I've ever seen that it's the type of movie only worth downlo...
So now that the word is out about my new dance studio, I'm gonna be posting our events and stuff here more regularly just to try and help us out. This Friday we're holding a part 2 of the Back to the 90s workshop we held a few weeks ago, special (i.e. FREE) for UNSW ARC D2MG members (because they're...
Well I've kept it on the low but I thought I should write about it now - my dream of running my own dance studio has come true :) Since the beginning of this year, I've opened up my very own D2MG Hip Hop Academy, as an extension of a university club I used to run, now with our own base in a handy lo...
The first heats of the Looze Control "Urban" (hate that word) Crew competition held last night at Wenty Leagues Club dragged on but it was worth it to see my bestfriend Lenny's crew take it out in a well deserved win. It was even more special as it was their debut performance as a crew - Doppelg...
Thanks to Danis for bugging reminding me to do a second post on the 360 Crew Battles, which is now possible thanks to LittleFoot and others for the footage and Hentaimaster for the pictures which will be uploaded soon on www.d2mg.com. This is not all the footage, just a select few.
As part of m...
I have to say that the 360 Freestyle Battle Competition last Saturday night was the best dance event I've ever been to. Brought by Critical Hype in conjunction with Round Circle Entertainment, these guys did an amazing job with the event, especially for their first time, with room for improvemen...
Skipped a few episodes before settling on the first live show with the Top 20, there wasn't really much to talk about because there was so much damn crying, about an hour of each ninety minute episode that it became ridiculous, especially if you watched The Biggest Loser before SYTYCD (although they...
I don't really get excited or make a fuss about Valentine's Day and believe that celebrating love and romance should be done regularly over your relationship and not just kept to your significant other, but with family and friends also. Like any other special occasion or holiday, it's become so ...
WARNING: This is a mild hating rant post on the show, so if you get offended easily please keep reading.
After watching the second episode of SYTYCD, with auditions in Melbourne and Adelaide, I relived the passionate cries and rants of fellow dancers, frustrated by the nature of the "reality" sho...
I'm addicted to checking the latest headlines on Sydney Morning Herald and Ninemsn.com.au a few times during work days as a much needed 10 minute break in between doing actual work (I swear). And it's mostly depressing, lots of deaths, burglaries, rape, and recently lots of stories about what goes d...
I felt really inspired recently to get back to my neglected blogs and start writing. Although my mind is filled with more business-related rather than creative writing ideas, I'll try, for the people who keep reading and supporting me, anonymously and consistently.
2007 was a great year for many ...
Cibby threw up a nice post yesterday about a short video I sent him that my boyfriend made with 7 bboys, a bgirl and 2 trickers. I want to give this video as much exposure as I can because I really love it and not because i'm biased either - see for yourself. It sends chills down my spine each time I watch it, the music is fitting and adds to a "film noir"-type mood. It highlights the best that Sydney has to offer both in local artistic and physical talent; the classic backdrop is shown in a beautiful, different light to what you'd normally see during the busy city days and the slovenly nightlife.
For a moment it doesn't feel like Sydney, but an older, distant place in Europe. Far from the usual picturesque postcards of Bondi Beach, koalas or the Sydney Opera House, the dim glow of the view from the street level is reminiscent of the lifestyles of the same street dancers and trickers in the video - our underground community. Some struggle for recognition and respect from the broader community, others becoming nonchalant after trying for so long.
Enjoy, and show some love
On another note, directly after the end scene in this video, a man was hit by a Lexus at the intersection before the traffic lights turned green. He flipped into the air and landed smack on the pavement, blood gushing out of his head. A rush of pedestrians who witnessed the accident ran to his assistance and to the car that hit him, carrying a bunch of guys wanting to show off after seeing all the filming going on. They were screaming at the people in the car, "DON'T MOVE!!! STAY THERE! WE'RE CALLING THE POLICE!!!" I think the guy who got hit survived, although we're not sure. I hope he is ok, and if he finds this post, please email or comment to let us know you're ok.
For those that don't know yet, the Australian Hip Hop Championships (AHC) is a hip hop showcase dance competition for crews with a qualifier in Sydney (April 5th) determining THREE overage crews and ONE junior crew to advance to the finals in Melbourne to be held on May 18th.
There's heaps of reasons this is the event NOT TO BE MISSED.
First up, qualifying crews from Sydney will get free 5-star accommodation at Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne.
The AHC has the most solid judging line-up this country has ever witnessed in a crew based competition: Patrick Chen, Lee Daniel, Gigi Torres and Sky Hoffman are scheduled to judge at the finals alongside six of Australia’s most respected dancers who will also be judging.
The finals are being held at The Palms at Crown Casino. The venue has the SICKEST lighting and sound technology in the southern hemisphere . The venue is beautiful and the technical team behind the event have worked with the Justin Timberlake Future/Sex/Love Sounds Tour, Roc the Block Tour and concerts by artists including Vanessa Amorossi, Rogue traders, Krusty Demons and Guy Sebastian among many others.
The crews that have been registered to compete are some of the best crews in the country. So far, Rewind, Beatphonik and DVP have qualified for the finals and they've proven themselves to be at an international standard.
From Sydney, Nu Skool Club, Special Edition, Lemmings, Lego and Dopplegangers have already registered for the qualifiers.
The line-up of the crews so far will make this event one of the most competitive and rewarding experiences the dance scene has to offer. Full bragging rights as the #1 Hip Hop Crew in Australia goes to the winners!
The Sydney Preliminaries will be held on April 5th, 2.30pm
At Uni Sports and Aquatic Centre, University of Sydney, Cnr Codrington Street and Darlington St, Darlington NSW 2008, Australia
Public entry at door - $16.00,
Limited Tickets Available. For prepaid tickets- 0403 532 751
This bboy comp is gonna be a big one. One of the biggest in a while, with flights to Korea to compete in the international finals for the winning crew put up as the prize. Come down and check it out, it'll be heated battles and a great atmosphere. I'm there for sure.
$5 ENTRY FOR ALL BBOYS/BGIRLS AND SPECTATORS
Bboy Unit Australia
Sunday, 30th March, 2008
2pm, Bankstown PCYC
Sydney, Australia
Judges:
Red (7$ - Sydney)
Arch Rival (Wicked Force - Melbourne)
Ty - (Blackout - NZ)
DJ:
DJ Mathmatics (Robotek - Newcastle)
Prize:
Flights, Transfers, Accommodation and Per Diem for a full crew (10 People) to compete at Bboy Unit in Korea in May 2008.
PLATFORM 1 HIP HOP FESTIVAL, Sydney Australia
Friday 28th and Saturday 29th of March 2008
Platform 1 Hip Hop Festival is set to explode with two days of high-powered Hip Hop action, representing Breaking, Graffiti, Beatboxing, MCing and DJing. A fresh experience for the hip hop novice and old skooler alike, the festival includes a series of free events, workshops and two huge nights of entertainment.
Flexing skills: Platform 1 presents premium Hip Hop action when some of Australia's best B*Boys, B*Girls, DJ's, Vocalists and MC's unite on one stage and are judged by you!
Competing in four randomly composed crews, the night will be a mashup of raw skill and freestyle as the finest in the culture represent their element.
Accompanied by the Metabass Allstars. Hosted by Morganics. Make sure you arrive early for the performance of Stiltbreak at 7.30pm.
Freak the Technique: B*Boy | B*Girl battle, some of Australia's best breaking crews will battle it out for the Platform 1 title. Featuring Interstate Judges – Arch Rival, King Ippy and Versastyle. Popping and Locking, Krumping, DJ Mathmatics and live Hip Hop acts. Hosted by Nick Power.
Breaking Info:
Friday and Saturday night 7.30 – 8pm – StiltBreak a wicked fusion of Breaking, Stilt Acrobatics and Artistry. Feat: B Girl Flix, Mr Flip, Manifest and Rely. Stalker Theatre Company.
Friday night:
8 – 10pm Flexing skills – Live invitational Jam featuring some of Sydneys Dopest MC’s, DJ’s Vocalists and Breakers – Unique B Girl, Arch, Ippy and Versastyle. Tix $15/$12
Saturday:
4 on 4 Breaking Eliminations 3 – 5pm.
Top 8 to go through to Freak the Technique that night. Run in conjunction with Graff comp and Demo.
Freak the Technique B Boy/B Girl Battle 8 – 11pm.
Feat – Def Wish Cast, Foreign Heights, Morganics and Eminent Family.
Hosted by Rely. Interstate Judges: Arch Rival, Versastyle and Ippy. DJ Mathmatics.
1st prize - $1000. Tix $15/$12
Dance Workshops in Breaking, Popping, Locking and Street Funk.
FREE events include:
* Performances of Stiltbreak, a fusion of Stilt Acrobatics and Breaking by STALKER Performance Projects
* Photographic exhibition of Australian Graffiti by Guillaume Chesneau
* Can Control - graffiti demo and competition. Hosted by Mistery
* Chalk it Up - Create your own chalk graffiti artwork
I went to the special premiere screening of Step Up 2 coincidentally with all the Top 12 finalists from So You Think You Can Dance (Australia) and honestly it was one of the WORST movies I've ever seen, hands down the WORST dance movie I've ever seen that it's the type of movie only worth downloading and watching from your computer. Or even just cut scenes from Youtube. That's because you can skip all the talking BS and go straight to the mediocre and overdramatized dance sequences which is probably the only reason people go to watch it anyway.
Ok, so I'm probably not the target audience. I'm a street dancer and as my fellow crew member Chux would say, "You're not a street dancer, if you're not on the street." Maybe I just had higher expectations, considering Jabbawockeez were involved, and their 30 second spot was the best part of the film. That, and Chase's (Robert Hoffman, You Got Served) freestyle solo in class.
The lead actors were dull and plain, lacking the street cred they claim in the film. There was so much cleavage or stomach being shown but at least it distracted me from the crap talking (and I don't mean the amusing type of crap). And Cassie, her role was so useless, she would've been better if her character was the evil bitch ex-girlfriend of the popular guy, or maybe they could've scrapped her altogether from the film, it prolly wouldn't have made a difference. Storyline? What storyline?
There were around 3 main dancing scenes, the first with the trampolines was not all that impressive, and the ending was a piece of crap. They took Omarion's rain scene from You Got Served, added a lot more people and a lot more rain and a longer routine. Sure, the dancing was cool but it wasn't all that fresh. I've seen much better on the streets and battlegrounds of Sydney.
I think watching America's Best Dance Crew and the 360 Crew Freestyle Battles a few weeks ago, set my standards for the dancing in this movie, so it's not so bad to those who don't watch a lot of live freestyle dance battles or street group showcases (i.e. Kabamodern and Jabbawockeez - youtube them!)
So just because I really disliked it doesn't mean I'm going to advise other people not to watch it because F*** you are all capable of making your own decisions and I encourage that. I actually thought the first one was alright, and it sh*ts all over this one.
Rating: 1/5 stars
Special shoutout to my buddy Alvin from Beatphoniks (Melbourne) who won the Step Up 2 dance competition and performed at the after party. Thanks for inviting me!
So now that the word is out about my new dance studio, I'm gonna be posting our events and stuff here more regularly just to try and help us out. This Friday we're holding a part 2 of the Back to the 90s workshop we held a few weeks ago, special (i.e. FREE) for UNSW ARC D2MG members (because they're probably broke as balls as most university students are), and normal class prices for everyone else.
It's during the day on Friday since it's university holidays, and I'll be teaching a partner routine to No Diggity. The theme is the 90s, which means all the classes will be taught to music from the 90s, since it was the best decade for R&B/Hip Hop IMHO, and watch out for our next special workshops, starring the Prince of Pop, the legendary Michael Jackson, in late April. I'll be teaching Hip Hop/Funk to "Smooth Criminal" ooo yeah can't wait.
Well I've kept it on the low but I thought I should write about it now - my dream of running my own dance studio has come true Since the beginning of this year, I've opened up my very own D2MG Hip Hop Academy, as an extension of a university club I used to run, now with our own base in a handy location right in the middle of Sydney CBD.
Starting out with dance classes and then expanding into DJ courses, MC sessions, graffiti and beatboxing workshops, it's a humble and very ghetto place hidden away like treasure with a gold mine of Hip Hop dancing resources. We're one of the few places that teach real street style dancing, more like America's Best Dance Crew than Australia's SYTYCD (boring!)
We like to focus on the development of students with our intensive performance courses, with a range of casual classes for those who aren't so serious about dancing. Check us out at www.d2mg.com. If you want... you don't have to you know, it doesn't bother us, I mean there are things outside of dance anyway...
The first heats of the Looze Control "Urban" (hate that word) Crew competition held last night at Wenty Leagues Club dragged on but it was worth it to see my bestfriend Lenny's crew take it out in a well deserved win. It was even more special as it was their debut performance as a crew - Doppelgangers (look it up). I was supposed to judge but because of some dramas I stood down and will judge the other heats and finals but for those who care, here are some of my comments on their performance.
[EDIT: Video has been removed until after they compete in Australian Hip Hop Champs]
1. They were really tight, more synchronized than all the other crews who would try to balance this with impressive tricks and funny skits.
2. They were entertaining and had a lot of stage presence, while doing large amounts of choreography, instead of too many skits, formation changes and tricks here and there.
3. I liked:
- Chux's high kick
- Chux sliding onto the floor grabbed by Lenny into perfect formation
- Chux and Lenny's kissing skit; their disgusted faces were hilarious
- Raymond and Roni's partner spin
- The punching line where Raymond gets knocked out by either Ella or Roni (can't tell)
- the Ne-Yo partner routine; all I could see was Chux's "Prince" face and the way he was looking at Jessica, it was sex. It sent shivers down my spine and elsewhere. They are the partners second from the right.
- The cheesy SMILE. So Lenny, so love it.
- Locking to Gym Class Heroes' "Clothes Off". Love it, and Jet flashing his abs.
[EDIT: Video has been removed until after they compete in Australian Hip Hop Champs]
Thanks to Danis for bugging reminding me to do a second post on the 360 Crew Battles, which is now possible thanks to LittleFoot and others for the footage and Hentaimaster for the pictures which will be uploaded soon on www.d2mg.com. This is not all the footage, just a select few.
As part of my judge's showcase, my students performed a teaser (which is not shown in the following video), and then the teachers at my dance studio, D2MG did a style demonstration (Jessica's Street Jazz is also cut out of this video.) Hence we have:
Shogun: Locking
Rod: House
Eriko: Soul Punking
Danis Kool: King Tut, Animation
(SKB) Luke, Jojo and Don: Bboying
Chux: Krumping
D2MG Style Showcase
Preliminary - Toilet Funk 9 (Winners) vs. Mak10
Semi-finals - Treble, Bass & Soul vs. Watermelon Bandits
I have to say that the 360 Freestyle Battle Competition last Saturday night was the best dance event I've ever been to. Brought by Critical Hype in conjunction with Round Circle Entertainment, these guys did an amazing job with the event, especially for their first time, with room for improvement, but hey that's how it usually goes.
I was asked to judge at this event, a bit skeptical at first because they wanted to factor in crowd-judging in the criteria, and dancers know that would be a big mistake. We were a panel of 5 judges and we made a few unpopular decisions but were supported by the majority of dancers so there wasn't too much controversy.
I guess this post is intended for those who went, or heard about the event; for those who don't know anything about the event, just watch the videos. It shows how amazingly talented the underground street dancers are - don't waste your time on SYTYCD
Shout out to Jerome and El, MC Tuppz and DJs D-Kutz and Xile for their awesome effort.
Couple of comments/feedback:
1. Just to let everyone know there was a miscommunication with my Judge's showcase - it was a style demonstration, where all the teachers from D2MG Hip Hop Academy showed their specialty, after my student showcase from my Intermediate Intensive Performance Course.
2. The reason why Juse Crew lost against Treble, Bass & Soul was that our criteria consisted mainly of musicality and versatility. We felt that Juse Crew did not have much of these, it was entertaining but not what we were looking for in a battle.
3. I do not agree with one of the other judge's comments about Krump Etiquette being applied to the freestyle battles. These battles have time limits, they are BATTLES which means you don't wait for someone to get ready to get in the middle to do their thing, they miss out. It's called COMMANDO and demonstrates presence and battle skills. Besides, battle criteria should have been stated at the beginning of the event, so that's another thing to learn.
4. To the guy from a certain crew who claimed that I was biased because one crew I voted for had teachers at my studio, get your facts straight because I had teachers from my studio in most of the crews, same with the other judges and we all have ties with most of the dancers because it's such a small community so stop bitching and start practicing more.
5. No one likes sore losers. You're all winners until you start talking sh*t about everyone and everything else to avoid thinking about why you lost in the first place.
6. I just gotta comment that there were many times during the night where dancers had the most appropriate part of a song, and really used it to their advantage. We like that. It makes us wet our pants.
7. The final decision was UNANIMOUS, it was such a close battle but the winning team, Toilet Funk 9 showed more versatility within individual dancers as well as within their crew, they had slightly better use of musicality and had a bigger presence as a crew.
Just some advice for crew battles in the future (take it or leave it, agree or disagree):
- DO NOT count in your routines, it's a freestyle battle. Many crews did this after I had told everyone not to. Lose points for not listening.
- Integrating routines in a freestyle battle is ok as long as it is balanced with freestyles (and one person at a time per crew please) and I find that this works well after someone's solo, or if its a large number of people then anytime is fine but just make sure you're synchronised.
- This takes time, but the more you spend time with your crew, the more you know what they're capable of, their moves and their sets so you can read them during battle and play along. The winners, Toilet Funk 9 did this really well, as well as Watermelon Bandits at some stages, but everyone in the crew should be paying attention to the battle, to support their teammate or to diss the other team. Be alert!
Videos and pictures will be posted in the part 2 of this review (when I have time please bare with me!)
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