Here's your chance to join Australia's #1 ranked Melbourne-based Hip Hop dance crew, Beatphonik. Winning the 2008 Australian Hip Hop Championships earlier this year, the crew is holding auditions for male dancers only, this coming weekend in Melbourne, so you can have a chance to be part of an amazing group of talented dancers.
Become a part of the Australian Hip Hop Championship Crew of 2008 - BEATPHONIK!
Auditions are being held THIS SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER for male dancers only.
We are based in Melbourne, Australia and are only accepting applications from male dancers who live in Melbourne or are planning to re-locate within the area.
Time: 3pm Sunday 16 November. Call backs 8pm Wednesday 19 November
Venue: Unitd Styles Dance Studio, Cnr Chapel St & Brighton Rd, St Kilda East.
Your chance to join Australia's current Hip Hop Champions as Beatphonik are currently holding 2009 auditions for Male Dancers only. We are based in Melbourne, Australia and are only accepting applications from dancers who live in Melbourne or are planning to re-locate within the area.
Please allow 2 days for the Audition process.
DAY 1: First round of auditions
DAY 2: Call backs
DAY 3: Final call backs
Auditions dates & times:
Registration at 3pm on Sunday 16th of November & call backs at 8pm, Wednesday 19th of November
Venue: Unitd Styles Dance Studio, Cnr Chapel St & Brighton Rd, St Kilda East.
To register: WWW.BEATPHONIK.COM
Attention dancers and singers. The unprecedented opportunity has risen for raw prodigy talent who embody the true definition of an undiscovered star.
One of the world's most beloved icons is offering the chance of a lifetime to one rising talent to become her protégé launching the next legendary career in singing and dancing.
Her name is Janet Jackson!
She's taking one winner from the streets to the stage.
Janet Jackson and famed choreographer, Gil Duldulao, in association with 25/7 productions and Wright Crear Management will be kicking off the search for talented performers with raw talent.
The competition reality series is open to Males and Females at least 16 years old , who appear to be between 16 and 22 and who exhibit superior talent in combined singing and dancing. Those who are eligible are encouraged to apply and attend the nearest open call, taking place in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
You might be the best on your block, but can you represent on the world's stage?
For up to the minute information and to get email updates apply at:
www.prodigycasting.com
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 have more believable sob stories). Obviously they think that the audience like hearing sob stories and seeing drama, but we've seen the American season, we just wanna see more dancing. Let's just remember that there's no such thing as reality tv, so no surprises with at least one of the dancers in each partnership doing their own style.
First up is Rhiannon and JD doing Hip Hop, which is their forte and probably could've been done a bit better if JD took control over the choreography (obviously didn't get along well with with guest choreographer, Manuela). Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss' is being smashed by all the Hip Hop classes around Australia at the moment, so not surprised with the song choice. It was so interesting when Jason noticed they weren't completely in unison, hitting either the beginning or the end of the beat. Not many people even realise this is possible, it's either hit the beat or don't. What was up with Natalie's question: "Have you arrived?" I mean aafter performing and still on a high, what would you say to that, "umm yes I just came".
Courtenay aka crybaby is doing lyrical street jazz with Hilton, a crowd favourite, in a Romeo and Juliet inspired routine. I typed through most of it and hope Hilton stays until the top 4 at least and Courtenay leaves after this week. They seemed a bit unstable, doing a couple of lifts. Matt comments that Courtenay is likeable (gag) but fakes her technique well and Bonnie noted that Courtenay cried a lot.
The cute ballerina with the really high pitched voice, Vanessa has teamed up with finance student Henry for Salsa, his forte. It was nice to see that neither of them had opted for fake tan, seeing how much skin they were both showing so hopefully a large part of the audience will remember there's nothing healthy about a tan, and you don't need one to look sexy. [EDIT: so far I haven't seen anyone with an unhealthy tan] Lots of flashy moves and tricks.
Camilla and Seramsah do Musical Theatre. Seramsah is so insecure, so unsure and never satisfied with himself. But that routine was HOT and he's one of my favourites now, even though he majorly stuffed up on the lift. They work really well together, nice partnership.
Jemma and Rhys get the Waltz. Rhys' dad is so cool, what a great supporter. Their routine feels really magical with the gorgeous white dress and sparkly white lights, wow. A nu skool waltz to Celine Dion, so beautiful. Jason and I share this routine as our favourites.
Laura and Anthony doing Contemporary Lyrical. It was a nice, real routine, in that it was something that a lot of people 20y/o in a relationship could relate to, signified by the matching black slip and pajama pants as though they were just any other couple with issues.
Stephanie and Marko will be Jive-ing in some punk gothic outfits. There seems to be a flip in nearly every routine. Matt has to stop pointing because his hand covers his face a lot (although a lot of people I know would prefer that). I agree with Jason in not getting the costumes and music with the style of dance, Bonnie disagrees with him but doesn't say how.
Kate and Khaly doing Jazz, and I agree with Jason again, wondering what the routine was about... it seemed like less of a partnership throughout the whole routine and more about showing each's own strengths but Khaly still has my vote because he's a good friend of mine and I hope he gets a lot of support. I really want to see him progress and do other styles (I wish Don was still in the competition though!)
Demi! My favourite bgirl (the illest bgirl in the country) and Jack are doing Boogaloo. It's interesting that they're calling it Boogaloo and not just Popping, probably because Nacho told them so (he's not a Hip Hop dancer, he's a Popper-Boogaloo style, just to get it straight). For those who have seen Nacho perform many times before can recognise his favourite tracks and moves and they pulled it off with their pimp 'fits. At least people are learning more about funk styles. I hope they do some (proper) locking routines in the future.
One more routine before we switch off the tv, Kassy and Graeme doing lyrical Hip Hop which is Kassy's style choreographed by Yannus... and lyrical Hip Hop is becoming more like contemporary lyrical but danced to R&B.
I wish they brought Cat Deeley, host of the American version down here to host the show.
Goodnight.
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" show. Let's get it straight - there's no such thing as a "reality show", everything is orchestrated because there's too much money to be made or lost on letting go of your control on the puppets below.
When a friend of mine Geoff, aka Drumstick, was at the microphone for his verdict, and Matt asked if he had any tricks, I cursed like a m*****f***** and stomped my foot on the ground. Well, you gotta be entertaining, have personality, some tricks, good looking and be a relatively good dancer. It's just showbiz, that's the way it is. I'm not hating on the show, they don't claim to be looking for Australia's Best Dancer, but Australia's Favourite Dancer.
Watch out for my boys Luke, Don, Kharly, Johnny K, Josh... and many more talented Sydney dancers on Wednesday night.
Alright, that's it. I've had enough of people ruining it for the local hip hop dancers and bboys/bgirls by polluting people's minds and making them think that we're only worth 50 bucks or less each for a standard 3-5 minute dance performance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about real choreographed performances, not just a battle or a showcase battle. I tell organisers the rate and they basically say to me, "You've got to me kidding me". I couldn't give a fuck if we miss out on that gig - fuck the mentality of "well $50 is better than nothing because I love dancing so much, I'll do it for free". I will slap you with a 21inch dildo if you ever say shit like that to me or a promoter/organiser/pimp. We're worth more than that and a bag of Kettle chips (Herb & Spice to be exact), so stop selling yourself short, because in doing so, you're selling everyone else (i.e. the povo dancers) out too.
I used to be a sell-out like that. Well maybe not, because my level of dancing and of those who I was dancing with, weren't of a $100 per person standard, so fine. Charge what you think you are in value. The industry standard is just over $200 per person for a standard performance plus hourly rate for rehearsals.
So $100 is really good value. The problem is, people won't pay performers this much if they know others are charging $50 or even nothing to perform. And I'm talking about really good quality groups too.
I don't care if they have to spend a lot of money on the venue and other shit, which leaves a budget of $200-$300 for the dancers. They don't understand the time and effort put into a performance, which inludes choreography, rehearsal time, making the music and costumes. After all that, $50 isn't shit.
I'm not even gonna get into the whole "show-pony" thing, where the people who do get the gigs only do so because they can headspin or have an agent. That's a whole 'nother frustration which is the commercial side of things and because I work in that business, I know what the corporates are like, and what they want.
I blame the dancers, or those who represent them, as the main culprit for holding dancers back in the scene. Overworked and underpaid, kiss some ass or get laid, that's the hip hop dancer's way.
Trick Nasty Crew W'SHOP Review
-JC Reyes
IT WAS TRICKY, AND MOST DEFINITELY NASTY!
I've been trying to write this review for a couple of days now and I didn't know what direction to take. Should I consider being politically correct? Or should I be brutally honest? In which person or point of view should I take? After much thought, I decided that I'm just going to spit it out.
Without sounding biased, the TNC workshop has got to be the best hip hop workshop I've been to in years, and I've done a few in my time. It had it all - new, old, lyrical content, musicality, technique, laughs, bumps and bruises. Someone said to me straight after the event, "I can't believe those guys, they were so awesome yet they were also so humble and chilled"; she further added "They even did a showcase after the event to say thank-you to everyone who turned up!" she paused, "They're so amazing". That's such a rarity these days in our industry. Errol and Matty B, based on their talent, reputation and skill, would have to be the two of the livest mo-fos out there and yet there was not a streak of arrogance to them. Their sentiment towards all schools, and appreciation and enthusiasm for the foundational hip hop systems and the new urban styles can only be described as simply admirable. They pay respect to everything there is or ever was hip hop. They even publicly gave an ol'timer like me props for my contribution to the game, they didn't have to and to be honest I didn't really deserve it, but that's just the type of people they are. Their attitude was not just a breath of fresh air but more like a gust of arctic wonder.
Errol's class, to me, was like a drunk man's moment of clarity; an "I see the light" moment. His approach to new school was so clear and concise and filled with such genuine appreciation for the style that even a new-jacker like me caught his infectious passion for it. During the class you really saw his love for hip hop as he directed us with confidence, never forgetting to tell us what "it" was all about; painting that lyrical picture through effortless movements and reflecting emotion through the song. His approach is "lyrical", NOT "literal". A point he made that stood out to me was that everybody feels and interprets emotion differently so why limit your choreography to the "literal" values of the lyrics; instead he encouraged everyone to explore your own feelings and reactions, and then base your choreography on the "lyrical" nature of the song.
Matty B's class was truly hip hop rawness in action. I look at Melbourne hip hop presently and to be perfectly honest, and no offence is meant by this, but I see a lot of the same style and approach floating around. Is this the direction Melbourne dance is heading towards? A lack of dimension and closed to anything new? When I saw Matty's style I thought to myself, "This is what Melbourne desperately needs". If you were to put a swagger of old school vibes, plus a dash of new school musicality, and a good hand full of the "bizarre", whiz it all up in a blender and you get what I call the Matty shake. His style boasts a great sense of abstract values and he strips choreography down to get its simpler form and adds a twist to it that makes the step unique, challenging, and true to the real meaning of "street" - spontaneous. After his set, and after surveying all the sore bodies, and the bruised knees, we all share a united smile happy to have learnt from a quiet but sublime choreographer. I think if Matty wasn't a dancer, he'd be a monk "walking the earth"; his way is calm and direct and it compliments the abundance of talent he possesses.
All in all the day was an eye-opener. You really can not put a value on learning and that was exactly what everyone took away from it. At the end we heard "Keep learning", and, "never loose respect for the past, but always embrace the future". Not a bad way to end the day I thought.
To those who missed out. You really missed out. No bias. Just blunt honesty. Melbourne, you really needed to have seen what these boys had to give.
Comments on the event >
§ TNC workshop totally gave me a new perspective on hip hop. Can't wait to see what's in store for iLLADVANCED.
§ Can I just say that yesterday was freakin awesome - it was so relaxed but still a lot of work! The guys were really cool, and even though I kinda died towards the end, I'm feelin it in the legs today, MACHOD!
§ Just droppin by to say how much fun yesterday was!! Maty B wasn't kidding bout the bruised knees! haha! Must say I'm glad it wasn't as super crazy hard as I thought it was going to be! Def a challenge - but I think I learnt quite a bit!
Comments (1)
Add Comments
