B-boys, Can They Dance!

Two local b-boy teams - Giller Battle Crew and Famous Crew are representing Malaysia at the R16 Southeast Asia Finals to be held at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur on June 11, starting at 8 pm. This is the regional spin-off of the R16 World B-Boy Masters Championship which sees dance crews from different regions pitting their b-boying skills against each other. The R16 Southeast Asia finals will see the two Malaysian teams competing against six other b-boy crews from Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam for the chance to represent Southeast Asia in the world championship in Seoul, Korea on July 2 and 3.

Giller Battle Crew and Famous Crew had earlier edged out 13 other local crews to earn the opportunity to represent Malaysia. Organised by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) in conjunction with visit Korea Year 2010-2012, the event is presented by LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd and managed by GFW Urban Youth Sdn Bhd. The R16 World B-boy Masters Championship is an annual tournament by KTO aimed at enhancing the quality of dance and promoting urban cultural exchange among youths in the Asian region. It is supported by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The championship showcases 16 b-boy crews representing 15 countries competing in a two-day tournament for titles in two categories: best crew performance and best crew battle.The festival also features graffiti artistes, street wear designers, musical performers and dancers who specialise in hip hop, popping, locking and other urban arts subcultures from South Korea and other countries. Since its inception in 2007, the global competition has attracted participation from more than 300 artistes, musicians and dancers. (Sourced from The Sun)

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Breakdancers Take Midnight Break

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur has become a popular spot for breakdancing at nights, with young adults showing off their skills in front of the Tune Hotel. When The Malay Mail passed by the area last Thursday, we saw more than a dozen b-boys and b-girls (as breakdancers are called) being watched by a big crowd of appreciative onlookers. Among the breakdancers was 24-year-old Westkarnain Mohd Yassin from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. "Breakdancing is very challenging as one makes full use of the body," said Westkarnain, adding that he first took it up when he was 14.

"This American dance is also considered an extreme sport and it's good that it has also been recognised by our Youth and Sports Ministry." added Westkarnain. Also known as B-boying, breakdancing is a street dance created by African-Americans in New York City as part of hip hop culture and became a rage from the 1980s. "In Malaysia, breakdancing was also popularised by local groups such as KRU, Nico and 4U2C in the 1990s," said Westkarnain. Among Westkarnain's breakdancing buddies was 18-year-old Sazaly Hasgli who is also from Kota Kinabalu.

"I recently competed in a breakdancing contest in a local reality TV programme and want to improve my skills in order to compete at an international level and make my family proud," remarked Sazaly. On weekends, Westkarnain and Sazaly, who both reside in Ampang here, would perform breakdancing in Bintang Walk in Jalan Bukit Bintang. "Sazaly and I plan to open a breakdancing studio in Kota Kinabalu during the next five years," said Wetkarnain. Meanwhile they will continue to rule at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Bintang Walk by night. (Sourced from The Malay Mail)

Big Toe Gets A Leg Up

Eight B-boy crews from seven countries in the region competed in the R16 South East Asia Finals 2010 held recently at Life Centre in Kuala Lumpur. They were Soulfresh (Taiwan), Laobangfai (Laos), Big Toe (Vietnam), 99 Flava (Thailand), Rebelz In Rhythym (Indonesia), Floor Techniques (Singapore) and Wakaka Fever and Giller Battle, both representing Malaysia. The panel of judges comprised of Bboy Free of Soul Shifters Crew from the United States and South Koreans Bboy Born of Rivers Crew and Bboy The End of Gamblerz Crew. Judging was based on 1) Creativity, 2) Execution, 3) Stage Presence, 4) Difficulty and 5) Overall Performance.

The MC Jazz Ivy and DJ Dust, two cool dudes from "The Land of the Morning Calm" endeared themselves to the 2000 strong audience who turned up at the bash. While waiting for the results of the competition to be announced, the crowd were entertained by guest artistes Dust and local rappers Altimet and Dose Two. Big Toe of Vietnam (pic) who got a leg up with the boisterous support of their fans, impressed the judges with their awesome performance to emerge winners. They will go on to compete against 15 teams from all across the world at the R16 Korea World B-boy Masters Championships 2010 which will be held in Seoul on July 3 and 4.

R16 and Urban Arts Festival was created in 2007 by the Korean Tourism Organization and the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to support grassroots youth culture such as Hip Hop and B-boy. The four-day celebrations which is held in South Korea every summer attracts famous artistes, musicians, dancers and promoters from all over the earth. It is a celebration of the creative energy behind urban youth culture. 'R' stands for Respect and '16' refers to the sixteen dance crews from fifteen countries who compete for the R16 Korea World B-boy Masters Championship titles in two categories: Best Crew Performance and Best Crew Battle.

Britain's Got Talent - Susan Boyle May Face-Off With 73 year Old Breakdancer Fred Bowers

The world seems to be going gaga over Susan Boyle, the 48 year old Scottish lass since she appeared on Britain's Got Talent TV show and crooned I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. Her sweet and melodious voice which is in sharp contrast to her dowdy and frumpy image has caught the imagination of viewers around the world. She has garnered a legion of fans including celebrities like Demi Moore and Bon Jovi. A guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the USA is in the pipeline and there are rumours she may be offered a recording contract. Boyle is seen as the favourite to win the crown but someone may just pip her to the title. And that person is none other than 73 year old breakdancer, Fred Bowers.

Fred Bowers (pic) has breakdanced himself into the hearts of millions of viewers and is seen as a serious contender for the 100,000 Pounds (RM650,000) top prize. Bowers said he had been breakdancing for about 5 years and now performs regularly in nightclubs. "It all started when I fell down, and when I got back up I found myself spinning on one knee. It's mostly my back, neck and head that I move so I don't see what the problem is because it is my leg that's bad", he said in an interview. See Bowers on YouTube where he showcases his robotic dance moves before dropping to the floor and spinning on his head. While his peers are pill popping, Bowers is body popping! Hail the grandaddy of breakdance!

Five semi-final rounds of Britain's Got Talent will be held this week. Only two acts will be selected from each semi-final for the grand final to be held on May 30. The acts who have confirmed a place in the final are Susan Boyle who sang Memory and dance troupe Diversity from the first semi-final. In the second semi-final, dance troupe Flawless lived up to their name by giving a flawless performance to secure a berth in the final. The other finalist was Shaun Smith who mesmerized the judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden with his rendition of the U2 classic With Or Without You. The winner of Britain's Got Talent may get the chance to perform before the royal family in the Royal Variety Show.

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Watch Out For "Break Out" From South Korea

Break Out - Extreme Dance Comedy, the much acclaimed stage dance comedy from South Korea will be coming to Malaysia to perform for charity this month. The show, which premiered in South Korea in 2007 has been performed in New York, London, Shanghai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore and Vientiane to rave reviews. Break Out narrates the tale of five zany convicts who hatch a plot to break out of prison. The non-verbal comedy showcases breakdancing, yoga, gymnastics and martial arts and funny moments set to catchy music. The Korea Tourism Organization and LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd are the sponsors of this event.

The shows will be staged in Kuala Lumpur on May 23 and 24 at Wisma MCA and in Georgetown, Penang on May 27 and 28 at Dewan Sri Pinang. There will be 2 shows daily in Kuala Lumpur - at 3.00 pm and 8.30 pm, while in Penang there will be one show daily at 8.30 pm. The show lasts about 80 minutes. Proceeds from the shows in Kuala Lumpur will be donated to the LG Cleft Lip Project and those from the shows in Penang will be donated to the D' Home Mental Health Association. Tickets priced at RM63 and RM93 can be obtained from Axcess Hotline at 603-77115000, online at www.axcess.com.my and all authorised Axcess outlets.

In conjunction with this event, a B-boy competition will be held at Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway in Petaling Jaya. The semi-finals will be held on May 16 and 17, of which ten teams will be selected for the finals to be held on May 22. The cast of Break Out will be the guest judge at the finals. Cash and other prizes sponsored by the Korea Tourism Organization, LG Electronics and Sunway Pyramid will be up for grabs. Registration forms are available at all Echo Park outlets, Street Nation Dance Studio, and Rhythm Dance Studio. The deadline for registration is May 11. For more information, contact Fellest Yan at 6012-8333755.

Warmest Regards,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia

KoRock Of Japan Wins Gatsby Styling Dance Contest Asian Finals

Last year, Mandom Corporation of Japan co-organized the Gatsby Styling Dance Contest in several Asian countries, namely Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Mandom said that the aim of the contest is to create a new dance genre of "style dance" in order to support creative activities of young Asians and provide a forum for cultural interaction among young people of various Asian countries. In Malaysia, the finals of the contest was held last December at 1 Utama in Petaling Jaya and was won by Elecoldxhot who took home a cash prize of RM 2000 and the chance to compete in the Grand Finals in Tokyo, Japan.

The Grand Finals which was held on February 28 2009 at East-O in the chic district of Shibuya in Tokyo offered a glimpse of the dance scenes across the participating countries - be it hip hop, popping, locking or breakdance. Malaysia's very own Exelcoldhot put up a performance comprising of a mix of different styles and which depicted a story about two boys trying to pick up girls. Freedom Squad from Indonesia blended cultural elements into their choreography and staged an entertaining dance with an Indonesian flavour.

Hong Kong's Bloos Dynamite showed off their kungfu moves in a slow dance routine which incorporated wave and popping. Donning black tradional Chinese costumes, the dancers stood out from the rest of the other contestants. Not to be outdone, Pop On The Basic from South Korea, KGS from Taiwan and Floor Techniques Crew from Singapore also put up creditable performances. It was Japan's Korock who brought the house down with a a well-choreographed and energetic dance routine to emerge champions of this inaugural contest.

The three-men dance crew from The Land Of The Rising Sun won the Greatest Gatsby Award and 300,000 Yen (RM11,250) prize money. Bloos Dynamite, the runners up, took home a 100,000 Yen (RM3750) cash prize. Elecoldxhot and Floor Techniques Crew bagged the Grooving Awards while Freedom Squad and Pop On The Basic were awarded the Technique Awards. The Styling Awards went to KoRock, Bloos Dynamite and KGS. The guest performers - Japan's U-Min No Kokoro, Egu-Splosion, Overflow, Isopp & O-Hashi, Affect and Lil' B and Indonesia's Hamdi Fathi Basalamah had the crowd excited with their dancing skills and great showmanship.

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Experience Street Dance Culture At Urban Dance Festival 2009

SMASH Dance Studio of Kota Damansara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor will be co-organizing the Urban Dance Festival 2009 to be held this weekend, February 21 & 22. There will be free workshops and performances by some of the best dance crews, including the champion and finalists of the recent Astro Battleground Finals 2009. A street dance competition will also be held. Further information regarding this event is as follows:-

Venue: Cineleisure Damansara, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya

February 21 2009 - Workshops and Performances.

Join in the free workshops and watch exciting performances:-

LA Hip Hop Workshop by Elecoldxhot, ECX

Reggae Workshop by Twister Genies

House Dance Workshop by Rythmusic, Fei

Punking Workshop by DT4

February 22 2009 - Competition

Showcase your best street dance routine and win the following prizes :-

3 X Champion Crew - Cash RM500 plus medals and trophy

3 X Outstanding Crew - Cash RM300 plus medals and trophy

4 X Consolation Prize - Cash RM100 plus medals

Rules: Limited to 22 teams only

Registration: RM20 per team

To register for this street dance competition, kindly contact Chan Wan Hoong at 017-3342411, email cw_hoong@hotmail.com, or Lee Hun Keong at 012-3376037. For more information regarding the Urban Dance Festival 2009, please check out www.smash.com.my or www.hiphopasia.blogspot.com.

Street dance is a generic term used to describe dance styles that have evolved outside of the dance studios and onto open spaces such as streets, parks, school courtyards, etc. They are often social in nature and involves improvisations and interactions with other dancers and the spectators. Generally, a street dance is based on a unique style or feel that is expressed through the dance, usually tied to a certain music genre. The street dances include hip hop, popping, locking, breakdance, krumping, punking, reggae, jazz and house dance. Street dance competitions are getting increasingly popular and several international events are held around the world every year. These competitions focus not only on judged battles but also on choreographed shows as well.

Best Regards,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia