Rockin' Champ 2013 - International Breakdancing Battle

 A little background - before I moved to San Francisco for college, dance was a huge part of my life.  Ever since I was a freshman in high school, the hip-hop community has been an integral part of who I am. For the next six years of my life, the friends I made, the music I listened to, what I did in my free time, how I managed my schedule and time all revolved around hip-hop dancing. I fell in love with the family feel of being a part of something bigger than my own individual life. Dancing on multiple crews helped me grow not just as a dancer, but helped me learn a lot about myself as a peson as well. The many, many friendships I made during those years are the kinds that last a lifetime. When you are on a hip-hop dance team, you become a family - simple as that, and I'm sure that anyone who has been blessed with the chance to be a part of a one will agree on this. The beauty of dance is that it has the power to bring hundreds of thousands of people together to share one passion.

Since I left San Diego to pursue art and photography, I have always felt like that small part of my heart that was connected to the San Diego dance community was missing. And now that I am all the way in Prague, the chance of finding any kind of connection to the hip-hop culture is slim to none (or I just have no clue where to look!). Except for one amazing, and completely unexpected night of dance overload!

To my surprise, there's an international breakdancing competition called Rockin' Champ that's held in Prague every year, where over 70 crews fly in from all over the world to battle for the right to the Rockin' Champ title.  Although I was a hip-hop dancer, I knew fairly little about the b-boying culture, so this event was an entirely new experience for me!  The vibe and atmosphere of a breakdancing battle is completely different from a regular hip-hop dance competition - where there is a stage for the dance teams to perform on, seats for the audience, a set show line-up, etc.

Rockin' Champ took place at a club called Sasazu, which had a huge dance floor, and a small stage for the DJ. The battles were held in the center of the floor, and hundreds of people crowded around in a shoulder-to-shoulder cypher circle to see the crews battle against one another. The underground scene that I walked into that night was something straight out of a dance movie!

During the final battles of the night, the crowd of people got so big that it was near impossible for us shorter girls to see anything. Luckily, we grabbed a spot right on the stage (next to the DJ!), and got the perfect view of the b-boy/b-girl circle.  The final crews from the day's preliminary battles were called up to battle against the 8 returning finalists from the previous year. And in 12 minute intervals, 2 crews took the floor at a time and brought their best moves.

(Judge Renegade watching the battles.)
All the dancers were judged by 3 very accomplished and well respected break dancers - Renegade from Soul Mavericks, Swift Rock from Battle Squad, and Venum from Skill Methodz. The crews were judged based on their skill, cleanliness, overall performance, how they captured the crowd, and how each dancer did both during his or her own freestyles, and as an entire crew (5 people max per crew).

One thing I love about the hip-hop culture is the fact that dancers will respect one another, even if they are opponents on the dance floor. B-boys will pull out all the jokes and clown on one another when they are in the moment and doing their thing during a session, but once they see another breakdancer hit a power move or trick flawlessly, they turn around and give them props immediately (even if it is the same dancer they were clowning on one minute earlier).

Even at a young age, dancers are taught from the beginning that ultimately, we all share the same passion and it's all love!

Baby b-boy doing his thanng!

(Harry, Kendra, me, Mollie, and Yaba watching the final battles!)

The crew that won was a team from Russia called the Predatorz.  From the minute I saw them dance during the semi-finals, I had a feeling that they would take it home.  All of the members were so skilled at their craft, and when they danced together, they were cleaner than any other crew. Plus they captured the crowd with their charisma and personality every time they took the floor - something that can make or break a team's performance. If a crew can't engage with their audience, people will get bored very quickly and easily forget the battle.

Here are some clips I managed to videotape from my Iphone of the Predatorz during the semi-finals and final battle! 

After the battle was over (around 1:00 am), the venue turned back into a nightclub for the after party! Now, everyone at the competition had the chance to mingle, drink, meet new people, and dance.  One of the judges who happens to also be a DJ, Renegade, took the tables and spun throwback hip-hop and R&B all night - a genre that I rarely hear in the clubs since I came to Europe.  Kendra, Yaba, Mollie, and I danced the rest of the night away and had the chance to meet breakdancers from all over Europe. We ended up befriending the crew that won (Predatorz), and hung out with them as well - who happen to be very nice and a lot of fun despite the fact that they spoke very little English!
I'd have to say that this night was one of my favorites I've experienced since coming to Prague.  Not only did I get to watch an amazing dance event, and was exposed to a side of hip-hop dancing I rarely took part in back home, but I was reminded of the raw energy and pure talent that surrounds this underground culture. I can only hope I find more opportunities to immerse myself in the dance community here in Prague before I leave, and I encourage you all to do the same. You won't regret it!