A New Year, A Fresh Start

So after a few months of planning and brainstorming, this new year has finally given me the drive to start pushing out the UUDO(Utah Urban Dance Organization).  There are some big plans for this but we want to get the ball rolling and really start getting people interested in this outlook.  The University of Utah has so many students that have a huge interest in different urban dances but not a lot of outlooks to go towards.  The Salt Lake area also has a large variety of very talented and passionate dancers that do not really have a collaboration point for which they can come together.  This organization is looking to change this and help build the scene here in the Salt Lake area.

I have found Utah dancers in general to be some of the most humble and motivated people when it comes to learning a style of dance.  However, the sources from which to learn is no where near the capacity of other states.  This organization is looking to provide students at the U and people in the Salt Lake are a location and direction for which they can motivate and become better dancers.  The organization is also looking to provide a very positive outlook and hopefully show everyone the talent that this city brings.

Recap of Top 6 Federation

B-Bboy Federation

It is approaching closer and closer to the B-Boy Federation finals where one crew will be crowned champions of B-Boy Federation 2010-2011 and winner of plane tickets to any B-boy competition in the nation.  Last Saturday was the first battle of the top 6 and every crew came hard and prepared.  The battle of the night had to have been Flavanoids and Ground Houndz.  Being in this battle was so intense and entertaining.

Flavanoids crew came prepared and came rocking some new designs with Ensoul.  Thanks to Chris Owens (Flavanoids) for designing the shirts and Thanks to Ensoul for printing the shirts.  Check the design below.

Footage will be posted soon..

Opening up to the world of dance

Recently, my group NoiZ and I have taken it upon ourselves to start training in other styles of dance and really absorb the feeling of the dance.  This month has been an odd set of training but a very worthwhile experience.  

The first set of training is in modern, ballet, and jazz.  This is definitely an off topic when it comes to urban dance.  It is a very different flavor but that doesn't mean that it can't be tasted and enjoyed.  Our training is led by some of group members Mykklyn Stanzione, Keiko Doi, and Monet LaPine.  These dancers have had training in this area and to learn their technique and conditioning really helps train our body in other aspects we would never think with urban dances.

The second set of training is in funk styles, particularly popping.  This style has always intrigued me for a long time and has given me plenty reason to learn and work on.  This style definitely takes a lot of discipline and work to get certain styles of funk.  From the words of Poppin John, "work on one style as hard as you can so you can really get the feel of it."  The training of popping the muscles are really something that can only be achieved with hard work and time.

A Very Therapeutic Thursday

I am so blessed that I am around such a strong group of individuals.  It is truly amazing to be a part of my crews lives and to do what I do with them.  And to be a part of two amazing groups is definitely an enjoyable experience.  Rocking the B-boy life with my crew Flavanoids is amazing.  Each B-boy in this group is not only strong dancers and very driven, but they are also amazing people.  We work so well together both in the circle and out.  We always have so much fun growing as dancers and as friends.  Check out our first battle in the B-boy Federation right here.


The other group that I am so blessed to be with is NoiZ Crew.  These guys always push me to new boundaries in all types of styles.  Whatever the style, we have such a drive to learn and become stronger as individuals.  We always have the craziest happenings whenever we hang out and always take every experience as a lifelong event.

The reason I am bring this emotional speech is just the amazing Thursday night that I had with some of my friends from NoiZ.  Being able to meet other dancers and support the dance scene in Utah and truly get to dance our hearts out in the most unexpected places.  What an amazing night we had!

UVUs Best Dance Crew


It was great to see all these new groups forming for this purpose and to have fun and give them something to aim for.  It was great seeing a lot of new people and even people I have not seen in a while.  Definite props to Ground Houndz for tearing the floor up with 2 Bboys and definitely enjoying the experience.  I would also like to give a big congrats to Double Vision for really being dedicated and putting their hearts on the floor.  For the time that they have been dancing and being in a group together, they really showed that they came to win.  I was talking with NoiZ about them and saw that what they offered had a lot of potential and they should continue to pursue what they do.  Double Vision also got 2nd place for their performance so there is a big high five to all of them.  There performance is right here.  Quality is bad but I did what I could.  Enjoy!





















Also a big congrats to Swagger Rangers for winning the competition.  They definitely show a lot of potential in their dancing and hope to see them grow in the scene.  There performance is below:

Dancer of the Week

Jeka Kalotkin (Movement Lifestyle)

I wanted to keep this going by sharing another dancer that has caught my eye.  I was first introduced to this dancer by Tadd Gadduang.  He showed me a video of a group called "Movement Lifestyle" which consists of Shaun Evaristo and a couple of other amazing dancers.  There was one dancer that definitely caught my eye in the video.  That dancer is Jeka Kalotkin.  I definitely love the way she moves and she shows a ton of emotion when dancing.  Here is a video of her below so definitely check her out!

Lots of Stuff Happening This Week In Utah

Federation Recap


Federation Round 3 was a great success! It was great recapping with all the Utah B-boys and I was glad to hang out with a lot of them.  Our crew, Flavanoids, did a great job!  It was awesome to see how much we have improved as individuals as well as a group.  The chemistry between us work really well and create such a strong crew.  I also want to throw a huge shout out to Wasabi "AKA Kaleena Chung".  She did such an amazing job battling in the one on ones.  She is definitely coming up!  Also really great to see more promoters out at these jams.  Great to see Ensoul tearing it up with their clothing line.  Really great to see more people giving support to the Bboy community.  Check out their page on Facebook:

Ensoul

UVU's Best Dance Crew


Another event coming up this Thursday is UVU's Best Dance Crew.  They have already run the audition but there will be a lot of awesome dance groups performing.  It's also really great to see organizations such as universities bringing out the dance scene a lot more.  This is something that I definitely want to throw out when the time comes for the University of Utah.  I hope to bring the dance scene out more to these campuses and it is great to see that UVU is already getting started with this.  Check out the event on Facebook here:

UVU's Best Dance Crew

Cypher Assault 3

Coming up this Saturday is the Bboy Cypher Assault 3.  This event is a 2 on 2 Bboy Battle with a 1 on 1 Popping Battle.  The battle is this Saturday from 6-11 PM at the Brick and Mortar Skate Shop (561 W. 200 S. Salt Lake City, UT). This event will also feature a special guest judge Poppin John.  There will also be a workshop with Poppin John which is something I DEFINITELY recommend to anyone wanting to learn some fundamentals of popping.  Check the Facebook link below:

Cypher Assault 3

This Saturday!!

Bboy Federation

------------------IMPORTANT!!!! VENUE CHANGE!!!!!!!!-------------------------------

-SUGAR HOUSE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB | 968 East Sugarmont Dr. (2225 So.) 

Attention: Due to a scheduling error on the part of the Arts Alliance, the venue is unavailable this weekend. THE BATTLE HAS BEEN MOVED

- PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE CHANGE -

info@bboyfed.com

(801) 458-6959

for questions.

Dancer of the Week

This is sort of a newer thing but I figure that I should take the time to find some dancers that really inspire me and really give me reason to continue to dance.  This is a community and a culture in which everyone can get together and really collaborate on our talents.  I feel that people sometimes segregate this community into styles and "races" of dance are formed preventing a full connective community.  It is only when we respect and collaborate with other dancers that we can create this bond in the area that everyone can see.  Anyhow, the person I picked for today is:

Mike Perez

I have met and talked to this guy and he brings a lot to his community and to dance in general.  He is an urban choreographer and dancer and truly has a talent for it.  Mike lives in Las Vegas where he will generally teach classes as well as dance with his crew "Ateam" and "High Profile".  Here is his latest piece.

Always an Inspiration!

Back from Vegas

So I just got back from Las Vegas, Nevada for a battle and workshop.  I must say that I am quite inspired now. Every time I go to Las Vegas for these dance events, I always come back with some new knowledge and some great experiences.  I went to take a workshop for Locking.  For those of you who are not familiar with the funky dance style of Locking, go to youtube and check out some video clips.  The person teaching the workshop was a man by the name of Scooby Doo.

This man invented many moves in the style of Locking and has revolutionized it to the art form it is today.  It was a great experience learning from someone as knowledgeable about the dance as he was.  Learning a dance that I am not nearly as familiar with is such a great experience and really provides a lot of inspiration and a lot of energy.  Here is a video of him below rocking it like never before.



We were also able to attend the Get Back in Las Vegas.  This is a monthly event that occurs every first Friday of the month and is a party with a lot of funk and soul music.  For more info, check out http://www.thegetbackvegas.com.  It was amazing to see all the people that get out to enjoy this event.  It is also great seeing all the dancers cypher and having a good time.  I wish that Utah has something of this magnitude.

Finally, we attended the Las Vegas Shakedown 10.  This event was so much fun and I am glad that I got to enter this battle.  We did not make it past the prelims but I feel that it really inspired me to train harder and prove myself at the next one.  It was great seeing three of the Utah crews making it past prelims.  Congratulations to Groundhounds crew for making it to the top 16.  Blessings to AOD(Angels of Death) crew for making it to the Semi Finals and really putting Utah on the map.  And a huge round of applause for HisPanics(Mig187, Ali, Eric the Diss) for winning the entire battle.  It is amazing to see these guys do so well and win the battle.  They are always very strong dancers and give it their all!

A Little Off Topic

My Other Interest

So, this is a little off topic from the subject but it has definitely been something that has come to my mind.  A new film has recently hit the stage and has made a lot of buzz around the theaters.  This movie is "The Social Network".

I myself have seen this twice and I very much enjoy this movie.  It brings a lot of information to my mind especially when it comes to Computer Science.  For instance, when the student is sitting in class in his Operating Systems class, I sit there and really try to understand the information the teacher is giving.  Mainly because I am taking Operating Systems next year.  But it also really inspires me to work on a project.  I know that creating something like Facebook is a completely different subject, but everything is possible so why not?  I am not talking about creating Facebook or even something to "revolutionize" the way people do things.  Even though that is my potential goal in life anyways.  But I want to create something that I can tell everyone that I created it.

Something also fell into my lap that same time that really started to speak to me.  This something is Microsoft's Imagine Cup.

For those who may not know, I am a Student Partner with Microsoft.  I basically try to promote Microsoft to my local campus and show all the new stuff that is going on with Microsoft.  The imagine cup is a technical competition that is held yearly to showcase students hard work and effort.  There are different fields that you can enter in including Software Design, Game Development, Embedded Development, Digital Media Design, and IT challenges.  I have already entered the IT challenge because I want to test my knowledge in the growing works and challenges in the Computer Industry today.

But I also want to do something else.  I want to enter the Software Design with some people and come up with something that can really change the way we do things and even help further my career.  I want to really work at this and I do not want to just be lazy around it.  This is something that has really shot me and I am feeling very inspired.

The competition will give me a drive that I never really had before to create something new and different that I can call my own.  I am normally a person that enjoys Computer Animation and creating something as a work of art, but I also want to test my knowledge through problem solving and creating ideas to solve these problems.

Vegas Shakedown 10

Vegas Shakedown 10 is on its way and is becoming a very large event in both the Vegas scene and even the Utah scene.  The Las Vegas scene has a very large and inviting scene.  Vegas seems to be the center point for many mid west areas including California, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.  These events pull Bboys from all these regions into one location to battle and jam.  The Vegas scene is really well known for the strong competition and drive they have for Bboying.  You have a large array of amazing Bboy crews.  These crews include Battle Born, Knucklehead Zoo, Full Force, Rock Steady Vegas, and even young strong crews like Runaway Tribe.

Another strong driving force to this scene is a man by the name of Vee.  Vivek Narang is the one that runs the Vegas Shakedown events and really helps put the scene in a good position.  Running an event like these is very difficult and for someone like Vee to really put the effort into strengthening the Bboy scene, he must be commended for that.

This not only affects the Vegas scene but it really affects the Utah scene as well.  There are four crews that are registered for this particular event that are all Utah based crews.  This is really great for the Utah scene because it pushes the Bboys here to grow stronger and push themselves beyond the state.

Though going to Vegas Shakedown is a little more difficult for those just wanting to watch an event like this, footage is generally posted on youtube the following week.  Here are some clips of the older Vegas Shakedowns.

Creating a new revolution at the U

Winter is coming

There has been a slight issue with our ever growing funk night.  Due to violence in other areas of Utah regarding public music events, we had to cancel funk until further notice.  Although this may be a loss for the dance scene, it may be a secret seed that will sprout into something much greater.  The U has been an area that is looking for a strong diverse group.  One thing that I have noticed that the U is really lacking is an urban dance group or club.  This is something that can revolutionize the dance scene and even the scene at the U.  In order to pull people closer and to pull dancers closer, they must be able to coordinate in an event that is safe and fun.  Funk night was a great idea but lacked the sense of security with only a few people looking after it.  However, with something that can be slightly more official, it may bring more people that are interested in any sort of urban dance.  Whether this be bboying, locking, popping, or choreography.

With many dance studios lacking a sufficient urban dance section, and even the lack of events surely hurt the scene at Utah.  But with the talent that we have here,  it is very easy to start a strong scene with something like this at the U.

For everyone that goes to the U, be on the lookout for an Urban Dance Club soon.

Meen187 Workshop

Spend Money on Knowledge


One thing that I look at with a lot of urban dance teachers or dance teachers that teach urban in Utah are lacking out on one thing.  That one thing seems to be experience.  A lot of these dancers seem to be missing that experience that teachers MUST have in order to properly educate their students on the subject. Bboy teachers here seem to teach based off what they know.  This is not a big deal as students are willing to learn whatever they can.  However, if they are paying a studio large amounts of money every month in order to learn this, it is not fair to the students.  Teachers are spending money on stuff such as new clothes or apparel.  But one thing I feel that these teachers must do is attend workshops or classes from dancers outside of Utah.  It is a rare instance when we get a very credited urban dancer to appear in Utah for a workshop.  But to travel to California or New York and attend workshop from some of the great legendary urban dancers will not only help spread the knowledge, but spread it correctly.

This is why we have such an honor to have one of the funkiest Bboys in the nation to appear in Utah.  Meen187(Dynamic Rockers) from New York is having a Bboy clinic tomorrow here in Salt Lake City.  So there is no need to spend a lot of money on plane tickets or even travel outside the state.  A $7 workshop will bring one of the funkiest Bboys to educate on the essence of Bboying.  Attending these events will not only educate your mind on this style of dance, but will also show everyone that Utah is willing to learn and willing to commit to this dance.

Fall

FALL IS APPROACHING

Fall is approaching and it is approaching fast.  A lot of people like fall.  One problem is how it affects the weather and our dancing.  Funk Night is an outdoor event which is possible due to the amazing weather tuesday nights have.  One problem with fall and even winter coming up is that it makes funk night difficult during this time.  Which comes to the point of dancing indoors.  It is very difficult for a lot of Urban Dancers to have a place to dance indoors.

STUDIOS

Urban dancers can only have access to indoor dance locations if they teach or if they have close relations with the owner.  A lot of studio owners aren't having the joy of having real urban dancers to educate their students in the studios.  They usually have their current teachers take "hip hop" workshops and teach their current students.  This is NOT what I feel is appropriate and studios are stealing money from their students by doing this.

FIND TRUE DANCERS

If studios want to teach their students hip hop, urban, or funk dance styles, search around for the true dancers that know the style and even know how to properly teach.  This will give the opportunity for the urban dancers and a chance for them to dance away from the streets.  Because the streets become cold during fall and winter.

Federation Round 2

Bboy Federation Round 2

We are two weeks away from Round 2 of the Bboy Federation Battles.
For those who do not know what the Bboy Federation is, this will give a better insight.
The Bboy Federation is a Utah ONLY bboy event held by Josh Perkins and Jimmy Karren (AKA Bboy TxT and Bboy Pyro).  This event consists of 6 Battles over the course of 6 months.  Each crew battles with a record being kept on wins and losses.  The best crews will compete in the Federation Finals for a chance to receive round trip air tickets to any Bboy Jam in the nation.  This event keeps crews focused and training during the course of the year and rewards the best.  A lot of Utah bboys have a difficult time making it to other jams mainly due to funds and lack of sight outside Utah.  This gives them the opportunity to reach out and take their talents to a national level.  It also gives other states of taste of what Utah has to offer.


Here is a look at the brackets and what crews are battling.

Be on the look out for Flavanoids crew.  This crew consists of Chacho the Mute, Monkee, Kool-Aid, and myself.  Be sure to watch for us as we are competing.

Hip Hop SLC 2

Hip Hop SLC 1

Funk Night

Funk Night happens every Tuesday from 8 til late at the Salt Lake City library.  This is a collaboration of DJs, Dancers, and just people looking to enjoy the atmosphere.  When you here some great funk, mainstream, hip hop, or even breaks, you know you can find some amazing dancers in the midst.  With some greats DJs such as DJ Delmaggio, and Big Mike, you can expect great music from different genres.  Also, be on the look out for some members of NoiZ.  As a matter of fact, you can probably find every member of NoiZ enjoying the music there.  The dancers are very talented and in many different styles.  If you see them dancing, do not be afraid to come up and dance or even learn a few dance moves.  If you are curious to see what goes down on Tuesdays, check some of this footage.

Here are some videos of funk night

Utahs Current Funk

I am going to start off by introducing myself and what I do so you can get a better grasp on my goals and what I hope is accomplished.  My name is Stephen Lu and I am a bboy.  I have been bboying for approximately 4 years.  I am also a part of an urban dance group known as Noiz.  I have learned so much but I have a lot of learning left.  
Utah's urban dance scene is a slow progressing scene that has a lot of talent and passion.  As small as the scene may be, there are strong willed people looking to expand and grow.  Whether this is a locker, bboy, house dancer, popper, krumper, or even a vogue dancer.  Scarcity of these dances in Utah make it very difficult for people to expand and grow with their joy of dancing.  The goal is for all these dancers to unite together and show the true essence of the dance in Utah.  This united cause will help remove the ignorance and perception that many people have of these dances.