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.