The proliferation of competitive showcase events in southern California is a good sign for both the street dance scene and the hip hop choreo scene. The biggest fusion of both cultures is the World of Dance (WOD) tour that has been held in multiple California cities as well as New York. Other events have followed in its wake, including Urban Street Jam which just happened last weekend in Costa Mesa. Why is this an important development? Well, showcases place our dance cultures in a context that builds community as well as markets them as a commodity in terms of live entertainment.
We need to have more showcases that promote emerging dance crews and freestyle dancers. The Kollaboration movement comes to mind as an inspiring model. This year is the 10th anniversary of Kollaboration, which has brought Asian-American musicians, artists, dancers, and performers to the public spotlight. What Paul Kim and his Kollaboration team have essentially done is to create a collective of artists that are their own supportive network. When you bring inspired minds together, magic is going to happen. Kollaboration provides the environment for this creative mixing to occur.
Myron Marten is doing that now with World of Dance. It’s been a more successful venture than the recent Freestyle Sessions, which is a high profile bboy competition under Cros One. It’s no secret that many bboys, poppers, and lockers are upset with the high ticket prices charged at Freestyle Session. On the contrary, World of Dance has gained positive word-of-mouth by keeping ticket prices lower and choosing venues that have been more comfortable. Also, World of Dance is fostering a collective of dancers from the choreo scene and the street scene. It’s a safe zone where dancers from different worlds can mingle, exchange ideas, compete with each other, and build relationships for future projects. It’s also a forum for turning the performing crews into live entertainers. People who are not involved in the dance communities will pay for tickets to WOD to see a show and to be entertained. From this mix, an entertainment culture is evolving.
Poreotics is a prime example of a crew that has benefited from this new development. They developed a strong following over the past two and a half years by constantly performing at competitive showcases. Their showmanship has grown with experience and now they’ve crossed over into mainstream television on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Other crews will follow similar paths as this entertainment culture develops. Meanwhile, there are movers and shakers behind the scenes who are managing and promoting these teams. A prominent example of this is Arnel Calvario, who founded Kaba Modern and currently manages the Kaba Modern Six, the Beat Freaks, and Fanny Pak.
One end result of this culture will be more saavy and experienced performers coming out of our scenes. This can only prepare our Gen II dancers for more professional opportunities in the entertainment industry as street dance becomes more accepted by the mainstream.
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