Bboy Unit Vol 9.
Bboy Unit Vol 9. Internationals
I went to BBoy Unit 9 Internationals last Saturday. Crews came from Canada, USA, Japan, Taiwan, China, France, Hong Kong and of course, Korea~
It was at the Seoul Olympic Weightlifting Stadium, about 3000 people turned up to it. For all you young people reading this blog, Seoul held the Olympics way back in 1988 when you guys were in diapers.
The Battles were tight, I actually agreed with all the judges decisions about the event, that is a first for me…haha. The judges had some pretty serious credentials, so no one had anything to say about being biased.
Judges -
Cross 1 - Bboy and Producer of Freestyle Session, the most infamous international breaking series on the planet. This man has been here since the 1990s and has helped develop bboying in Japan and USA with next level, RELEVANT events.
Woo Sung - Leader of Expression Crew, Korea. One of the most respected of the old generation of Korean bboys, widely held as one of the pioneers for innovation in the korean bboy scene.
Junior - Wanted Crew, France. This guy has a fake leg but still dances better than most people with two. His team won Bboy Unit last year.
Vartan - Flying Steps, Germany. Flying Steps was one of the best in Europe back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Widely known as a dope all round crew with power and style.
Machine - from Japan. Machine is one of the first bboys in Japan and rocks some crazy foundation.
Results:
Mind 180 - USA
Mortal E.X. - Japan
Rivers - Korea
Legistrom Obstruxion - France
This is a shot of the final battle between USA and Japan. USA has the original bboy scene and Japan, the oldest scene in Asia for breaking and streetdance.
USA had this bboy called ‘Caspar’ from Boogie Brats. Caspar is one badass dancer, that boy can move like serious. This is him in a cypher with Born at last year’s Bboy Unit.
http://www.youtube.com/v/PJo_mrp5O3U
Caspar is one of those bboys who can turn the tide of a battle I think when he comes out to do his set. So is Born, actually.
Rivers Crew, 3rd place at Bboy Unit!
It is important I think to have real judges for an event. I really hate celebrity judges, you know people who are actors, or radio DJs or otherwise unrelated to dance.
It really shows no respect for the dancers and moreover, no respect for the culture behind the movements.
Thankfully, in Seoul, the streetdance scene has moved past having to use celebrity judges to draw a crowd or to encourage participation amongst dancers because there is the presence of knowledge.
Not that i have anything against actors or radio DJs or anything, but imagine if you got some random guy from the street and got them to taste Moroccan cuisine in ‘Cookoff Morrocco’ and be a judge. What is that guy going to do? How does he know what to look for? Brother has no idea! Conversely, can you imagine a Morroccan coming to Tiong Bahru to judge the best Chicken Rice? Man has never seen it before in his life, how is he going to judge the art behind the dish?
Judges are an important part of streetdance events. Always good to have more than one, helps if the judge is a foreigner too just to keep things impartial. Most important i think, the judge has to be someone who is a dancer too, or at least, familiar to a ‘T’ about that streetdance style. So if Sugapop from Electric Boogaloo Poppers were to judge a bboy competition, I would trust his opinion because I know he knows what is up.
This weekend, going to another event this weekend, a showcase event in Seoul…..
PEAS.
Chris
