Over the past few years, hip-hop dance culture has become immensely popular in mainstream society. Television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew have increased awareness of the pure skill, athleticism and dedication required of a professional dancer. Moreover, the role of a dancer has shifted from the background, supporting character of musicians to being an artist in his or her own right. The different types of clothing, music and “swagger” associated with urban, hip-hop culture have overtaken communities of young people, particularly of Asian background or descent.
As a result of dance’s increasing popularity, college campuses often have several teams or student organizations devoted to sharing, practicing and performing dance. Cultural groups, sororities, fraternities and community service organizations are hosting dance shows in attempt to raise awareness or garner profit. On-campus dance crews are traveling regionally to compete in showcases and win cash prizes or bragging rights. The struggle for respect and credibility is constant as dancers work diligently to place higher, take risks and produce a set more creative than their last.
PRIDE 5 Dance Competition began as a competition for local New Jersey teams held at Rutgers University. Kappa Phi Lambda is the first and largest Asian-interest sorority devoted to service and cultural diversity and began hosting the competition in 2008. The founder’s goal was to fuse elements of music, fashion, art and dance in a celebration of emerging, urban culture. Within five years, PRIDE quickly emerged as a significant event and outlet for members of the east coast dance community. Prominent crews from the Jersey and Tri-state area sought out the opportunity to perform at the annual event and showcase what their teams have been working on.
New Jersey and New York were pioneers of the East Coast hip
hop scene, but crews have been cropping up in cities all over the country. The
New England and DMV areas, specifically, have begun to make their mark with a
completely different, theatrical approach to hip hop dance. While most teams
perform to a typical hip-hop soundtrack, Boston teams were some of the first to
execute complex storylines and incorporate non-traditional hip hop styles such
as contemporary or lyrical, classical jazz and musical theater.
Static Noyze Dance Company, the first place winner, is a
prime example of a hip-hop crew that went an alternative route. Their winning performance was based off of the storyline from Jim Carrey’s famous movie “The
Mask.” The choreography and staging was similar to that of a professional
Broadway production and included only one “hip-hop” piece: a remixed version of
“Big Spender,” a song from the musical “Sweet Charity.” They danced to popular
songs from the movie’s soundtrack such as “Hey Pachuco” and “Cuban Pete” and cleverly
used foundational hip hop styles such as locking and break dancing. The other two Boston teams representing at the competition did similar themes intended to garner crowd appeal. CONcept Artists performed a Toy Store set and PROject Nailz created a Mean Girls parody set.
There are various schools of thought surrounding hip-hop
dance culture. Although there are several purists that do not respect the
themes and theatrics, most hip hop lovers and dancers prefer the newfound
emphasis on storytelling and entertaining through unexpected and surprising
song or style choice. Regardless of where dancers fall on this spectrum, PRIDE
5 is meant to unite the east coast dance community and provide an outlet for
creative expression. Rivalry may exist in all forms of competition but in the
dance community it all melts away once the trophies and winners are announced.
Members from different teams mingled after the competition, gave each other
props and spent the rest of the evening bonding and sharing their opinions on
each other’s performances.
“At the end of the day, we all are here for one person. We’re
passionate about movement and entertaining. We’re passionate about our
community. We see each other multiple times a year for different competitions
and showcases. If we can’t get along and see past the competition aspect of
dancing then we are doing something wrong and forgetting what dance is all
about,” said Tarikh Campbell, Artistic Director of CONcept Artists.
