What do the names Ziggity Crew, Poptarts and Lil Justice have in common? They’re among the hip hop dance crews representing Australia at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas this month – and all three boast Filipino members.
Marco Selorio, managing director of urban entertainment group Hoopdreamz, is going to Las Vegas next week to head the Australian delegation at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships. Thanks to popular movies such as You Got Served, Step Up, and reality television shows like So You Think You Can Dance, hip hop dance is now being celebrated more than ever, with more people eager to watch and practice this style of dance. But before You Got Served, Hip Hop International (HHI) dance crews were already battling it out to find out who the best of the best was.
The annual meet will be held at the Red Rock Resort from Jul 26-31. Australia will go head to head against 36 other countries, including heavy favourites - New Zealand and the Philippines.
Dancing their way to Nevada is a team of 70-strong dancers (split between 9 teams) from across NSW, Victoria, ACT and Qld that will vie for gold in the three major divisions - Juniors, Varsity and Adult Division.
The dance teams include Ziggity Crew (NSW), Phly Crew (NSW), A2D (Vic), Babysteps (VIC), Poptarts (VIC), DC Crew (ACT), Runway Crew (Qld), Ultimatum (Qld) and Lil Justice (Qld). Lil Justice is the junior group of Australia's Got Talent champions Justice Crew. Each team consists of five to eight members and have to perform a choreographed routine within a set time frame.
The preliminary round kicks off on July 27-28, followed by the semi-finals on the 29th. The championship round will be held at the cavernous Orleans Arena on the 31st July.
From the Australian delegation, there are quite a few Filipino-Australian dancers in the national squad. This includes Michael Flores from Ziggity Crew (NSW), five of the six members from Poptarts, DC Crew choreographer Kimberley Garcia from Canberra, and a couple of members from Lil Justice are Pinoys.
We wish the Australian delegation the best and we hope you bring the trophies home!
To watch and support Australia's dance crews as they battle it out at home before battling it out with the rest of the world, or for more information visit www.groovetv.com.au or www.hiphopinternational.com
Text sourced from Hoopdreamz press statements