Video: Groove Dance Competition
Tune in live below to watch this evening’s [May 14] “dance battle” contest being held at the Berkeley Institute.
TROIKA in association with The Broadway Dance Centre of New York hosted a Performing Arts Master Class Workshop entitled ‘GROOVE’ today. The ‘dance battle’ is the culmination of at the workshop, and the winner will be judged by the guest faculty and will win $1000.00, courtesy of sponsor Digicel.
I should probably preface this comment by stating that I was blessed with that good ol’ white gene that denies me of rhythm/the ability to dance (you know the sort – you’ve seen them cuttin’ rug at weddings), so my opinion is that of a keen observer and not a dancer.
Nevertheless, I’ve always been under the impression that dance is both a discipline and a form of expression.. so I found it a bit weird that dancehall featured so prominently as it really didn’t appear to be much of either. A few of the acts seemed to have a sort of ‘follow my lead’ vibe to them, which was pretty surprising given the rather trivial nature of the choreography.
The SYTYCD/CA ‘Clarks’ routine (ch. JaeBlaze) went somewhat viral locally last year – proof enough that Dancehall doesn’t have to be a string of established moves pulled from music videos repeated over and over again until the music becomes the only enjoyable part of the routine.
The only thing I found myself watching, rewinding, and watching again was ‘Gimme Dat’ (@1h 08h). They had my vote. Granted, it was flawed – in parts – but fluid, varied and highly entertaining. Malachi I think I’ve seen too much of to appreciate; props to the one (contemporary?) ballet dancer aaand.. the rest (sans ‘Super Bass’) is a bit of a blur so I’ll leave it there.
All that said, well done to all those involved.
And to Seldon et al — keep it up. I wish you continued success in all of your future endeavorers.