It was my first trip to Battlegrounds, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Yeah sure, I had watched the youtube video's of wildly talented crews from around the globe, and have sat through more dance movies than I wish to recall (even the excruiatingly bad ones), but seeing it live is another story.
As a passionate observer with the Pure Funk Crew from Adelaide, I was here just to soak up the atmosphere, take a few photo's and see what I could learn from the other teams that had won their way here from around the pacific.
What struck me first was the inclusive nature of the event and friendly atmosphere it created. It took a little time for crews from the different nations to mingle, but soon enough people were sharing experiences and trading moves in a way that almost made you forget you were here to compete.
The organisation of the event was quite professional, appropriately reflecting the high standard of the dancing involved. And oh, the dancing.
The standard was world class. From a local perspective, the Pure Funk crew worked hard on their routine this year, and it showed. They improved in every area, but yet in comparison to the top teams, they come up short in every area. This wasn't looked upon as a negative by the team, in fact I think people's minds where choc full of idea's and inspiration at some of the creativity and athleticism on display. The only disappoinment was the lack of support; but given that they performed near the start of the open competition, and did not have sizable state representation, this was to be expected.
The top teams all had their own original take on the concept of a three-minute set. They crammed as much as they could into this timeframe, mindful of the fact that they were here to dance, as well as provide theatrics and gymnastic movement. There were soundbites from famous movies (Gladiator and the Dark Knight amongst others), hard stepping and krumping breakdowns, and softer r&b moments. Every team incorporated varying amounts of humour, dance music showed up several times, and teams straddled old-school and new-school beats with relative ease of transition.
What people were really hanging out for though were the 'uh-oh' moments, the 'no-he-didn't-just-go-there' moments that made you gasp, cheer and had usually reserved middle-aged men dancing in circles and waving caps. There were plenty of those moments.
The Phillipino's who stable of a dozen young men were somehow choregraphed into doing backflips at exactly the same time were breath-taking, as were the New Zealanders, who threw up some creative, unforgettable cannons. Even the night ending all-in battle raised the bar, as individuals b-boys and b-girls brought their own tricks to the stage, punctuated by one young fella doing a running forward flip into the crowd from the 2 metre high stage. It was all here, one-arm handstand bounces in time the music, physically impossible waves and popping/locking, right down to female athleticism that was comparable to some of the men's.
It was all there, and it was amazing. To have this level of talent in one place was thrilling, and even more so to imagine where this will lead. Just writing this is bringing the goosebumps right back, and I'm sure that goes twice and thrice for anybody that was actually up there performing. Whilst there is a battlegrounds comp out there to bring these crews together, there will always be a strong field of dancers, not just hip-hop, but dancers in the Asia-Pacific region, and that is something to be excited about, and to be proud of.