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B-BOYS SHOW RIDICULOUS SKILLS
THE BEST B-BOYS FROM AUSTRALIA, JAPAN,
Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore,
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and New
Zealand competed in the Red Bull BC One Asia
Pacific Qualifiers at Vector Arena in Auckland on
September 1.
It was the first time the event had been held in
New Zealand, and although I’m admittedly not
the best-educated person on the art of breakdancing,
you didn’t have to be a professional to
enjoy the night.
Red Bull BC One started in 2004 and has become
one of the world’s most prestigious B-Boy competitions.
It was even, in fact, voted best B-Boy
Event 2011 at the World of Dance Awards. This
year the final is in Rio De Janerio, Brazil, in
December, and the winner from the Asia Pacific
Qualifier wins a spot in the comp, which is
already something to put at the top of the B-Boy
version of a CV, in caps lock and bold.
To have the Asia Pacific Qualifiers in New
Zealand was a huge deal for people in the New
Zealand underground B-boy scene.
One of the judges from the night, Swerve,
explained the excitement: “This is a highlight for
the scene. We haven’t had a big B-Boy event like
this in a long time. Having all the international
dancers here in Auckland is a big thing.
“The local B-Boys look at these guys like superstars
and to meet them is really great for us.
Events like this need to keep happening.
“The B-Boy scene in New Zealand has been
around since the early 80s. The scene is still
small, but well educated about B-Boying and
Hip-Hop culture. It’s a healthy scene, but we
need events like this to keep growing.”
It looked as though there were about 2,000 people
when the event kicked off, and what I found the
funniest was the diversity of the audience. They
ranged from the expected underground B-boys
from around the country, and mums with their
children, to pretty girls in dresses, tomboys
in pumas, and professional schmoozers of the
socialite ‘think I’m famous but really I’m good for
not that much’, Jamie Ridge-type scene with VIP
tickets proudly swinging around their necks.
To be honest, the thing that really convinced me
to book that Grabaseat flight up from Wellington
was the MC for the night, Rahzel, ‘Godfather of
Noyse’, who is most well-known (in my mind)
as being from the incredible hip-hop band The
Roots. I was lucky enough to see them play for
the first time just a couple of months ago, and so
to see Rahzel again was an opportunity I couldn’t
miss.
And booking those flights was a great decision!
During one of the shows between battle breaks,
Rahzel took the mic and began to show the crowd
exactly why he is known as the ‘undisputed
beatbox champion of the world’. He beatboxed
for around five minutes, blew the crowd away,
and to make things even better, my arms got
quite the workout holding my iPhone to record
the entire thing. Summer is coming, ya know.
In the end it was Shorty Force from South Korea
who won the final against his fellow countryman
and favourite, Differ. The panel of five judges
decided on the winner unanimously and BC
One All Star Ronnie, from the USA, explained
the decision: “Differ has a very unique style
and I respect him a lot for that, but looking at
execution, Shorty Force was just on point. He
pulled all the stops and went all out, while Differ
looked tired and kind of looked like he gave up in
the last battle.”
Unfortunately, local heroes Grub-D and Akorn
from Common Crew in Christchurch got eliminated
in the first round. But making it to the
qualifiers is huge for them and I’m sure they’ll
continue to up their game for next year’s competition.
As well as the insane battles and the beatboxing
from Rahzel, BC One also showed off native
dance crews Kapa Haka and Aranui Dance,
and even the judging panel, which consisted of
the Red Bull BC One All Stars Taisuke, Roxrite,
Ronnie, and Pelezinho, and Swerve, showed off
their B-boy skills before the final battle.
All in all, it was an amazing night that showcased
the ridiculous skills of all 16 B-boys who
competed. If you’re interested, the Africa Middle
East Qualifier is on September 14 and the World
Final is in Rio on December 8. Isabelle Truman
MUSA’S GOT HEART
Massey University Students Association of Palmerston North (MUSA)
proved that they are, contrary to popular belief, a bunch of upstanding
‘GCs’ when they came to the rescue of students stranded after a fire
burned down their Morris Street home.
While they didn’t rush headlong and pull out people from the burning
house, they did give the occupants a roof over their heads, and
free rent for the rest of the academic year. They also provided food
vouchers and free rental of appliances. What a bunch of cool cats!
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