What The Funk Crew Performing at Takala Land 6/29/13!!!

6/29/13, What The Funk?! Crew will be performing at 

TAKALA LAND DANCE STUDIO 2years Anniversary 2013<Back to the streetz vol.2>

!!! 

There will be other amazing dance crews that will be performing! Just see the pic to find out who will be attending! SAVE THE DATE!!!

This is a REAL POPPING ROUTINE! - Jazzy J Electric Boogaloos (Red Suit)

THE FUNK MASTER, The Electric Boogaloo, Rhythmatic Funk Movement, the one and only Soul Fire,,,,Jazzy J.

My teacher and a dance name god father getting down HAAAARRRRD.

LA Part 1: Arrival and late night session.

After staying in Japan for a week and saying goodbye to Nonoko while we both shed tears (Don't say nothing....You don't know how tough it is to do this for 5.5 years.....) I arrived in LA.

Now from what I remembered, Ilya, told me that he would have his friend come over to the airport to pick me up.

But NOOOOOOOOOO -______-

He tells me to take a shuttle to get there....
sigh.....what a start lol Me Japanese, no english, scared, understand??? lol

I took the shuttle and arrived in front of this crazy looking modern building. Here, I met Liz and Denom.
They are friends of Ilya from Boston and generously welcomed us to stay with them for a week! Not only that, they drove us around LA (which I'll get to later on) but they were soooooo nice :) I'm really glad that I got to meet and hang out with them.

After I settled down and unpacked my stuff, we went out to eat at Honey Pigs.

Pic

While eating, I got to know about Liz and Denom a little. Also Ilya and I kinda talked about what we did for the past week and a half.
Seeing him felt like ages ago since we lived together for a moth before coming to LA (WOW what a bf gf sentence this is.......SUPER GAY lol).

Than Ilya told me that he was talking to Slim Boogie earlier that day. So we decided to contact him because Ilya thought it'll be dope and a dream come true if we can go to the practice spot that he films his dance clip that is posted on youtube.

So he contacts him.
No response.

I've shared contact with Jr Boogaloo and Bionic Man a month before at Electric Soul Satisfaction, so I started to text them.

Jr Boogaloo was very helpful.
He gave us the numbers of this crew mates and told us to contact them as soon as possible to plan our week.

Bionic Man responded quickly. And welcomed us to come to his place when it is convenient for us.
Unfortunately, he lived 40 min away by driving. So we couldn't go that night.

It was around mid night and we still couldn't get a solid answer.
We didn't want to waste our time just waiting so I decided to text Slim Boogie.

A call back from Slim LMAO!!!

I still can't forget the face Ilya made when I said "oh he is calling me" lol

and what was even awesome was that the spot he practices was only a few blocks away!!!


So on the FIRST NIGHT IN LA, I mean literally few hours after landing, we get to practice with Slim Boogie.

We also planned to go to Homeland to see Kid Boogie the next day and go to San Diego for Jr. Boogaloo's 2 hour private lesson the day after tomorrow.

AWESOME

This trip could not turn out to be better than this.

So we walked and met up with Slim and Keumsae!
We both met slim couple times through MGF workshop tour (link) and SDFX 2 in Boston (link).
I've also met Keumsae before when C-lo hosted an event (link) in D.C couple years ago and she came as one of the judges.

A reunion is always great. I was glad to see them again, but this time in LA.

We exchanged for roughly 4 or 5 hours.

Seeing their get down was amazing. The level of foundation and advanced technique they had was unbelievable. We not only saw, but felt the level gap between the East coast popping compared to the West.

Please don't take this in a wrong way. I'm not trying to look down on the East. I feel that because they are taught by poppers with proper historic background the students had better understanding of how to execute the dance better.
Of course Popping is a dance movement that originated from the West. Thus, the resources to its roots can be easily traced back. Unlike us (the East) or the world, who dig the internet for information, they can go straight to the creditable source.

Some dancers I've met in the past told me that they don't really care about the past. Whats done is done and they want to focus on "THEM" because its their "GENERATION". But I think history is important. Knowledge is Power. Sense of community is crucial to the Hip Hop and Street Dance community. This is why I feel strongly about the need of popping education on the East Coast.

Anyway, I'll discuss that some other time. Back to the trip.

We didn't take any dance footage because I was too focused on observing the Slim and Keumsae lol
I think you can tell by how we were right after the session.

After the session, we were DONE lol In the vid I was wide awake, but I literally fell a sleep as soon as I got to the bed.
The Monster drink we had before going to the session was all used up and our body was collapsing.
I fell a sleep as soon as I got to the bed.

Thank You once again Slim and Keumsae. This would not have been the best day to start off without you two.

Part 1 End.

Electric Soul Satisfaction Part 3: Workshop and traveling back

Part 3


Once again, after a long night, we slept until 9 AM.
Surprisingly, my body wasn't sore at all. The training I've been doing must've helped me.

We got ready, had a Pizza as a breakfast near the studio where the workshop was held.

James and Ilya

Jazzy J

Time was closing in. Funny thing is, Jazzy didn't realize that he was doing a Locking workshop, not a popping workshop until the very last minute LOL

But of course, its Jazzy. To him switching his mindset between styles is not a problem at all.

Again, surprisingly, Gwo and Carlo was running late. I guess those guys were having too much fun with the judges this time LOL

We waited for an hour before the class began. Finally Carlo called and James began to organize the workshop.

Within the next 15 min, Carlo arrived with other judges. 
The workshops began about an hour and 15 min late. Our initial plan of going back to NYC was gradually being pushed back.  I was getting nervous because I was worried about going back during rush hour. Plus, we all had plans early in the morning the next day.

Luckily me and ilya had fun talking with Dickson, Bionic, and couple other dancers to ease our stress off.

After Jazzy's workshop, we drove to Gwo's house to pick up Fayzah Fire, who was taking a private class with Jr boogaloo.




Here, seeing how Jr Boogaloo interacted with Jazzy, I've realized how much respect he has on the West coast popping community. I say this because as we were leaving, Jr Boogaloo looked at Jazzy and sincerely said "west coast is waiting for you" with a respectful manner.

Seeing such an amazing dancer that represent the West Coast popping internationally for more than a decade to show such respect to him made me realize how great Jazzy really is.

Of course to me, he is my sensei, mentor, and dance name god father (My real name is SUGURU. He couldn't pronounce nor remember my name at all for few month. Finally, he got tired of trying and just decided to call me SUGALOO because it sounds similar lol) and I have high respect for him.

Jazzy relaxing his foot while I pump some gas lol

 


But I also know his funny and teenage like personality that makes me feel like he is a great funky old friend. However, seeing such interaction between him and Jr Boogaloo reminded me how lucky and fortunate I am to learn under him.








When we began driving back to NYC, it was around 3:30 PM.




Going back to NYC was HELL. Especially for me.
Because I was the one driving back!!! 
I drove back all the way without making any stops because I wanted to go home as quick as possible since we were already way behind out initial plan.

But of course we were going back during rush hour.

I hit 4 traffic.... What a night mare. I ended up driving 5~6 hours. My back was KILLING me.....


Anyhow, that was the end of my first summer trip.
To me, it was a great start. But as a crew, I wish we could've done more.
This is because I know how much my partner has challenged himself to improve this summer. I want him to receive results and accomplish the goals that was training for.


But I'm sure this will happen soon. Because our next trip was a life changing experience :D

Finally, to Carlo Manabat, Gwoping Yang, and James Wu.
I know I've said this many times, but THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS EVENT.
You guys always bring one of the best and/or the most interesting poppers out to the East coast.
I believe your dedication towards the community is doing justice. I thank you so much for taking such action.

I WILL follow your footstep in the future so I too can help support the growth of the East coast community.

Once again, I truly enjoyed the event, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to battle A.K.A Kin. With out you guys hard effort of bringing him over from across the sea, this would've never happened.

Peace and God Bless to you all.

ok, my next summer trip destination was.......

 MY MOTHERLAND, JAPAN!!!



Continues.....

Electro Soul Satisfaction Part 2: Battle

Part 2

It was about 40 minutes away from the opening of the Jam. However, surprisingly, they were still preparing for the jam.
From my past experience, Carlo and Gwo has always been very precise on moving the event according to schedule.

The event started an hour or so late. By that time people were inside the studio stretching or dancing to warm up.


The place looked awesome. It was like a club. Dark with many different projected lights.  In addition, the DJ WAS AWESOME! He had very versatile and great selection of music. It's always a plus to have a DJ that can hype the dancers from the beginning of the jam. Big props to DJ TOXSICK. I wanted to say this through face to face  conversation but I forgot... I'm sorry:(


The jam had three categories. All styles, Locking, and popping.

Each style had approximately 30-40 competitors.

I signed up for popping and all styles because Sun and Senchi convinced me lol.
Fayzah did not sign up for the battles, Ilya signed up for popping, and Jazzy was the judge.

My all styles prelim was HORRIBLE,,,,,,period lol so lets forget about that lol

On the popping preliminary, I went before Ilya.

Super Dope Funk Explosion II was the previous jam I've entered and I felt that I was in a great condition.
That day I was fully energized and was able to dance with out fear, pressure, and nervousness.
I wanted to recreate that condition.
Therefore, I intentionally spend my day with similar schedule, meaning I ate on set time, set amount, and danced, warmed up on set routine..

I was confident that I conditioned myself well.

I was ready.

As I stepped in front of the judges for a preliminary round, I danced in a way that I don't create any regret after leaving the dance floor.

As a result, I passed the prelim. I was happy to hear from Bionic that I looked strong (i interpreted that i had solid get down lol).

Ilya unfortunately could not follow the same path. He wasn't mentally prepared. He did a much better get down right after his prelim, which I know that it could've got him through the preliminary. But that didn't happen that night.

I was sad that this had happened. Because I know how much he had pushed himself to train during the past month with me.

As I posted my thoughts on tumblr, my excitement towards the event settled down. But now that I think about it, it may have helped me to preserve some energy for the upcoming battle.


Top 16 Poppers were selected from each category.

My first battle opponent was someone I knew well. His name is Tboy.
He came to NY at the beginning of this year and I have been practicing with him occasionally. He is a good groovy dancer who has a funky boog style with strong foundation. The only thing that I knew I can do better was to pop more solidly with angles mix some animation influenced movements in my dance.
 
So I tried. Compared to the last jam, I felt that I was thinking too much.
I felt like I didn't do a strong get down. However, luckily I won.
I  was happy that I got to exchange with Tboy. Thank you bro, I hope you have a safe trip home :)

Next opponent I had was Naoko san from Japan.
I didn't really know her dance so I moved the way I feel. But it wasn't a good round either. 

By this time I realized that I was being too stiff and was focused too much on "thinking" about my popping. Ilya told me that I was becoming plain and repetitive. Furthermore, he could tell that I was thinking too much. This was all true. Since we lived and trained together everyday throughout the summer, he knew about my dance well.
I'm fortunate to have person like him that knows and analyze my dance well.
I took in his advise to groove more so I can dance and be free.

I won against Naoko san. I was lucky because while she was getting down, it felt like the music suddenly slowed down. I felt like this messed Naoko san's rhythm up. Thank you Naoko san, I hope you had a safe trip home as well.

I knew the next opponent was going to be a tough.
It was time to battle SUN once again.
When I first saw her at Step Ya Game up two years ago, I was terrified. Because I never saw a female popper with such body control and a strong pop!!!
Fortunately, recently we became good friends :)
She is super funny and kind. She is one of the popper I respect.

We battled previously at a jam that was held at Shoaling Temple in new york few month ago. Therefore, SUN was yelling "revenge! revenge!" at me with a big smile but a serious stare lol

Although she looked like she was fooling around, I knew she was coming full out to smoke me. So I calmed myself down to focus on relaxing. I knew that when I relax, I tend to listen to music more carefully, allowing me to dance deeper and use technique when I feel like it.

There were 2 rounds from the semi-final.
The first song was a song by Slick Dogg.

SUN came out HAAAARRRRRRD.


Her get down got me hyped in a good way. But as I ended my first round, I knew that I'll loose the battle if I kept the same approach. So I told Ilya "watch" and declared that I will switched my mode as he advised me before.

I don't really remember what I did. But I was having fun. I didn't care about the people around me or the judges watching me. I just concentrated on dancing together with the music and having a conversation with SUN. This is the best feeling I recently found while battling a good popper (in my humble opinion). I don't really remember moves I did. It's probably because I'm not thinking. But I know the feeling. The feeling is always amazing. And it only happens during the battle where two individuals are focused on getting lost in the music and enjoy the conversation through body expression.

After a good battle, I always expect to have another round. This is because
1. I don't remember what I did so I feel like I have to do more and
2. because I want it to never end.

Luckily, I managed to win against SUN.
Battling her is always a good and fun challenge. I enjoyed the exchange once again :)
Thank you SUN oniee, let's practice animation together!!! Lol

By this time,
I was waiting to battle for the championship against A.K.A Kin.......

Honestly, I did not imagine that I could go this far.
I knew so many amazing poppers that entered the battle including some that I battled before and lost. Yet I somehow manage to survive and here I was, facing one of my idol and a hero of popping.

I was so excited. My heart was rushing that I couldn't stand still. I shook his hand and bowed, got a back slap from Ilya, and watched the bottle spin.

The moment the DJ played the song, I immediately felt its electronic feel.
I knew that I'm no match against A.K.A Kin to battle in boogaloo. Therefore, I started my get down by bottling. After that, I just kept dancing full out.

All I remember was how amazing A.K.A Kin was. LOL
I mean c'mon man, he is DOPE.
I enjoyed his movements, musicality, and the energy that he projected. The battle/exchange simply felt awesome.

After two rounds, he waved his hands towards me and gave me a hug. The crowd gave us a round of applause. I was honored.

When Carlo asked for the decision to the judges, I saw all the judges hand pointing at A.K.A Kin. 
Yes I got SMOKED like a TOAST LMAO.

But that was obvious. I was just hyper of the fact that I actually experienced an one to one exchange with one of the world's top popper. To me, that was already the greatest prize I can have from the jam.

Many people came and gave me a compliment. Even the judges gave me a positive comment about my dancing. Except Jazzy, who added a comment "don't cheer for the opponent when you are battling!"

Its true, I shouldn't be doing that. But he was so amazing man lol couldn't help it lol
Overall, I couldn't be happier about the experience I had on this jam. I will treasure it forever.

Me and A.K.A Kin

Thank you Studio G, LifeXHip Hop, and DC Dance Collective for making this happen.
Your hard work paid off in a very inspiring and positive way for MANY dancers. I highly respect your efforts and sacrifices you've made to make this happen.
God Bless you all.

After the event, I was tired and hungry as hell. I needed fooooood lol

So James took us to this Chinese fast food store that had good ice tea and an enormously packed combo meal! Forget the diet menu man, I ate that sh*t like a pig lol

After we ate and changed and all, we headed to club aqua. We went there late, but it was empty. But DJ TOXSICK was there spinning his records already. So we just took the dance floor and started to mess around. After about 30min, the floor began to fill up.
After about an hour and half, the place was packed!!!
I had a great time with everyone. But at the same time, I was exhausted.

Don't know how this happened.... lol

Ilya, Dickson, Me, Bionic

Once again, as I went to James's house I passed out. But, this time, I slept on my side of the bed so Ilya can sleep lol


It was my first AWESOME day of the summer.
I was truly glad that I trained and practiced for this event.

We slept around 4am again and set our alarm to 9am so we can be on time for the workshops.
Continues........

MY FAVORITE BATTLE JAM ON THE EASTCOAST AS OF NOW

One of my favorite event on the East Coast is....

Electro Soul Satisfaction!!!

This event REALLY electrifies your soul until your satisfied XD lol


The event is organized by my friends (Carlo Manabat, Gwoping Yang and James Wu)  in Washington D.C.

I've been to this event since it started and I have never been disappointed, not even once!!!

The event is very organized and they bring great judges and dancers to do workshops, which attracts great dancers around the local area, east coast, and even from abroad.


Now, this upcoming Saturday, (7/28),  Studio G, DCDC, and LifeXHipHop.com presents......

Electro Soul Satisfaction 3, Popping, Locking, All Styles-Over a $1000 in Prizes!

Just look at the flyer ladies and gents.....

From the top.......

BIONIC MAN (Machine Gone Funk/LA)

One of the best and the dopest popper in the U.S right now. 
He is also known for being one of the most versatile dancer in the Street Dance scene. Definitely a figure that is trying and are filling the gap between the underground street dancers and mainstream choreography dancers. Mad props and respect.
He has won, has been qualified and judged numerous international street dance competitions including Battle of the Year, U.K Bboy Championship, R16 and many more.....

I've took his class twice within the past couple years and it helped me to exceed in popping more that I could ever imagine.
He is also very funny and friendly. Definitely a dancer that I recommend people to meet and learn under.

JAZZY J (Electric Boogaloos/NY)

Member of the legendary popping crew, The Electric Boogaloos. 

He has worked with legendary artists including Michael Jackson on a short musical film called "Captain EO".

Jazzy J has been a great influence to the East Coast Popping scene since he moved from California. He is versatile in many different popping styles and technique, allowing many (to name a few, Frank Boogie, Oba, Toshika, Dementia, and many more)  to evolve their dance style. He is one of those dancers that you can't ignore because he is full of energy and funkieness.....

He has been dancing over few decades but never lost his edge, in fact, he is still evolving.

Lastly, he is my teacher, mentor, and a dance name god father.

A.K.A Ra (Korea)

 The first impression that I had seeing him dance was "How many dance style is he great at???"

It was 2009 or 2010 when I first saw A.K.A Ra at an event called "Step Ya Game Up". He entered all of the categories (popping, locking, house, waacking, Hip Hop) and was the only one (I believe) who passed all the preliminaries. I was amazed and inspired by his dance ever since.

If I'm not wrong, he is one of the most influential forerunners of street dance community in South Korea. He is very rigorous, humble but open minded and of course an extraordinary dancer. Furthermore, I respect the fact that he is still constantly competing even though he is one of those figure who has an O.G status.

Go to 3:56. Guy in Denim Jacket.

Dickson (U.K) 

I have never met Dickson before, but I've known his name and dance via Youtube since 2009. I'm very excited to see this guy live this Saturday! 

Dickson is one of the top poppers in U.K, representing his country in numerous battles across Europe. I like his clean popping technique that has some groovy feeling on it. 

A.K.A Kin (F.I.T.H/Korea)

 One of my all time favorite popper right here :) I had a privileged to finally meet him last weekend at an event "Step Ya Game Up". 
His Boogaloo is one of the best in not only in Asia, but in the world (in my humble opinion). His style is deep in feeling and very chill. At first, you might not get his dance because it is slow at times, but if you listen to the music carefully, the expression he makes by using his full body is magnificent. Although he had a slump where people questioned whether he lost his edge in the past few year, he came back strong and now is the champion of the International Street Dance competition,  R16. Once again, Congratulations Mr. Kin!!!

Ok with all that said.......

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS JAM!!! 

Here is the information!!! 

(including workshops and After Party!!! :D)

 Time: July 28th (Saturday) 12PM-8PM

Category:

1 v 1 Popping competition
Cash Prize: $500 plus gear
***Battle Guest: AKA Kin***

1 v 1 All Styles 
Cash Prize: 300$ plus gear

1vs1 Locking
Cash Prize: 300$ plus gear

Fee:

Jam – 15$ before 1:30PM and 20$ anytime after 1:30PM – Ladies 10$ ALL DAY, Kids 10 and under are FREE ALL DAY (With an adult admission) & supervision) !!!

Cameras = 5 Bucks, this jam will be well documented by the LXH and Studio G team, so no worries about footage being   
                                                                    available!  
 Location: 

 DCDC
4908 Wishconsin Ave
Washington DC, 20016

 
Workshop:

http://www.facebook.com/events/440179099338623/

Time: 7/29 (Sunday)

Cost:

Workshops – $25 for 1 – $35 for 2 - $50 for all 4

Time: July 29th 12PM to 5PM

Where:

DCDC
4908 Wishconsin Ave
Washington DC, 20016

___________________

After Party!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/events/410773932301873/



Contact:

c@lifexhiphop.com / (240) 944-6826
or
gwoyang@yahoo.com / (240) 401-1481

Hope to see you all there!!!

Peace and God Bless

SUGALOO