Hip Hop International - USA Championships Report

Hip Hop International held the US Championship Round on July 29, 2009 in Las Vegas. As reported earlier, Poreotics took first place, SoReal Cru second place, and Kaba Modern took third. All three will compete in the International Finals. Other standout performances (for me) in this division included Heroes (the group that will compete as We Are Heroes on ABDC4), CADC, Flos Angeles, and Common Ground.

This was the culmination of several days of preliminaries, so that only the top scoring crews competed in 3 age groups: 13 adult crews, 12 varsity (older teen) crews, and 8 junior crews. While you can definitely see the skill and choreography progression between the age groups, all of the competitors impressed and entertained the packed audience. And, since the crews brought contingents from their home towns, the ballroom felt like a sports arena with hometown signs, rooting, and camaraderie.

The judges were split in two teams of four. The team evaluating skill included Sky Hoffman (an America's Best Dance Crew choreographer) and Beat Freaks' Teresa Espinosa. The team rating the overall performance included Fanny Pak's Matt Cady and ABDC audition judge Michelle McNulty.

Winners in the Juniors division were: RNG - a girl group from Mukilteo, WA; Lil Phunk Boyz from Boston, MA (who were down one crew member because he came down with appendicitis!), and Fierce but Cute - a girl group from San Francisco. Winners in the Varsity Division were: Funk Beyond Control - a San Francisco group from the same studio as Fierce but Cute; Breakthrough from Encinitas, CA, and Phyzikal graffi-T from Mukilteo (same studio as RNG). Once I return home, I'll post photos of the winning crews. Now, on to the International Competition!