b-boy battle

U.S. Athletes To Represent In World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition

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Last week at the Red Bull BC One Cypher USA in Los Angeles, the most prestigious, global break dancing competition, crowned Olympic hopeful, Grace “Sunny” Choi, and Francisco “Ali” Acuna Flores as the U.S. National Finalists.

Both Sunny and Ali will be repping for the U.S. in the BC One World Finals, which for the first time in 13 years will be hosted in New York City, the birthplace of hip-hop and break. This year marks the 19th edition of the Red Bull BC One World Final, as athletes all over the world train for this moment and breaking’s Olympic debut.  Red Bull BC One All Stars Logan “Logistx” Edra, who won the Red Bull BC One World Championship title in 2021, and Victor Montalvo will join the elite line-up of World Final competitors this November. 

Spanning two months of electrifying battles and community events, Red Bull BC One Regional Qualifiers  kicked off in Philadelphia before touring the country with battles hosted in Austin, Orlando, Boston, and Seattle.

Following an exhilarating 16-bracket bgirl tournament, the judges crowned bgirl Sunny as the 2022 Red Bull BC One U.S. Bgirl National Champion. Grace Choi began breaking in 2008 and has collected many international wins including the 2015 Outbreak Europe B-Girl solo battle, FISE Hiroshima in Japan, and made it to the finals of the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships in Nanjing, China. She is currently training for the Paris 2024 Games, where breaking will make its athletic debut. 

“I’m super grateful to be here, super grateful to have won this event because it means that I get to represent New York in New York. It has been a really amazing experience – I got to let loose and just be me tonight on the dancefloor and I proved to myself that that works, ” said bgirl Sunny. 

In the bboy category, Salt Lake City bboy Ali reigned supreme, dominating his way through the 16-bracket tournament. Francisco Acuna Flores represents the Body Roc crew and has been breaking for 20 years. 

Bboy Ali shared, “I feel really excited about winning the Red Bull BC One USA cypher so I can go to the World Finals. I’ve never been to the Red Bull BC One World Finals so this is going to be a first for me and I want to dedicate this to my dad who passed away recently.” 

The evening paid tribute to west coast hip-hop and break with a performance by legendary Los Angeles hip-hop collective, The Far Side, as well as a special exhibition battle led by Red Bull BC One All Stars RoxRite and Ronnie–both lauded breaking stars, whose journeys have deep roots in California.  

The post U.S. Athletes To Represent In World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition appeared first on The Source.

Los Angeles Announced As Host City For Finals Of Red Bull BC One, World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition

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On September 17, the world’s largest, most esteemed breaking competition, Red Bull BC One, will host the  USA National Finals in Los Angeles. Winners of the regional cyphers held in Philadelphia, Austin, Orlando, Boston, and Seattle will take the stage at Eden Hollywood to battle it out for the National Championship title and to represent the country at the Red Bull BC One World Final in New York this November. 

Shining a light on the thriving breaking communities across the U.S., the nation’s top 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will compete in a knockout bracket, judged by a panel of respected figures within the breaking and hip-hop community, including b-girl legend Asia 1 and Red Bull BC One All Star Neguin with Rakaa, of Dilated Peoples hosting the evening. Joining the regional finalists are wild-card invites of top US breakers including Hijack, Mace, Snap1, Rascal Randi, Sunny, and more. Only one b-boy and one b-girl will go on to represent the USA at the Last Chance Cypher during the Red Bull BC One World Final in New York on November 11. 

B-girl Pep-C, an Olympic hopeful who will be competing in Los Angeles, took home the win at the Red Bull BC One Cypher East in Philadelphia last month. She shares, “The Red Bull BC One National Final is an exciting opportunity to put my training and skills to the test against the best b-girls across the country. With the Olympics around the corner, this prestigious competition is a stepping stone on the road to Paris..”

The 2022 Red Bull BC One season celebrates the communities that have helped push break forward to reach  new milestones in the sport’s history: Hip-hop’s upcoming golden anniversary in 2023 and the highly anticipated debut of breaking at the 2024 Paris Games. Honoring these pivotal timestamps, the 2022 Red Bull BC One World Final will return to New York, paying tribute to breaking as an intrinsic element of hip-hop culture. 

While breaking has its roots in the Bronx, it was also ubiquitous in the west coast hip-hop mecca of South L.A. and on the city’s east side. West Coast Dancers have shaped breaking’s evolution since the 1970s, fusing California-native dance styles like popping and locking with the ground-level gymnastics of New York B-Boys. The West Coast is also home to legendary breaking crews such as Air Force Crew, Radiotron Wizards, and Shake City Rockers, which trace back to intramural battles in L.A. 

Emerging in the late 2000s, Squadron, a SoCal breaking crew, ignited a  modern west coast breaking revolution. Brought together by breaking icon David “Mex One” Alvarado, Squadron was one of the first independent West Coast Crews made “by and for the scene”, which added a distinct West Coast flavor to the sport by merging it with capoeira moves, house dance, and other techniques. Its members include Red Bull BC One All Stars Omar “RoxRite” Delgado, who was a founding member, and Victor Montalvo.

“Generations of West Coast b-boys and b-girls from San Diego to Seattle have influenced what we know as breaking today. Being a member of Renegade Rockers and to represent the Red Bull BC One All Stars, two crews that are crucial to breaking’s proliferation, I am proud to carry the torch for the breakers who came before me while nurturing the next generation,” shares RoxRite. 

Leading up to the competition, Red Bull BC One will host Breakalicious @ Delicious, a celebration of west coast hip hop and break, on Friday, August 26 from 7-9PM PT at Delicious Pizza, a neighborhood pizzeria and local community hub from the founders of the iconic hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl, which helped launch seminal artists such as Tone Lōc (“Wild Thing”), Young MC (“Bust a Move”), The Pharcyde and more.

Breakalicious @ Delicious will feature an open jam session and the unveiling of a limited edition Squadron pizza box. The event will kick off a four-week photo exhibition exploring the west coast break scene and a limited time offering from Delicious, the Pizza Break special, which includes a 12” pizza and two cans of Red Bull.  

Tickets to the national final are $10. Secure your spot at the Red Bull BC One Cypher USA here. 

The post Los Angeles Announced As Host City For Finals Of Red Bull BC One, World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition appeared first on The Source.

Los Angeles Announced As Host City For Finals Of Red Bull BC One, World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition

by
Screen Shot 2022 08 19 at 9.13.10 AM

On September 17, the world’s largest, most esteemed breaking competition, Red Bull BC One, will host the  USA National Finals in Los Angeles. Winners of the regional cyphers held in Philadelphia, Austin, Orlando, Boston, and Seattle will take the stage at Eden Hollywood to battle it out for the National Championship title and to represent the country at the Red Bull BC One World Final in New York this November. 

Shining a light on the thriving breaking communities across the U.S., the nation’s top 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will compete in a knockout bracket, judged by a panel of respected figures within the breaking and hip-hop community, including b-girl legend Asia 1 and Red Bull BC One All Star Neguin with Rakaa, of Dilated Peoples hosting the evening. Joining the regional finalists are wild-card invites of top US breakers including Hijack, Mace, Snap1, Rascal Randi, Sunny, and more. Only one b-boy and one b-girl will go on to represent the USA at the Last Chance Cypher during the Red Bull BC One World Final in New York on November 11. 

B-girl Pep-C, an Olympic hopeful who will be competing in Los Angeles, took home the win at the Red Bull BC One Cypher East in Philadelphia last month. She shares, “The Red Bull BC One National Final is an exciting opportunity to put my training and skills to the test against the best b-girls across the country. With the Olympics around the corner, this prestigious competition is a stepping stone on the road to Paris..”

The 2022 Red Bull BC One season celebrates the communities that have helped push break forward to reach  new milestones in the sport’s history: Hip-hop’s upcoming golden anniversary in 2023 and the highly anticipated debut of breaking at the 2024 Paris Games. Honoring these pivotal timestamps, the 2022 Red Bull BC One World Final will return to New York, paying tribute to breaking as an intrinsic element of hip-hop culture. 

While breaking has its roots in the Bronx, it was also ubiquitous in the west coast hip-hop mecca of South L.A. and on the city’s east side. West Coast Dancers have shaped breaking’s evolution since the 1970s, fusing California-native dance styles like popping and locking with the ground-level gymnastics of New York B-Boys. The West Coast is also home to legendary breaking crews such as Air Force Crew, Radiotron Wizards, and Shake City Rockers, which trace back to intramural battles in L.A. 

Emerging in the late 2000s, Squadron, a SoCal breaking crew, ignited a  modern west coast breaking revolution. Brought together by breaking icon David “Mex One” Alvarado, Squadron was one of the first independent West Coast Crews made “by and for the scene”, which added a distinct West Coast flavor to the sport by merging it with capoeira moves, house dance, and other techniques. Its members include Red Bull BC One All Stars Omar “RoxRite” Delgado, who was a founding member, and Victor Montalvo.

“Generations of West Coast b-boys and b-girls from San Diego to Seattle have influenced what we know as breaking today. Being a member of Renegade Rockers and to represent the Red Bull BC One All Stars, two crews that are crucial to breaking’s proliferation, I am proud to carry the torch for the breakers who came before me while nurturing the next generation,” shares RoxRite. 

Leading up to the competition, Red Bull BC One will host Breakalicious @ Delicious, a celebration of west coast hip hop and break, on Friday, August 26 from 7-9PM PT at Delicious Pizza, a neighborhood pizzeria and local community hub from the founders of the iconic hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl, which helped launch seminal artists such as Tone Lōc (“Wild Thing”), Young MC (“Bust a Move”), The Pharcyde and more.

Breakalicious @ Delicious will feature an open jam session and the unveiling of a limited edition Squadron pizza box. The event will kick off a four-week photo exhibition exploring the west coast break scene and a limited time offering from Delicious, the Pizza Break special, which includes a 12” pizza and two cans of Red Bull.  

Tickets to the national final are $10. Secure your spot at the Red Bull BC One Cypher USA here. 

The post Los Angeles Announced As Host City For Finals Of Red Bull BC One, World’s Largest Breakdancing Competition appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Rock Steady Crew vs. Dynamic Rockers Epic Battle In Lincoln Center 41 Years Ago

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On this date in 1981, the epic part two of the South Bronx’s Rock Steady Crew vs. Brooklyn’s Dynamic Rockers breaking battle in Lincoln Center took place. What makes this face off so historic is that neither crew had hometown advantage with the meet up for the battle taking place in Money Making Manhattan.

According to RSC legend and co-founder Crazy Legs, “It was the first time Hip Hop had set foot on Lincoln Center for any kind of performance. After battling in Queens on their turf, Rock Steady was set to perform at Lincoln Center. I decided to set up with Henry Chalfant a part two of the original battle. I felt that being on neutral ground, there would be a better and more fair crowd response. With the first battle being a tie(based on the crowd), we felt that it had to be done right. Needless to say, it was a smoke show and we overwhemingly had the voice of the crowd on our side. In now way am I bragging(maybe a little), but I’m just keeping the record straight and on point.”

See the footage from the epic battle starting at the two minute mark in the video below.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Rock Steady Crew vs. Dynamic Rockers Epic Battle In Lincoln Center 41 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.