In the time-honored tradition of busting windmills and head
spins on sheets of cardboard spread over sidewalk pavement, the
Hollywood Palladium will host this weekend’s Los Angeles
Urban Dance Festival, showcasing brand spanking new styles by
international and home-grown talent.
Executive Director Crescendo Ward founded the first-time
festival in hopes of educating the greater dance community about
the history of street dance. A renowned dancer and choreographer,
Ward is also attempting to raise the level of the art form through
competition.
“What we want is that every year, these dancers gear
up,” said Ward. “(The festival) is like the Olympics;
(dancers) train to get ready to compete in the American Street
Dance Championship, where they will be acknowledged for their
skills.”
The American Street Dance Championship is the most anticipated
event of the festival. Ward considers it “the Olympics of
street dancing” as 30 dance crews from the United States,
Europe and Asia compete for cash, prizes and of course, bragging
rights.
“I want to get better at what I do, battle some people and
win,” said Julianne “Bougalooju” Harris, a
15-year-old from Palisades High School.
Most of the pre-selected dancers participating are not
professional choreographers who teach at studios. Instead, the
competitors consist mainly of talented youth who sent in videos and
hoped to make the cut.
Aside from the competition, the festival will feature education
seminars in which dancers from different geographical areas share
their local dances. Participants can get a feel of how street dance
varies in different parts of the nation and around the world,
learning some valuable history lessons (Ward has seen videos of
Russian street dancers from as early as the 1930s).
“If you’re going to be a part of this urban dance
culture, you should know everything about all the different dances,
not just one dance,” said Ward.
For decades, street dance styles like break dancing were limited
to the sidewalks of inner city neighborhoods. The genre is unique
in its inherent competitiveness with dancers constantly trying to
one-up opponents with innovative movements. Early competitions were
an underground affair, but spontaneous challenges known as
freestyle battles were often found in clubs.
The rise of hip-hop culture in the ’80s brought street
dance to mainstream audience. It has now become an art form taught
by professional instructors. Nonetheless, most up-and-coming
dancers still hone their skills on their own.
“I learned and practiced in my garage with friends, no
lessons,” said 13-year-old Jesse “Casper”
Brown.
Ward is well-versed in the history of street dance and
strategically chose Los Angeles as the permanent home of the
festival. According to Ward, every street dance style, except break
dancing, has its roots in L.os Angeles, which he envisions to be
“the mecca of street dance.”
“I want to inspire the dancers to do something new,”
said Ward. “I am waiting for the next thing.”
The Los Angeles Urban Dance Festival takes place Friday to
Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. For ticket information, visit
www.laudf.org.