Our first performance at 1 year Anniversary of Takalaland Studio in Queens
We didn't get to rehearse much, but this is our first official performance that we actually got to perform in front of people.
Its been 3 years since we formed as a crew back in 2009.
We still need a lot of work and improvements.
But I'm just happy that on this day, we were once again together to share the floor.
Furthermore, it was exciting to see one of our youngest and active member, Ilya, to make it to Top 4 in the all style battle that was also held on the same day.
All of the crew mates were proud of his hard efforts and improvements within the past couple years.
What The Funk?! Crew 2012, from the left Erich, Ray Mak, Ed "E.T", Ilya, Karlo, and Sugaloo.
sup yall its been a while but we've been working...
I (SUGALOO) been going out for a lot of events for the couple month and picked up some new concepts about POPPIN
What I found most interesting was the knowledge I got from Kid Boogie(Machine Gone Funk).
What I learned was something called "Pop Separation" Basically what it means is that you learn how to pop ur body parts separately.
If its the forearm, u only pop its muscle. If its the triceps, u only pop that muscle. If its the chest, u kno what I mean. lol
By doing so, u'll gain more control of ur body bc u'll be more conscious about how u body moves and that will help u to have more solid popping.
So me and poppin ill been worked on that for couple days. Trying to dance using the pop.
and it actually dramatically changed the way we dance(especially Poppin ill).
We were more calm, relaxed and were taking time towards the music. It may not look that amazing to u yet since this was after 3day's of training. But hope u can see the difference between ourselves in the past.
P.S btw Poppin ill edited the clip so it looks stupid LOL
sup yall! Sugaloo posting this when he should be working on his final project but F**k that and hear me out!!! LOL
On Saturday, 24th, me and Ilya "Poppin' Ill" will be street performing in manhatten, NY!!! XD
I often go to the city to teach or practice and have seen people street performing but never actually done it I've always had interest but never wanted to do it by myself lol
But since Ilya will be coming all the way from Parsippany,NJ,by train, I thought it would be a good chance to try it.
I'm really excited about this because of two reasons
1. Want to find out how much our performance is worth lol
2. Performing on the streets means performing in front of audiences that are NOT familier with Popping. In other words their feedback is PURE AND REAL. How COOL IS THAT!!!!!
We would probably be performing at Union Square from about 3:30PM, so if u happen to be around, come check us out!
We would be dressed some what formal and will be popping :D lol
And if possible, we would record some of our performance and post it here or on our youtube account
Also after street performing, we would be going to POPSHOP to practice with dope poppers in NYC, Popping Tito from philly, and Crazy Son&friends from D.C!!!!
POPSHOP will be at PMT studio from 5~7PM! damage is $3!! The address is same as SUGALOO's Popping Class
And then we are going to a club event @ THE PARLOUR!!! Its open from 8PM but we would probably be going around 9 or 10. The address is 247 West 30th Street,New York, NY!
wooooo its gona be a LOOOOOOOG day!!!!LOL
If u wana get down with us, feel free to come to these places on Saturday!!!
I have a problem. Multiple problems. I kept blaming my physicality. As I mentioned in my last post, it is an incredibly important part of dance. However, it is through constant practice that I noticed my biggest problem, and now am man enough to acknowledge it.
I'm a little bitch.
By that I mean that my mentality is lacking. I get frustrated easily, and when I am, I lash out against anyone and anything. I blame my body for the weakness, the lack of control, the false movements. But where do all the original commands stem from? THE MIND.
So let me put it this way, I am young and inexperienced as a dancer but I'm sure most cannot argue with me about the following statement. Dancing is mental first. If you are unclear or unsure about your dance, then it will most definitely show in your movement. Just as you train to control your body, you must train to control your mind.
This is not to say that everyone must be at the perfect level of balance and mental peace. Frustration is normal. Frustration is good. It displays the desire to improve, the will to surpass an obstacle. It becomes bad when the frustration turns you away from your goal. When you let it get to your head and end up feeling upset with yourself. All those thoughts must end. Remember, control your mind to manipulate your movement the way you want it to move. Master the mind.
This is the first event Im going to be judging out of my home state, New Jersey, and I'm really excited to see how the poppers in Baltimore will get down in battles!!
Like the prior event, Step Up of Get Smoked, I will write a review and hopefully some footage of the event so keep checking the blog!
Ok so I will be starting a poppin class EVERY THURSDAY @ PMT Dance Studio in NYC from 1st of April!!
This is a great opportunity and a dream come true so I will work my butt off to teach my students and let them have the best class they ever had.
If any of you ar interested in learning poppin, def come to my class!!!
Here is the my course description:
Solid Poppin Foundation - Do you want hard hits, sharp movements, and clean poppin technique? If so this class is definitely for you! This class will be focusing on hitting, popping and isolation drills to cultivate necessary techniques for the beginners and for experienced poppers who wish to improve or solidify their poppin foundation. There will also be a routine using movements associated with poppin styles such as Boogaloo, Waving, Botting etc. The instructor will help you achieve clean angles, the understanding of movements and the way to incorporate the moves into you freestyle.
For more info, go to: PMT Dance Studio and check out "TEACHER PROFILES"-SUGALOO
Recently, most of the members competed in Step Up Or Get Smoked!--as mentioned in earlier posts--and everyone did well. However, there comes a time when one has to accept the performance, take it into consideration, and resume training even harder than before. With the SATs over and this beautiful March weather shining, it is the perfect time for me to resume this rigorous process. Therefore, I like to look at a certain philosophy that I can apply to what has happened recently, and how to improve. I thought, what better way to examine a battle than taking something from fighting, since I personally believe fighting and dancing are incredibly similar. These wise words come from Bruce Lee's "Tao of Jeet Kune Do"
"The six diseases: 1. The desire for victory.
2. The desire to resort to technical cunning.
3. The desire to display all that has been learned.
4. The desire to awe the enemy.
5. The desire to play a passive role.
6. The desire to get rid of whatever disease one is affected by."
DID YALL COME TO THE EVENT?????? I HOPE SO CUZ IF U DIDN'T, U'VE MISSED AN AWESOME BATTLE EVENT!!!!!!!
As I've explained on the earlier post, we've had 3 styles
The event started off with the House Section. This section had less competitors than expected, thus, some non-House dancers (including our member Karlo "Mr Panda"lol) registered to fill the spot.
people were having fun with this section since we were able to see serious battles and some battles we can laugh at lol
The Winner of this section was Glytch from Intermix/Groove Kings crew!!! His unique groove and creative dance moves entertained the judges and the audience through out the battle, Mad props.
I don't have the footage again so plz wait till I find them on YouTube lol
Next was Hip Hop
Now a lot of trouble happened in this section.
1.The judges of Hip Hop section decided that since Hip Hop is too broadly defined, they've made a rule restricting some dance styles,specifically Break Dance. This caused some controversy between some of the competitors and the judges throughout the event. Thanks to Spex, we were able to make things settled.
2.The judges had tie decisions continuously because I believe the music they had for this section was not really for battling.
3.The judge announced THE INCORRECT NAME OF THE CHAMP AT THE FINALS!!!!
So yea, there were lots of drama lol
Although the battle was SICK
Many raw and fresh talent went head to head against each other and the crowd was going CRAAAAAAZZZYYYY!!!!!
The winner of HIP HOP was Dezmin"Alph Alpha" Staley from SOUL'D crew!!! His combined style of Hip Hop Party groove and sharp and precise poppin move shined on the battle field and smoked some of the coolest hip hop dancers in NJ! MAD props
Don't have the Champs Battle footage but here is one of the battles
The Final Section Was POPIN!!!!!
I was able to judge the poppin section but lets just say that I regret doing it cuz there were too many dope poppers to battle that night!!!
From Philly we had BOOG from 360
From NY we had Killa Watts from Part Time Models
From D.C we had C-lo,Wu Bott and Jett Jaguar from Regulators
and from NJ we had What The Funk?! Crew and Boogie Mind from the Boogie Bots who competed at ABDC season 2!!
Now all these names u see some of the best poppers from their states, and so as u can guess, this section had one of the DOPEST BATTLES OF THE NIGHT !!!!!
All the battles were on fire and were really difficult to judge. We were really glad to have Spex, one of the oldest and experienced dancer from NY to judge with us that night. Therefore, I feel like we able to judge the battles fair and reasonable.
The Champ of this intense section was Jett Jaguar from the Regulators!!!
His musicality and creativity outmatched the rest of the skilled dancers and took the title of becoming the best popper at Step Up or Get Smoked 2010
Here are one of the hottest battle of the night, Jett Jaguar VS Boogie Mind!
Congrats to all the Champs and a great job to all those who competed!!!
Cant wait to attend the next Step Up or Get Smoked!!!!
Now I kno that ppl have different opinion on this but I feel one of the best shoes for poppers are the Classic Wayne or Earl Hush Puppies.
The reason for sayin this is cuz
1. They fit comfortably 2. Its INCREDIBLY LIGHT!!! Feels like u aren't wearing shoes! 3. Has a black soft plastic kinda stuff on the bottom which makes it easy to slide, stand on the side of the shoe, and spin.
Although it is the best
The sad truth is......
They barely make em these days=HARD TO FIND!!!
Therefore,I would like to tell you few ways of getting them!!!!
Option 1: OUTLETS
Go to Hush Puppies Home Page and search for a store or outlet near you. If its not near you, call them or try the next option.
Option 2: ebay
You may feel uncomfortable wearing second hand shoes, but actually, ebay offers new shoes too. When searching for Hush Puppies that poppers use, type in "Hush Puppies Suede" in the search box, so ebay will automatically display the shoes you are looking for.
You may NOT find the right size or the color you want right away, however, the price is much cheaper.
The best way to find the one you want is to go to ebay and check for shoes CONSTANTLY.
Option 3: Buy through poppers/ex-poppers.
There are some poppers/ex-poppers that sells Hush Puppies. This may take a while since the best way to find them is meet as many popper as possible by going to an event and social media sites.
I know a guy who sells hush puppies so if u are really desperate, you can contact me by commenting on this blog :D
Option 4: Alternative
Ok so as you noticed, finding Hush Puppies are not easy. However, If u really want comfortable shoes for poppin, there is an alternative way.
Buying Hush Puppies look-a-like from Korea!!!! lol
But do not be aware, even though its not a genuine Hush Puppies, the quality is Top Rated or maybe even better. In fact, world famous poppers like crazy kyo, Poppin J(K-OGS) use it!!
The price is higher than other options, however, you will be able to chose the right size and color
Now to shop, choose the shoes you like then click on them. Once you click, the payment chart will come up in Korean, HOWEVER, if u scroll down a little, you will see PRODUCT FEATURES where you can find PAYPAL. This way you can buy them online like any U.S product:) by the way, you can also show other poppin products like hats and shirts on this site too!
So There you go!! Some ways u can buy one of the best shoes for poppers!!!
Yes the event I'm helping to organize and judge is happening this Saturday, March 6 from 8pm!!!!
Its called
"Step Up or Get Smoked 2010"!!!!!
As u can tell from the name, this battle competition expects u to bring the best u can do or else get smoked(defeated) by the opponent!!!
The event will be held at Creative Image Studio Address are displayed on the side link of this blog :)
This time Step Up or Get Smoked will hold 3 different street style competitions.
First House
Second Hip Hop
Finally Poppin
Incredibly, many skilled competitors are expected to attend this event, including my crew mates, E.T,Karlo,Poppin iLL,Ray Mak,Samgician,and TKO
I have high expectation to see the best battles of the day in poppin section since it have more competitors than the other two. Also dancers will be coming from all over east coast such as D.C, Philly,NY,and NJ.
Come and see how What The Funk?!Crew gets down and witness the best dancer of these styles! Support and be part of the REAL UNDERGROUND HIP HOP CULTURE!!!
Sup ya'll my name is SUGALOO, Member and one of the creator of What The Funk?! Crew.
many of u might be wondering why we chose such ridiculous name for our crew, well since this is beginning of another new journey for us, (well just something I have to do for skool LMAO) I would like to explain how we came to be who we are now.
April 2009 At the time I had no knowledge about the area and its dance community,thus, the only reliable source was the Breakdance.Org. There I finally found a session spot where I can drive up to and that was called P.A.L of parsippany.
At first, I was kinda disappointed by the low level of the dancers there lol However, I stuck around cuz the guyz were all nice and I felt at home instantly, and perhaps cuz I met Ilya(only white boy in our crew lol)
He was the only popper around the area and when I saw his dance, well let just say he wasnt a popper at all lol. But that was only cuz he never had the chance to actually learn from anybody who know how to dance poppin.
Although he had energy when he danced and also was seriously curious about poppin. After acknowledging that he only need another popper/teacher who can teach him, I decided/promised to stay and cultivate his skills to make him a sick popper
May&June 2009 Surprisingly, the number of dancers practicing at P.A.L gradually grew. They were mostly B-Boys(Since the session was called P.A.L Breakin Session) but we were blessed to meet E.T,Karlo,Ray Mak,Charles and Rezno. Unlike Ilya and TKO(My little brother), they knew how to get down. Since we were the only poppers they've met in NJ, we soon began to get down constantly and share knowledges,concepts,techniques and battles.
Now here comes the reasons for our crew name!!!!
one day karlo started a conversation about forming a poppin crew since there wasnt any in NJ.
At first, we(E.T) came up with the name cuz wanted to show/introduce the NJ dance community a pure and original form of poppin, EB Style/Funk Style. So that when they see us poppin, they would say "What The Funk!?" instead of "What The F**k!?" lol and also we thought it was really catchy lol
Although now I feel like we have another main reason for having this name.
WTF?!Crew have diverse styles of poppin and they all have original flavors. Right now we all are trying to cultivate those flavor to be UNIQUE
We want to be DIFFERENT.
We want to be UNIQUE
so UNIQUE that when u see us get down, u will be flippin out shouting our name,,,,,,,
