Choreographers are pushing the boundaries beyond dance.” Grooving to whole counts evolved to hitting high hats and striking heavy beats.And we are also starting to do a lot more storytelling with our movement, which is an artistic direction I really love. Choreography and concepts reach new levelsĭance choreography, as all art does, evolved over time.

Technology connected dancers in ways we've never been able to before – which helped build a stronger, more involved community.īut with this abundance and accessibility also rose the danger of styles becoming homogenized, our passion becoming a trend, and voices getting lost in the noise. Now, dance videos saturate our social media feeds and a dancer across the country is just one DM slide away. Dancers could only meet and mingle at events.įor years, Boogiezone’s forum on their website was the one of the only ways dancers could to talk to each other online.īut in late 2006, we saw Twitter, then Facebook, and Instagram in 2010. In fact, a lot of newer dancers can pinpoint a specific video, choreographer, or performance on YouTube that made them want to start dancing in the first place.Ĭommunities in different regions sprang up, drawing inspiration from other dancers and teams from YouTube videos.Īnd interaction between dancers was always dependent on region. YouTube took something that was previously only experienced in person and made it easily sharable and discoverable from a screen. “YouTube wasn't created until 2005, more than 10 years after our dance community started.Other developments in technology provided a way for dancers to connect socially and artistically.” ‍ For a more comprehensive account, see The Evolution Of Our Global Dance Community How the dance teams started competing In ’95 PAC Modern was formed at CSU Long Beach, then Samahang Modern at UCLA. In '94, CADC was formed through the Chinese American Association at UCI, and Danny Batimana founded 'Culture' (later known as Team Millennia) in Fullerton. So he formed Kaba Modern in 1992 so he and his friends could continue to dance and perform. The event was hosted by Kababayan, UCI's Pilipino cultural club.īut outside of that event (which was only held once a year) these dancers did not have a group to dance with, nor a stage to perform on. ‍ Arnel Calvario and his friends used to make their own routines to perform in the “Hip Hop suite” at Pilipino Culture Night (PCN). The Urban Dance community is no different. ‍Most great things in the world started with a few friends just wanting to have fun. It’s not the only part, but it is a big part of the dance community’s development!) (*Other dancers and events around NorCal, the east coast, across the nation/world contributed to the community’s inception, but this section focuses on SoCal's story. How collegiate and competitive dance teams started Dance teams in Southern California Urban Dance is a style of dance, community, and lifestyle revolving around choreographed pieces and performances by a dancer or groups of dancers.Ĭhoreography is influenced by several different dance styles, but is ultimately based on the choreographer's own interpretation of the music.Ī big part of the modern Urban Dance culture stemmed from collegiate dance teams and competitions. Let’s go back a few decades to better understand what Urban Dance means to us. There are a lot of moving parts that make up the Urban Dance culture and lifestyle.

‍From competitions like Body Rock and VIBE, teams like GRV, Choreo Cookies, and huge dance workshops taught by traveling choreographers and concept videos and social events. Several moves and grooves and concepts were inspired by Hip Hop and street styles.īut in the past 2 decades or so, the Urban Dance culture and Urban Dance choreography developed its own identity. The Urban Dance scene did evolve, in certain aspects, from Hip Hop dance roots.

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