PUZZLE PIECES - ARIZONA The first evening at Trill Hip hop shop brought the local Hip hop DJ scene together powerfully with a session where DJ's take their turns scratching at a weekly session called Fader Manners. The shop itself is inspiring since it has all things Hip hop from stickers to spray paint to vintage t shirts and boom boxes to music and miniature graffiti trains and more. OG DJs Touch and True showed up and got to hang out with Grand Wizard Theodore. The SCC DJ Program awarded Theodore a lifetime achievement award with their students in the house.
Second day was held at The Jukebox dance studio and was a unique moment to witness young dancers do their thing for the preliminaries of Freestyle and Breakin competitions. The discussion featured OG's Mr Groove and Dru hosted by Johnny Castro. The second discussion was to give the floor to young panelists so they can share their views on the scene and culture with the attendees and the elders on the panel. Questions from the attendees ranged from how do we keep our male dancers accountable for their bad behavior to a question about mentorship in Breakin.
Congrats to the champs BBoy Fresco and freestyle winner AL and shout to Awer and the Grafitti artists who blessed the walls at Trill marking the visit of Grand Wizard Theodore and the Vanguard project. Kwikstep and Rokafella were excited to meet the all stars and to see the youth taking their dance life journey seriously. They have their own popular generational trends yet they are carrying this legacy, so it is very empowering to meet and chat with the future leaders.
The Vanguard will be on hiatus for the month of May. The USA Breakin qualifier will happen in NYC on May 21st as part of the Dance Parade from 5pm-7pm at Tompkins Square Park. Kwikstep and Rokafella will help keep the cultural aspects of the birthplace prominent throughout the event.
The Vanguard will head to Miami, FL with Grand Wizard Theodore June 11th-12th for the Pro Am DJ and Dance Expo with local panelists sharing past and future perspectives. We will announce details soon. But for now ou can click here to find out more about the Pro Am . https://proamexpo.com/
June will also be the month we head to Denver, Colorado to celebrate The B Boy Factory anniversary. https://www.bboyfactory.com/
Thank you to @thefilmforge from Cleveland for their latest Torch Cypher video demo-- their 2 day event in March in Ohio.
Please stay tuned for schedule and Zoom details. We are motivated by the work already being done to keep the local culture aspects alive and thriving.
Respect to Bboy House and Furious Styles crew. https://www.furiousstylescrew.com/
Photos above in the gallery by Odins Eye and IG @VEphotos
1.United Hip hop Vanguard mural
2. DJs at the Fader Manners @fadersmanners scratch session at Trill Hip hop Shop @trillphx
3. Future steps panel with young panelist Dj Fresco and dancer Justice.
4. Winner of Freestyle solo Al
5. Winner of Bboy solo Fresco
6. Grand Wizard Theodore at The Jukebox studios
7. Host Johnny Castro at Day 2 at Trill Puzzle Pieces
8. Kwikstep Rokafella House interviewed by Odin
More photos from IG @odinseyecreations will soon be up on our gallery. Thank you to Bgirl Desta for her assistance keeping this website updated and solid.