The Philippines has once again showed their flair for hip hop dance by capturing an unprecedented four gold medals at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) international championship at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre last Sunday.
Filipinos waived their flags proudly as Team Philippines secured their first title of the night by beating Australia in the Country vs. Country team battles. In the group choreography divisions, INDK, a 19-man team composed of Ateneo students, snatched the Monster Crew title. A-Team, composed of Claret high school students, won the Varsity Division title, while FMD Xtreme from Marikina secured the coveted Open Division title. Japan’s Hurricane bagged the Junior Division title to break the sweep.
In the Open Division, the Philippines emulated the same result last year as they blitzed through the top four spots to bag gold (FMD Xtreme), silver (Rockstars) and bronze (A-Team Open). Last year’s silver medalist, Flipendemic Kru, placed fourth overall. In the Monster Crew division, GUDC Project 13 from Davao City placed in the Top 5.
Gold-medal winning FMD Xtreme team leader Rizza Carganilla said, “To be honest we all struggled to get here, but we strived to raise money because we wanted to prove to our fellow dancers that anything is possible.”
Her dance crew received a standing ovation from the 2500-strong audience, and they dedicated their performance to the typhoon survivors.
“Sa nangyari po sa Pilipinas na bagyo, gusto po namin pasayahin ang kapwa naming Pilipino sa sarili naming pararaan through dance”, added Carganilla.
Dance crews flew in from across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Guam, USA and the Philippines to compete in the annual WSB championship. Over 1000 dancers participated in the three-day street dance festival, which included international dance workshops, electrifying musical performances, beat box battles, Hoop Mania street ball exhibitions, 1-on-1 All styles dance battles and urban choreography competitions.
Global dance superstars Brian Puspos, KRUMP founder Tight Eyez, Japanese masters of locking Hilty & Bosch, Philippine Allstars choreographer Lil’ Pat, Malaysian SYTYCD star Dennis Yin and three-time World gold medalist Lance & Laurence from New Zealand formed the judging panel. Other prominent judges included ReQuest Crew member Samantha Cahill, Finland street dance pioneer Tricky Ricky, former Allstar Orwayne De Leon and WSB Head Judge Joel Gallarde from Triple8Funk NZ.
Now in its ninth year, the World Supremacy Battlegrounds festival will be moving to Melbourne in 2014 with the championship slated for October next year. Slam Magazine, Audio Technica, Hoopdreamz, Monster Energy Drink, Sydney Kings, Basketball NSW, HoopTime, Urban Empire, Custom Tees and Nesian Street Clothing proudly supported WSB. By Marco Selorio