Utah’s best b-boys, b-girls and all types of break dancers will battle it out Wednesday night at the Awful Waffle in Provo.
Dancers of all ages will compete for an overall total of $1,000 in prize money in a 2-on-2 b-boy battle and a 1-on-1 all styles battle, with beats by Nosy-T and DJ Chu. Spectators are welcome for a price of $8 at the door, or $7 and a can of food. Proceeds will be taken to the Utah Food Bank and the homeless teens shelter in downtown Salt Lake City. This is the third Battle at the Waffle, hosted by Michael Easterling and Kyler Fisher, a break dancer and a business man hoping to remind people “what hip hop is really about.”
“All of these competitors are ridiculously talented,” said businessman Kyler Fisher. “I don’t know how these kids do some of the stuff they do.”
Fisher is not a dancer, but he enjoys hosting the event.
“It really brings the community together,” Fisher said. ” It’s cool to gain more of understanding about the hip hop culture.”
There are four elements of hip hop: break dance, DJ, graffiti and MC. All of these elements were designed to unify people, to uplift and get people away from the hard times.
Easterling explained how it is important to remember the purpose of hip hop and that this battle is meant to keep the hip hop culture alive.
“If we don’t stand up and remember where we came from and what hip hop is actually about, then we are bringing it down,” Easterling said.
Two of the four hip hop elements will be featured Wednesday: break dance and DJ. Nosy-T and DJ Chu will play new music the dancers have never heard, and the competitors will then take turns battling with their creativity and musicality for the judges to decide the winner.
“It is exciting because no one knows what the music will be,” Easterling said. “People really get to see the creativity, skill and originality of these artists — which is why we call them artists; they are always creating something new.”
For more information, or to see the battle lists, click here.
