Flips, spins and freezes were the weapons of choice as teams of break-dancers battled Friday night at the Eugene stop of the Ashes2Ashes: Growing Pains World Tour.
Teams traveled from as far as Spokane, Wash., to participate in the five-on-five breakdancing tournament, more commonly known as B-boy battling. Eight teams faced off, but Portland-based Moon Patrol were deemed champions of the evening, snatching the victory from Seattle-based BYC and securing their spot in the tour’s finals in 2009.
Sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Student Union, the competition was one of the student group’s final events celebrating Asian Heritage Month.
“We have events we throw to promote awareness of the Asian-American community on campus,” said Steve Lam, Internal Outreach Coordinator for APASU. “Breakdancing promotes diversity. There are a lot of different minority groups in each crew.”
The Ashes2Ashes tour, put on by the Portland based B-boy group Amplified Techniques, is in its fifth year. The tour travels around the world looking for the best B-boys and B-girls to battle in a competition for cash and prizes. Teams at Friday’s event competed for a spot in the finals of the tour, which culminates in a championship battle in 2009.
For some competitors it’s not all about the prize money, although the winning team was awarded a $500 purse.
“It’s a stepping stone. Winning is about that sense of pride and lifestyle and recognizing it,” said John “Randm1” Molina, of Moon Patrol.
Each battle lasted from 10-12 minutes as dancers from opposing crews jumped in and out of a small dance circle illuminated by a single spotlight, showcasing their best moves while trying to intimidate and one-up their competition. The battles were judged by three judges, who voted for the team they thought did best. The team with the most votes moved onto the next battle.
“I look for creativity, musicality, technicality and difficulty. I look for whoever brings it more,” said Thias “Thesis” Lopez, who flew in from Vancouver to judge the battles.
The Ashes2Ashes tour is the brain child of Huy “Jyant” Pham, who also emceed the event. The tour is intended to increase awareness of B-boying.
“Most battles are small, rinky-dink battles where maybe 60 percent of the people there are B-boys themselves,” said Pham. “I wanted an event where the B-boys would get to shine and get the respect they deserve from people outside the community for once.”
The crew from Eugene – Raw Action – was beaten by Moon Patrol in the semi-finals. “We feel we got robbed,” said Christopher “Buddah Sack” Burns. “There’s always a certain degree of politics in the shows. It happens at all the jams, but I don’t hold any animosity.”
Burns, who moved here from Albuquerque, N.M., says Eugene’s B-boying scene is small but growing. Burns started B-boying in 1994, when his graffiti art got him involved in the scene. He moved to Eugene in 1998, bringing his crew with him. Upon arrival, they began linking up with a younger generation of B-boys and formed Raw Action.
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