The 2015 R16 World BBoy Championships @ Seoul's Jangchung Gymnasium

Over the years, the R16 World Bboy Championships were held at the Olympic Park in Seoul, which was a bit far for me to travel. I would need about an hour to take the bus and subway to get there.

But luckily for me, this year, they brought it closer - to Jangchung Gymnasium in the Junggu District, which is about ten minutes by bus from where I live! That close!

           (Crowds lining up to enter the 
               Jangchung Gymnasium)

                  (Joonho at the R16 marker)

             (A bboy crew posing inside 
                    the Gymnasium)

In the previous years, these annual bboy championships were always in the calendar of both local and international bboy fanatics in Korea.

The Championships are held over two days. On the first day are the finals for solo competitions for bboy, locking, and popping. And on the second day, it's all about the crews: the best performance and the best in battle.

  (The judges of the crew performance and battles)

                    (Team Korean turned the                                           house...upside down)

In the past championships at the Olympic Park, the organizers included a graffiti alley where famous graffiti artists impressed everyone with their creativity and works of art. I actually looked forward to it, but the R16 organizers told me that, since the Jangchung Gymnasium grounds didn't have enough space, the graffiti attraction was dropped this year.

I watched the crew competitions on the second day, and I was able to bring along two friends with me: Joonho, who wanted to become a bboy, and Eugene, who is a real bboy! If you've heard of Bboy Dynamo from Philadelphia, that's Eugene. 

                  (Lock N' Crew's showcase                                                   performance)

Before battling each other, the eight teams from Korea, USA, Russia, Taiwan, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, China, and Australia impressed the crowds with their showcase performance, which were judged. 

As always, the competition electrified the Jangchung Gymnasium with those incredible moves, dislocating stunts and flips that temporarily defied gravity. But in the end, there could only be one champion crew. 

                  (And the winner is....)

                   (...Team Russia!)

Team Russia won the final battle against Team USA, while Team Korea won the best performance. I think Team Russia's victory over the closest rival team would have made Vladimir proud. :-)

Although only Team Russia and Team Korea brought home the winners' checks that night, the bboy culture in Korea in particular, and the bboy generation all over the world in general were also the winners that night.

So, thanks again to R16 and to the Korea Tourism Organization for another round of crazy, electrifying and memorable bboy performances and battles! Joonho and Eugene had a fun time watching the championships here in Seoul. Eugene even had a chance to say 'hi' to DJ Skeme Richards, one of the guest DJs, who's also from Philly.

Next year, I hope you hold the Championships again here in my neighborhood because this year was, to use ghetto-speak, dope! 

The 2014 K-Performance Supporters Get-Together: A KaBOOM Of A Party!

Last year, during the get-together party of the 2013 K-Performance Supporters in Gangnam, the noisy guys from the North were on full blast in their provocations against South Korea, which actually scared only the people who lived outside the peninsula. Well, that's what happened when you watch those international news channels who exaggerated their reporting, making it sound like everyone in Seoul was running scared or was rushing to the Incheon International Airport to catch a flight out.

                                (VIPS' salad buffet)

We, who live in Korea, are used to these 'all-bark, no-bite' press releases from the North, and just like the rest of party-going people in Seoul, the K-Performance Supporters also ignored those provocations and went on with the party!  Yes, in 2013, the first get-together for the K-Performance Supporters was a buffet-dinner and a k-pop concert kind of party!

                        (Top bloggers of the 2nd Batch)

This year, for the 3rd batch, there were no more provocations from North Korea, only rain clouds and a drizzle that greeted the 2014 K-Performance Supporters as they assembled for the first time at the VIPS restaurant in the Jongno District in Seoul. 

This is my third year as a K-Performance Supporter (KPS). I remember in 2012, the first year, the members staged a flashmob in the middle of Insa-dong, and it was fun covering it for the blog.

                                  (The 2014 K-Performance Supporters)

In 2013, the Supporters had a trip to Pyeongchang County to watch the 2013 Special Winter Olympics at Alpensia Ski Resort and to enjoy a Snow Music Festival's K-pop concert at the Hanwha Resort.

And for the 2014 KPSs, the campaign started with a bang! Literally!

After the hearty buffet dinner at VIPS (I especially liked the tomato soup, frozen mangoes and pasta!), a short program inside the theater at the 4th floor of Cinecore Building in the Jongno District was held to welcome the third batch and to give recognition to the second batch's top bloggers, yours truly included (ehem!). After which, we all quieted down to watch KaBOOM!, a variety show directed by Kolleen Park.

                     (The Morning of Owl b-boy crew)

    (Morning of Owl with some K-Performance Supporters)

This show's slogan is actually 'que sera sera', Spanish for 'what will be will be', meaning, the audience would just be surprised with the performances in the show, doing away with a storyline popular with other non-verbal performances in Seoul. Four groups of performers complete the whole show: Magic Trunk, Va Va Voom, Morning of Owl and Performance in the Darkness (PID).

I especially liked Magic Trunk's sequence where the magician conjured water out of his assistant's plucking of a gayageum, and that trick where his assistant changed dresses in a nano-second by hiding behind his cape. I wonder if she bought those dresses at Dongdaemun nearby?

Va Va Voom's numbers were mostly gayageum-plucking, buk-drumming and pansori-ish singing and rapping with occasional head throws and dancing around the stage in shorts.

PID was all about glow-in-the-dark spectacle which I think would be a hit during Halloween, especially if they were wearing scary costumes. But tonight, these five performers were in their Transformers get-up, wowing everyone with precise movements that were synchronized with the colored, LED lights plastered on their costumes. While they were performing, I was able to tell that they were not an all-male ensemble, as the movements of a couple were a little bit 'soft'. But boy did they bring the house down! Clearly, they are the best act of the night! The lasers and lights playing in the dark, coupled with the Transformers theme synchronized with the music were all perfect ingredients on how to grab the audience's attention.

And the Morning Of Owl? Well, everyone would have been blown away if Bboy Pocket was there tonight. Unfortunately, it was his night off. Bboy Pocket is I think the bboy who can execute a Thomas Flair for the longest time.

These bboys are actually the current R16 world b-boy crew champions. I first saw them last year at the R16 Korea World  B-Boy Masters Championships at Olympic Park, where they battled and defeated b-boy crews from around the world. And tonight, just as everyone else, I enjoyed again their number where they threw those white confetti in the end. This number was their 'showcase performance' at the world championships which also brought down the Olympic stadium down that time. Figuratively speaking, of course. 

After the show, I had to ask the KaBOOM! staff whether Morning of Owl was dropping by the lobby. I had to say 'hi' to Bboy Birdie, whom I knew since the championships. Luckily, the staff was able to catch them before they left the building, and everyone who was still in the lobby was able to have photos with them.

KaBOOM! is indeed a different kind of show. As its brochure says, 'Forget about the stories'. It's a variety show of four acts with each act a performance of its own. No more wondering about a story during the show. Just let yourself be entertained by magic, modernized Korean traditional music, gravity-defying, shoulder-dislocating moves, and synchronized lasers and lights dancing in the dark.

So, thanks again to the Korea Tourism Organization's International Events Team, who organized the first get-together. Everyone truly enjoyed the dinner and the show!

Here's to another year of a successful campaign for Korean performances! 

R16 Korea: A Celebration of the BBoy Culture!

As Alfonso_n_Korea tweeted ‘even the monsoon rains can’t stop the #R16 Korea’ (which R16 Korea re-tweeted) the day before the 2013 R16 Korea World BBoy Championships, the skies were gloomy, the winds were howling and the streets in Seoul were wet from the heavy downpour. But even the bad weather could not keep the crowds from heading to the Olympic Park in Seoul during the weekend to enjoy the biggest bboy party of the year!

                (No monsoon rains could stop the party!)

                  (Long lines at the Ticket Box!)

Yes, R16 Korea is not just a competition and it’s not just a gathering of who’s who in the bboy world either. It is actually a celebration of the bboy culture. And if it’s a celebration, it’s a parteeeh!

The year 2013 is the 7^th year of R16 Korea, although I only heard about it until about three years ago when the organizers and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) stepped up their campaign to promote this international bboy competition. I first attended R16 Korea in 2010 when I got a free ticket as a blogger (read blog here) from KTO, and then in 2011 when I received a 'press pass' from the R16 organizers(read blog here). Last year, I missed the whole thing as I was out of the country. 

Luckily, this year, I was around to enjoy R16 Korea’s way of celebrating the bboy culture, and enjoy I did.

                (A Red Bull DJ at the street festival)

And since I was allowed to invite friends, I signed up two with the Korea Tourism Organization for them to get VIP tickets, too. And although my trip from my Hannam-dong neighborhood (in the Yongsan District) to the competition venue at the Olympic Park was quite a long route, it was always worth the trip! I guess crossing the river is always exciting especially if there was a party to cross for.

        (Juan Doe's artwork artwork at the street festival (read blog here)

The first day of the competition was all about the solo bboys (watch video here) and bgirls. These finalists, who have battled their way from their national and regional competitions, have finally reached the final stage where they can be declared the world champion, the best of the best, in the bboy, locking (watch video here) and popping competitions (watch video here).

                               (The urban street festival)

In the solo bboy category, Bboy Reflex of the Philippines (watch video here), who won the Southeast Asian regional finals, represented Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, he lost his first battle against Bboy Roo of Korea. At the end of the night, Bboy Issei of Japan (watch video here) was the solo bboy champion, Nao of Japan was the solo locking champion, and Hoan of Korea was the solo popping champion. Until now, I still get confused between locking and popping by the way. Ha-ha-ha! But my confusion aside, these champions' hard work paid off! Paid off handsomely in thousands of dollars in prize money, that is.

                                  (Bboys Issei and Blond)

But what brought the house down on the first night were the guest performances of Jinjo Crew, former R16 Korea champions (watch video here), and Monster Woo Fam (watch video here), which are both from Korea. Jinjo Crew’s 19 members were divided into three crews who danced to three genres of a song. My favorite were their classic jacket routines, which I saw them perform a couple of years ago, and the retro section complete with retro pants, shirts and sleek hairstyle. These guys are amazing! The current K-pop bands who try to make some bboy moves in their music videos look like beginners compared to the bboys of Jinjo Crew and Monster Woo Fam. They’re a league of their own.

                              (The solo bboy winners!)

Although he lost to Hoan of Korea at the popping finals, Josh of Singapore (watch video here) made a lot of local fans with his style and his on-stage good-luck paraphernalia: a Singaporean flag and what looks like an iPad mini to video his performance.  I hoped he successfully recorded his battle. On Sunday night, his Singaporean fans who attended the championships posed with Josh in front of the R16 board and they asked me to take their group photo.

  

And while the energy at the solo battles was already at its maximum, on Sunday night, during the crew battles, it was just over the top. If the Olympic Park stadium wasn’t made of sturdy materials, the roof could have blown off from so much energy emanating from the stage and from the bleachers. 

Every time a bboy or bgirl (watch video here) did an impossible move, the crowd just went wild. One of favorite bboys during the battles was Morning of Owl’s  Bboy Pocket, who did his flares like he was just making coffee or something. A flare was originally called Thomas Flair as invented by an American gymnast, Kurt Thomas. It’s like swinging both legs around you like an electric fan while only being supported by both hands on the floor. What brought the crowd to its feet was when Bboy Pocket actually took off his shirt while doing a flare.

I met Bboy Pocket two years ago on my way home after watching the R16 Korea in 2011. I spoke to him at the Olympic Park subway station while we were both waiting for the train. He told me he had to get home early that night as he still had to go to school the next morning. I think he was still in high school then. With his continued success in his bboy profession, I wonder how his grades are in school. I hope he’s able to juggle his time between school and his bboy activities like he juggles his flares.

The eight crews of Morning of Owl (Korea), Battle Born (USA), SKB Crew (Australia)(watch video here), Mental Fusion Crew (China), The Future Crew (Taiwan), Body Carnival (Japan)(watch video here), Melting Force (France) (watch video here) and Slavic United (Russia) battled it off until the remaining two, Morning of Owl and Body Carnival, were left standing. And the final showdown between the two was just a delight to watch. These guys are not just bboys who can breakdance, twist, twirl, spin and tumble; these guys are artists in their own right, inventing and creating moves that nobody else would have thought possible. Risking a broken arm, wrist or worse, their neck, they defy gravity, defy physics and of course, defy any chiropractor. Ha-ha-ha!

                        (The crew battles!)

In the end, Morning of Owl was just too much for the competition (watch video here). Once again, a crew from Korea was declared battle champion of R16 Korea, and Body Carnival was declared the performance champion. Before the crew battle began, each of the eight crews performed individually displaying their creativity, originality and everything what they’re made of, and of those eight performances, Body Carnival was declared the best.

                       (BWB, Khan and Moon)

The guest performance of Blue Whale Brothers with Bboys Khan and Moon was also amazingly impressive. I could tell a lot of work (and hours!) went into their preparation and rehearsals, especially when the four of them had to synchronize their moves with the visual animation behind them. Only top professionals could do it since they were actually dancing ‘blindly’. They could not see the animation behind them and yet with such precision, they had to move not only with each other, but with the music and the animation flashed on the white screen in front of which they danced. These guys had the precision, accuracy and creativity of Olympic synchronized swimmers! 

                           (Salah on stage)

Also a very memorable performance was that of the popping legend, Salah, of France (watch video here). His number actually reminded me of the mime of another French legend, Marcel Marceau, which I only saw on TV. But thanks to R16 Korea, I was able to see in person how Salah mesmerized his audience with his magical numbers.  The day before, at the urban arts festival outside the Olympic Park stadium, I saw a Korean fan asked Salah for a photo-op. Not only did Salah obliged, but he also chatted with that fan. That just shows he’s not only a great artist; he’s also a nice person. I hope he returns to R16 Korea next year to perform. And if he does, everyone should not miss his performance.

                               (The crowd going wild!)

So, instead of having to stay home while the rains ruined my tennis weekend, R16 Korea provided an even more interesting and enjoyable weekend! So, thank you to the Korea Tourism Organization and the staff handling the K-Performance Supporters for the VIP tickets (and the souvenirs!) for me and my friends.

                  (The final battle of the night! 

                        What a showdown!)

And congratulations to all the winners! Those endless hours training and perfecting those gravity-defying, shoulder-dislocating moves have paid off!

                           (The crew battle champions!)

And to the organizers of R16 Korea for another successful World Bboy Championships and their sponsors, that was a job well done!  I know everyone had a lot of sleepless nights before the finals. Congratulations!  

So, thanks to R16 Korea! My weekend was rained out, but it was a blast! See you all again in 2014!😎

#bboy #bboyculture #R16 #popping #locking #morningofowl #jinjocrew #salah #seoul #Korea #breakdancing