The B-Boy event that we'd all been waiting for. I would say THE PREMIER Team B-Boy event in the U.S., no showcase competition, ALL day cyphers, crews from not only around the country but around the world, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Korea were some I remembered. Definitely one of the most hyped B-Boy events of late (ever?) and I thought it lived up to the expectations at the very least. A late posting on some highlights of Freestyle Session - 10th Anniversary...
Some of my highlights for the weekend included, but were not limited to:
1.) All them Korean B-Boys. Everybody jocks them, everyone wants to call them out, because they do some amazing shit. Not just those amazing power moves, but how they do those moves on beat! And how lots of them can really dance too.
2.) All the B-Boys in one building gettin down, getting to see some of my favorite B-Boys and crews battle. I wish the competition could've allowed more deserving crews to get shots at getting a place in the top 16, but at least everyone got a chance to compete.
3.) Getting to see and shoot UNDERGROUND FLOW and SOUL CONTROL/CLIMAX in their respective battles. Even though neither crew advanced to the top 16, I could feel the excitement and energy from two crews in different places: one group getting their feet wet, trying to get themselves out there and establish themselves with their peers (UGF), and another group the accomplished veterans, trying to remind people that Soul Control's still representin' in the 10th anniversary! It sucked though, cause Soul Control style originator Kujo missed the battle, because he was eating and didn't hear the announcement. It would've been great to see him battle with the guys. I thought maybe he'd left early or something and wasn't battling, but he came out afterwards, and was like, wtf?
4.) The Cyphers! There were too many to keep track of. And i think i missed out on a few battles and call outs to keep track of... although I'm glad I didn't trade the main competition for cypher battles. There's a lot of talked about happenings at the Freestyle Session
message board . Just watch out for the expected post event bickering shit talking.
5.) Zulu Kings (USA/Worldwide) vs Gamblerz (Korea) in the finals. One for the ages. Although I left early thinking that Gamblerz took the competition just to hear that Zulu Kings took it, but I can see how Zulu Kings could've taken it too from their perspective. It would be cool if the judges could post criteria, results, judging cards or something to help give people insight into how these events are judged and how they make their decisions. Especially considering how much money is at stake at a jam like this.
6.) The production value of the filming! Professional equipmenet and crew, no more rinky dink shit. Light kits, Quality cameras, I can't wait for the DVD to come out.
7.) Everything was not only on time, but the battles were moved along quickly, the there was good visability to the stages, spotlights for the cyphers (which kinda messed up my filming sometimes, when the B-Boys moved in and out of the spotlight, I had to keep changing the exposure.
So I got some great footage, had a great time, got to see some world class Breakin'! And the rest of my mission was accomplished as I picked up a whole mess of archival footage from Mpact and Villn's personal stocks. Really excited to see how it all works with the material we already have. That's all I got for now (it's not as fresh on my mind over a week later...) Hopefully we won't have to wait another 3 years for the next Freestyle Session.
Labels: competitions, events, freestyle session, travel, updates
