Plattsburgh’s Best Dance Crew

By Nicole Weber

Plattsburgh’s Best Dance Crew is…(enter your dance crew’s name here). A dance off show, much like MTV’s daytime show America’s Best Dance Crew, also known as ABDC, will be held on September 23rd in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, of SUNY Plattsburgh, at 7 p.m. for the affordable price of free admission.

Brought to you by SUNY Plattsburgh’s Entertainment Committee on Activities Coordination Board, PBDC will hopefully be a “real big success,” said SUNY Plattsburgh’s Entertainment Committee’s Vice Chair Brett Williams. Williams adds that he hopes PBDC can become an annual event that will grow bigger and better with students’ support and interest.

PBDC was planned last semester because of the large interest in dance between the Entertainment Committee. Jimmy McKenna, Head Chair of SUNY Plattsburgh’s Entertainment Committee said. “It’s something different and students can get involved,” McKenna said.

As with ABDC, PBDC will go on a similar routine of performances, judging and cuts. All dance crews will be performing one number. The top three crews, remaining after cuts, will then perform their same act again. The top crew will be crowned and presented with a prize of $100 MasterCard each.

The host and photographer, Michael Cashman will be performing an “opening number”. “I love what the group [Entertainment Committee] is doing,” Cashman said. Also, be on the look out for pictures of the performing dance crews inside the Angell College Center.

The judges for this year’s PBDC will be Kara Lalonde, vice president of student activities; Bill Laundry; Corri Mathews, director of center of student involvement; and Penny Kendall from SUNY Plattsburgh’s Clinton Dinning Hall. McKenna explained that the Entertainment Committee wanted the judges to be people familiar to most of campus.

“I love to do these things,” said Kendall who can’t wait to see the performances. Kendall also said she expects to see a variety of dance styles. “(It’s) no fun seeing everyone doing the same thing”. Kendall has judged Mr. Plattsburgh in the past and would like to get involved with more student events in the future.

If you come to PBDC not only will you see the battle of the dance crews, but also performances by professional dance group. Group 616 is an urban, street-dance group from Chicago. 616 will perform several acts throughout the night as well as performing a teaser in the Amite Plaza at noon. This years dance crews are: Frank’s Phantom, the Visionaries, Fuji, Jedi Step and Dance Corps. Frank’s Phantom is a hip-hop, modern group who are among the cast and crew of Plattsburgh’s Rocky Horror Show. Their showcased dance for PBDC will be an actual act from the production. Frank’s Phantom consists of choreographer Antonette Knoedl, Emily Madan, Meigg Jupin and Tyler Rebello. The group is competing for fun, “everyone puts extra energy into it because it’s just for fun, Knoedl said.

The Visionaries include, choreographer Dharmit Laxman, Aymen Belazi, Danny Ye and Mirasad Amirov. The Visionaries, “have a vision to win.” We’re bringing out something special that people haven’t seen,” Amirov said. The visionaries claim to have moves that no one has on campus. B-boy breaking, hip-hop popping, with “funny theatrical” footwork is the definition of the Visionaries’ style. Fuji is a female Japanese dance group. Audiences might have seen this group perform before at SUNY Plattsburgh’s senior school play or Night of Nations last semester. However, the group has changed, losing a few members and gaining a few new ones. The group is now composed of leader Kana Kobayashi, Yukino Kamiyama, Aiko Takamoto, Tomomi Nagai and Miyu Otaka. You can expect to see shaking, popping as the group will perform a hip-hop, pop piece.

Jedi Step, from campus club Jedi Dance Production, is an all-female step team. Jedi Step consists of step captains and chorographers Jessica Ubiles and Habiba Braimah, and steppers Ashley Parris, Arielle Thurman and Nicole Renee Lewis.

Jedi Step is performing to win, as well, but are also performing to claim respect as a step team. “Rumor was that Jedi can’t step or dance,” Lewis said.

Jedi Dance Productions initially signed up a dance, rather than step, group as well, but failed to show to auditions.

Dance Corps is a hip-hop/ jazz /modern group. Choreographer Robb Roedel, Caroline LaFauei, Atum Gagne, Stacey Calcagni, Amber Parliament and Meghan Summerlin are also all from the campus club Dance Corps. Dance Corps’ crew uses the floor to create patterns and shapes, moving with the beats of the song. You can expect to see turns, jumps and even some stomps. Dance Corps performs, “a lot of different styles with energy,” Roedel said. He adds that as a group, Dance Corps has respect for other people, dancers, and styles.

Come support your favorite crew and enjoy the performance of professional dance group 616. The winning crew is decided by audience votes.