Breaking away in I-Oh-Way
If you’ve ever been down on the Pedestrian Mall and seen a group of guys doing windmills and stalls, you’ve most likely caught a glimpse of IO1.
And if that experience left you wanting more fast-paced moves worthy of “America’s Best Dance Crew,” check out I Oughta Wreck Amazing. IO1’s student organization, the UI Breakers, will host the event, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. The doors will open at 5 p.m.
This year is the first of what the UI Breakers hope will be many B-boy/B-girl events at the UI. Aiming to establish an Iowa scene, the Breakers will host teams from around the Midwest to compete in a three-on-three event. The first-place team will break away with a $300 prize, while second cranks in $100.
“We want to make a statement that B-boy [culture] can be in Iowa and thrive and grow,” said Wei “Charlie” Bui, a cofounder of the UI Breakers. “And we are just as dedicated here as the crews in Chicago and Milwaukee.”
Accomplished break dancers will judge the event. The panel will include ManofGod from Rhythm Attack and ENI, Alex from Motion Disorders Crew, and Monko from Distinctive Nobodies. DJs Ohmatic and Lester Burn ’Em will be on the turntables, supplying the event’s grooves.
Bui said each judge has his own interpretation of what B-boys and B-girls do.
“In general, the crews will be judged on rhythm, ability to dance, technical difficulty, clean execution, and personality,” Bui said.
An opportunity to perform and compete on Hawkeye turf was an attractive idea for Bui and fellow Breakers founder Jesus “Chuy” Renteria.
“We live a nomad lifestyle,” he said. “We practice and practice, and every couple of months, we travel [to compete].”
The UI Breakers started in December 2007 with three members. By the fall of 2008, anywhere from 10 to 18 people were attending practices, many of whom were beginners.
“We gained a big following from doing Dance Marathon and other shows,” Renteria said.
It probably doesn’t hurt that IO1 won the Midwest Best Dance Crew competition on March 28 in Davenport.
I.O.W.A. is modeled after a reputable jam at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, which started off as a smaller, university-sponsored event and now hosts teams from Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Brazil. With I.O.W.A., the UI Breakers also aims to promote the art and culture of break dancing.
Renteria cited the proximity between dancers and spectators as a facet that makes a breaker competition an adrenaline-pumping experience.
“It’s not just for breakers,” he said. “In most dance events, the dancers are in one place, and the crowd is in another. [Breaking] is fun to watch because the crowd is intermixed with the dancers. You can really feel it. A dancer might be doing a windmill two feet from your nose.”
The rhythmically challenged should not be intimidated by I.O.W.A. Ultimately, the event is as much an opportunity for exposure to a new art form as it is a good time.
“[Spectators will] see this room of people just erupt,” Renteria said.
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