REFRESH IS ON TV!!!! WHAAAAT?!?!

NBC covered Eberhard’s show today at 11 AM and you can see a glimpse of us in this video!!!

ReFresH on NBC Chicago!!

Check it at 0:55!!!!!!

Reminiscing~

For the oldies (KCheung in particular XD)

 

HipHop Action at a Not-So-Distant campus

Hi Y’all,

 

Came across the following event and thought it was interesting to see a different twist on how hiphop (dancing in general according to the agenda) could affect communities in non-dance ways.

WU HipHop Week WordPress blog

 

It’s called HipHop Week and it will be held at WashU, STL. Nov. 9th-14th. Here’s a rundown of the program as described on FB:

(direct FB link:WU HipHop Week FB page)

This is the OFFICIAL FACEBOOK EVENT for:

Hip-Hop Against Hunger: A Week of Cultural and Social Awareness

Headed by Drop Knowledge, this week-long festival explores and celebrates the true elements of hip-hop culture. We will engage the student body in positive forms of self-expression and discussion of social issues through hip-hop as well as enrich the relationships established among already existing student organizations. This week is also a part of an effort to reestablish the Wash U Hip Hop Congress Chapter on campus.

Proceeds raised throughout the week will be benefiting Operation Food Search, a local STL food bank & charity. Donation bins and tabling will be located in the Village Dining Hall, DUC commons, and South 40 eateries, as well as at our events. Official T-shirts will also be for sale ($10/shirt, can use campus card) throughout the week at the DUC Commons.

OFFICIAL BLOG: http://wuhiphopweek.wordpress.com

Monday, Nov. 9 -

ELEVEN Mixtape Exchange (Whisper’s Cafe, DUC Commons, 1-4pm): Blank CDs will be given out on Monday, Nov. 9th; students will then take them back and burn a mixtape of their favorite tracks and return it to the exchange locations on Tuesday, Nov. 10th.

Inklings hosted by WuSlam (Ursa’s Fireside, 8:30-11 PM): A special hip hop week edition of WuSlam’s weekly open mic night; members from Wash U’s premier slam poetry group will perform and lead peers in prompts regarding the theme of “hip hop against hunger.”

Tuesday, Nov. 10 -
Back 2 the Beat: Dance Workshops hosted by OneWorld (Ursa’s Fireside, 8-10 PM): The night will begin with a short showcase and workshop by Wash U’s premier bboy/bgirl club, WU Cypher and continue with a very special hip-hop, pop/lock workshop by Nicholas Gates, one of STL’s most talented hip-hop choreographers and the only STL contestant on the first season of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Wednesday, Nov. 11 -
Expression Expo hosted by Drop Knowledge (DUC Commons, 7-10 PM): Featuring a graffiti exhibit, fashion show, and freestyle/beatbox battle. Music provided by Trackstar the DJ with a special scratch performance from 2 of STL’s best, DJ Deception http://www.djdeception.net and DJ Costik (http://www.myspace.com/djcostik)

Thursday, Nov. 12 -
Multicultural Concert ft. Idan Raichel Project, an international music group from Israel presented by WUSI as part of Pluralism Week (560 Music Building, 7:30PM). Opening acts include performances from many Wash U student groups including WuSlam, WU Swing Society, WU Sauce and much more. Admission is FREE with WU ID

Friday, Nov. 13 -
RAP SESSIONS (DUC Commons, 7-9 PM): A panel of the nation’s most distinguished hip-hop scholars, activists and commentators come to campus to discuss the question of “Is America really post-racial?” and more specifically, whether the n-word and post-racism can co-exist. Opening/closing Music provided by KWUR, JLS Audio Services and some of STL’s finest hip-hop DJs. http://www.rapsessions.org and http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167724396865#/event.php?eid=162141777841

Saturday, Nov. 14 -
CYPHER OF FORTUNE hosted by WU Cypher (The Gargoyle, 4-8 PM): A 2v2 bboy/bgirl competition among the best dancers from STL and the rest of the midwest. The theme of this jam is all about fun and positive expression; dancers of all styles and experience are encouraged to come and participate as the format is randomized tournament style. There is a $400 cash prize for first place and official “REP STL” T-shirts will be on sale at the event. Featuring music from DJ Needles and DJ Keeno da Kid.

HIP-HOP FESTIVAL hosted by Team 31 & The Gargoyle (The Gargoyle, 8PM-Midnight). Performance line-up includes hip-hop group The Paxtons, local STL group iLLphonics and internationally known DJ/producer RjD2. http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=158884309431&index=1

If you would like to get involved and help out with the events, please contact us at wuhiphop@gmail.com!

 

 

April Rodriguez: Hip Hop vs. Urban Choreography

Link to Article Here you

And here for those of you who don’t want to sign into facebook.

An interesting article, worth reading to anyone interested in the Hip Hop, choreography, the evolution of the culture and all that stuff. It’s a facebook note and I looked at the tag list and it was amazing. Lando, Elm, Mike Song, Gigi, Kyle Hanagami to name a few. Especially, as we grow in Hip Hop, it’s important to examine where we stand and what we’re actually doing as a group.

Hellaween Jam 10/24

Hey guys, some of us are thinking of going to Alternatives for the Hellaween jam this weekend (Saturday 10/24).  The entrance fee is 10$ (20$ with a camera) and this jam is the biggest in Chicago.  Battles ’start’ at 6PM, meaning they’ll start around 7PM.

If you want to go contact me at direntropy@gmail.com and let me know if you are interested in entering the battle (3v3 for $1500!) or watching.

You can either come with us or take the el down to the location:

Alternatives
4730 N. Sheridan
Chicago IL. 60640

Good luck with midterms!

Jukebox Presents “The Gift”

Thank you so much everyone who came out, to Mel for taping, and of course the awesome dancers who made this project happen! I never imagined I’d take this piece to an actual show so this is really cool for me to see.

RFH/Fusion Iowa Battle + Jukebox thoughts

This video sums up our entire trip pretty much.

EDIT:: See below the the videos for random thoughts about the trip.

The video you’ve all been waiting for! DopeSauce Crew!

Watch as Nick Kim tears  it up during the funk showcase.

I know for me, it was after battling that I was the most motivated to work on my skills. I think everyone who battled felt that way. First time battlers Josh and Joe, but they had a good opening as you can see. Made some friends through breaking, Chi town Crooks crew haha. Even Nick, who didn’t break, but hit up that funk styles showcase came back with a new love for popping and locking. I had a dream the next day after getting back that I was in a bboy battle haha. It was about 8 hours round trip, but it certainly didn’t feel that way (except for the butt cramps). That first video sums up our just messing around, talking, listening to dance music.

If you want to take your dancing to the next level, you’ll need to get off campus. Take classes, meet chicago crews, go battle, go to shows. If you’re shooting to be at the top of the NU level you won’t go far. I believe that this is something Matt tried to inspire in us when he was still a student. He saw something bigger and took ReFresH to new levels of dancing than there was in the past at NU. But he went to those classes and shows and then brought it back to NU. Same with Jason, since he’s been here, I’ve been to three battles with him (partner in 1) and in that time, I’ve seen my breaking go to new levels.

As for me, I recently took a house class because I’ve always wanted to try it out and now I’ve found something new that I love and want to pursue, but it never would have happened if I didn’t get off campus, out of what’s comfortable and usual. For some of you, the next steps will be doing show, choreographing a piece, for others it will be taking a class or auditioning for a group. If you never stretch yourself, your growth will be hindered, and of course it’s easier to do things together. That’s why RFH is here =). Seriously, rely on each other, if you see this jazz class that you want to take, be like “hey debbie, want to go take this class with me?” and then we’ll go and get owned together (“wait that rolling thing u just did… can u break it down?”). This pretty much applies to anything, but since this is a dance blog, let’s talk about dance.

Peace,

Kcheung!