Federation Shakedown Trip
Vegas Shakedown 12 Part 2:
BBOY BATTLES
Vegas Shakedown splits their bboy event into two categories, Lightweight & Heavyweight. Goku (Climax/Soul Control-Ca), Gerald (Rock Force 3G/Climax Soul Control-Ca) & Floorock (RSC/RSK) judged. For this 4 on 4 competition, Utah brought 3 teams. Fundamentals and a FED team entered the lightweight and a FED team entered the Heavyweight.
For many of the bboys in the lightweight teams, it was their first time entering an out-of-state event. There were close to 40 crews in the Lightweight and some of the best crews in the country in the Heavyweight. So all the crews had to do their best if they expected to make it past pre-lims. All 3 Utah teams did really well but none were able to make past pre-lims. This was partly due to the crews being cut to the top 4. This made pre-lims extremely competitive.
In the Lightweight finals it was Future Styles (AZ) vs. Queens (NV/UT). A Furious Styles junior crew vs an all bgirl crew, with bgirl Hopz & bgirl Savage repping Utah. Congrats to Future Styles for taking the win.
Although the crews were cut to Top 4 due to time issues, the promoter did post who would have originally made the Top 8. Our FED team was on that list. I would have liked to see them battle in the Top 8 but i’m still very proud that our FED team made the cut on their first try.
In the Heavyweights the Top 4 crews were KHZOO (NV), Furious Styles (AZ), Knuckleheads Cali (CA) & West Coast Cartel (CA/NV). The Final battle came down to KHCA & Westcoast Cartel. This was a really dope battle with really high level dancers. Despite a long day at the venue, these crews pushed it to the limit in what was a very close battle. West Coast Cartel would come away with the win.
WRAP UP
For me Vegas Shakedown is one of the best events in the country right now. It’s a good combination of high-caliber dancers while maintaining an underground feel. We’ve been going to this event for several years now and I was happy to be able to take so many of the New Gens with us this time..
However, I also feel that Shakedown has outgrown its current format. The event has become extremely long for a single day event. This leads to the time issues that caused the battles to be cut short. In the future I would like to see the time managed a little better so that the dancers are battling each other and not the clock. The promoter is planning on making significant changes to the event so I look forward to seeing them implemented.
Over all though this was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I learned a lot about traveling in a large group, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world. Shakedown happens about every 3 months and I can’t wait to go to the next one. See you all at Vegas Shakedown 13
