Once a year, local and international hip-hop teams get the chance to show off their moves and style to a vivacious Bay Area audience.
Held at the Palace of Fine Arts, the San Francisco Hip-Hop DanceFest annually gives people in the world of hip-hop dance a chance to see and to be seen. With performances that ranged from hilarious to borderline erotic and from old school charm to innovative body movements, DanceFest was held Nov. 17 to Nov. 19 this year.
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The youth hip-hop team "WHAT," an acronym for "with heart and talent," took the stage for the fifth year in a row to flaunt its award-winning style. The group, comprised of 32 dancers aged eight to 17, hails from the Sunset Academy of Dance, a dance studio nestled in the heart of San Francisco's Sunset District.
"The thing I like about dance is the camaraderie among the dancers, that they're working together to make a group product," said April Nakayoshi, whose 10-year-old daughter Michelle Nakayoshi dances with the group. "I see a lot of support for one another and I really like that."
The group is divided into three sections based on age and skill level: The youngest dancers, aged eight to 11 dance at the Junior Posse level; the high schoolers dance at the Impact level; the newest section, called Da Click, is comprised of the most skilled dancers, whose ages range from 10 to 13. In fact, six of the eight Da Click dancers currently hold the national and world hip-hop champion titles for their age group, based on an international hip-hop competition held in southern California during summer.
Being on a competitive dance team requires a lot of commitment, both of time and money. Just to prepare for DanceFest, which is the kick-off performance to the group's competition and performance season, the group began once-a-week rehearsals in September, with additional practice added on prior to the event. The group will dance in four competitions and two more performances until summer, when tryout will be held to acquire additional dancers. If a dancer wants to stay on the team next season, they are not required to try out again.
"I give them all the rules and tell them 'this is the commitment if you can't commit you can just take hip-hop classes' - which is fine too because I don't want to turn my whole studio into competition," said Lisa Brown who owns the dance studio and takes care of the group's logistics.
Brown, whose son dances with the group, said that while she is passionate about dance, the competition is not her favorite aspect.
"Because it's hard when they don't win… I try to teach them it's really just the opinion of the judges," she said.
However, the group has won many awards, ranging from first place to "Best Choreography" or "Most Entertaining."
The group learns its winning routines from dedicated coach, Darnell Carroll who has taught the group for six years with the help of friend and DJ, Mario Ponce.
"I'm not a big stage person," explained Carroll. "I don't like to be in front of the crowd, I like to be behind the scenes. I like to put my talent out on stage."
And the dancers love the spotlight.
"If there's a dance and Darnell puts me dead center, I'll want to work it and show the audience what I've got and do facials," said 11-year-old Jake DeAnda, who said he spends about 10 hours a week dancing.
Many of the dancers, like DeAnda, have additional dance commitments.
"My friends think it's cool when I do my hip-hop at the talent show, but they kind of make fun of me when I say I have to take ballet," he said.
For 15-year-old Brendon Chan, who also dances with his school's break dancing club, hip-hop allows him a more masculine way to dance rather than the tap and modern he formally did.
"It's a good way to stay in shape and the way I see it, girls like guys that can dance - especially hip-hop," he said. "Only real men dance."
