Skechers Streetdance Battle 7 Final Battle
On its 7th year, the Skechers Streetdance Battle 7 got just tougher and hotter. After grueling elimination legs all over the metro, nine high school and 15 college dance crews were set to ultimately battle it out for streetdance supremacy in front of the 16,000-strong crowd at the Big Dome last Saturday.
I was lucky to get a front row ticket courtesy of our friends at Skechers. From my seat, I had a good dose of popping, locking, vogueing, and flipping, much to the delight of the Skechers fan in me whoâs been following the competition since 2007 through YouTube. Hosted by Tony Toni, Slick Rick, and Sam YG of Magic 89.9âs Boys Night Out, the night just got thrilling and pumped up as the crowd first grooved to this yearâs Skechers Signature Move, making âfist bumpsâ and âdo the smurfâ dance moves with Prince Altu-ob.
Shortly after the Big Dome turned into a big dance floor with the crowd doing the signature moves to the tune of LMFAOâs Party Rock Anthem, guest performers took over the center stage with their energetic and hyped dance routines. First to perform was Legit Status, the crew to bag the 5th place in the Varsity Division of this yearâs World Hip Hop International Championships in Las Vegas. Next is the new group Rockstars, which is headed by one of the nightâs coaches Kenjohns Serrano, with their sizzling hot dance routine. Lastly, but definitely not the least of all, the girls of the internationally-recognized dance crew ReQuest wowed the crowd with their usual fun and lively dance moves. ReQuest was a two-time champion at the World Hip Hop Championships and a finalist to the Americaâs Best Dance Crew Season 6.
Then the high school category commenced with the boys of Ateneo High Schoolâs Indayog ng Atenistang Kabataan (InDAK) grooved their snappy and vivacious steps. Battle veterans include former champions Airforce of La Salle Greenhills (Year 6), Hataw of Claret School of Quezon City (Year 5), Sayawatha of Miriam College High School (Years 1 and 4), and Dance X of Xavier School (Year 2), all set to grab the title as the best high school dance crew in the country.
A surprising 2nd runner up finish went to the defending champions La Salle Greenhills with a score of 81.06.
Meanwhile, the boys of Claret Hataw placed 1st Runner up with a score of 83.38.
Reigning in this yearâs competition are the girls of Terpsichore of St. Paul College of Pasig, coming from last yearâs third place, with a score of 90.9 (Who run the world? Girls!)
The college category was much tighter and more exciting as the crown is just a snatch away after last yearâs champions Company of Ateneo Dancers of the Ateneo de Manila University got eliminated early on this year. Led by Year 4 champion La Salle Dance Company-Street of De La Salle University and 4-time champion UP Streetdance Club of the University of the Philippines Diliman, the college crews set the stage on fire with their creative choreography and breathtaking stunts to win this yearâs title from Loyola.
Coming back-to-back for 2nd Runner up was Indayog Dance Varsity of UP Manila with a score of 87.7.
Finishing 1st Runner up was UP Streetdance Club of UP Diliman, which last won the championship in 2009, with a score of 89.5.
And this yearâs best college dance crew is yet again La Salle Dance Company-Street of De La Salle University with a score of 90.82.
Aside from the intense performances of the high school and college crews, the event also highlighted the usual Freestyle Showdown, a friendly competition with two representatives of a participating crew battling it out whatever way they want it with another pair from another school. For the high school category, the girls of Miriam College High School and St. Paul College of Pasig rocked it with their sexy moves and a banner ending their routine that goes by: âWho run the world? Girls!â On the other hand, streetdance powerhouses UP Streetdance Club and La Salle Dance Company-Street went against each other with the b-boys of UP did the Green Archer gesture while the pair from DLSU posed like the Oblation. The Skechers Battle Crew, a performing group composed of selected members from each finalist dance crew, also moved to the nightâs music with their hip and cool dance routine. Handpicked high school and college dancers took off their respective streetdance outfits to wear the Skechers shirt in unity for the stellar performance.
Also that night was Skechers Street Style, featuring the hippest and most stylish b-boys and b-girls among the participating crews since the elimination leg. The b-boy and b-girl to sport the coolest street fashion were Ryan Godfrey of Centro Escolar University while Theabelle Celeste of Miriam College High School, who both will get a feature in Meg Magazine. Another special award was Mob Poster Campaign winner, with Pas Des Tous of St. Paul College of Paranaque and Thomasian AC&P of University of Santo Tomas getting the most number of people in a photo for high school and college categories, respectively. Completing the set of special awards was the Peopleâs Choice Award by Juice.ph, with Tedeum Crew of Ina ng Buhay Catholic School and E-Stars of Universidad de Manila getting the most number of likes among the high school and college finalists.
The Skechers Streetdance Battle 7 was sponsored by Skechers Fitness and Skechers Time, and co-presented by ETC. Also sponsoring were SM Department Store and SM Supermalls. Official media partners included Meg Magazine, CLAVEL Sneaker Magazine, Magic 89.9, Wave 89.1, JAM 88.3, and Juice.ph, and it was conceptualized and organized by Brainbox.
Special thanks to Ms. Michelle Obligacion of Skechers!
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