The A&T chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers gathered break dancers in the student union to compete in the Divine Cypher Breakin’ Competition Saturday night.
The A&T chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers gathered break dancers in the student union to compete in the Divine Cypher Breakin’ Competition Saturday night.
The event took place as a fundraiser to help engineering students attend the annual Carolina Conference.
The conference this year will take place at Clemson University where engineering students from various schools compete in different engineering competitions.
The breaking competition also known as a “jam” consisted of competitors, judges, spectators, a DJ, and Ox & Rabbit who was the vendor of the night selling clothes, shoes, and watches.
This was the first time a break dance competition has ever been held on A&T’s campus. “I have been here for four years and I’ve been wanting to host a jam but never had the time to do it until now,” said Matthew Diggs a senior engineering major. “It is a great way to have fun while supporting the growth of our hip-hop community and supporting students trying to make it through college in order to bring positive change to our expanding societies.”
Diggs who has been a b-boy for six years was the brains behind the jam. “It was hard putting this jam together. I had a lot to do but it’s feasible and I would do it again,” he said.
With plenty of energy coming from competitors and the crowd, the preliminaries kicked off the jam with everyone who signed up competing to show the judges what he or she had in order to move on to the battle rounds.
Juan from Swoon Unit, the most prestigious b-boy crew in N.C. since 1999, was one of three judges for the night. “It is a great thing when people come to b-boy battles because there is a lot of diversity and it is a celebration” said Juan. The judges were judging b-boys on their execution, foundation, style, and creativeness.
There were four total battle rounds during the competition. The first round consisted of the top 16 people who moved on from the preliminary round. In the top 16 was one of A&T’s own Johnathan Jackson, a sophomore biology major. Jackson, who goes by the b-boy name ‘J-rok,’ has been break dancing since 2009.
“I really wanted to just come out and get the battle experience and meet other people to know I’m not the only one break dancing,” said Jackson.
The event was not only a competition but also a time of learning as M.C. Frantic and judges helped b-boys touch up their skills before they engaged in battle.
When not battling b-boys and b-girls gathered in cypher’s, circles with everyone showing off his or her skills for everyone present.
There were a lot of local and nonlocal b-boys and girls that came out to the jam. “I saw an advertisement on Facebook and thought to make it a priority to come out and support Matt,” said Brandon Allen a senior at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville.
Allen also known as “Riot” was the winner of the $250 grand prize and a qualifying spot for the Southeastern B-boy Championship. “When it comes to dancing in general I feel that dancing is a good way to express yourself without words. B-boying accepts all forms and styles of dance which makes it so beautiful,” said Allen.
Diggs would love to make the Divine Cypher Breakin’ Competition an annual event on A&T’s campus to spread growth and support of the hip-hop culture.
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- Symone Kidd, Contributor
