PERFORMANCE: B-boys performing at the Doha City Center.

Youth from around the Middle East take spectators at City Center Doha on a rollercoaster ride with fabulous skills, writes Umer Nangiana

They pick a spot, play the music and just let loose. In seconds, dozens of spectators would take them in a ring. Amid hip-hop and cheers come the dashes with all the power moves. No, it is not just breakdancing. It is B-boying, a dance form that has more ‘breaking’ element to it.

B-boys from around the Middle East gathered here in Doha recently to battle it out for a slot at next month’s World BBoy Classic (WBC) in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The spot they chose was City Center this time. After ‘hot’ battles of power and style, the duo of Hamza Elbellaj and Omer Boubaya from Dubai, UAE got the ticket for Holland.

Organised by the Mighty Jokerz crew, Urban Roots Society in collaboration with the Networks Events and Advertising, the Middle East qualifiers for WBC 2014 made up for tough competition. To choose the best from among the top eight was tougher because all the B-boys have one thing in common: they set loose their energy to the maximum when music excites them. And DJ Mr. Tee made sure they got enough and continuous dose of upbeat music.

The rest is only the difference in style, stamina and the ability of a B-boy to strike the heart and soul of the spectators. If his moves take them on a roller-coaster ride, he is surely the winner.

“The level here in Middle East is good and I think it was coming. I saw the fare last year and could make out it was on an upswing. For me as a judge it was tough but there is a winner and I think the guys are the best,” Mario Bee, a judge from the Netherlands told Community.

“Middle East is coming hard and strong. The guys are willing to dance and it is one big family,” the Dutch judge added.  He along with his other two colleagues, Gurkan from France and the local veteran B-boy Nabil (the vagabond), were here especially for the qualifiers.

Mario Bee said at the qualifiers stage anybody can enter. Even if you are not dancing, even if you are not a B-boy you can enter. It is open for everybody, but then you have to bring out 16 best dancers from amongst all the people who have qualified. About the chances for the duo who qualified at the WBC in Holland, Bee said it was hard to predict. “There would be people coming from all over the world and everybody has a chance, especially with a competing level like, you never know,” said the judge.

But in B-boying, it depends also on the judges and the music on that day. They still have one month and if they practice really hard they can go far, Bee suggested to the winning team. “To be honest, to be a winner you have to be very good because now we have changed the system. You can win a lot of prize money. From number 8 to 16 can win money so all the people from UK, France and all over they would come to Holland to qualify for the WBC. So these guys if they make it to the top 16 or may be top 8 then they should be proud of themselves,” the judge added.

However, he was impressed with the talent in Middle East. “They have got all the power moves and they dance to the beats and that is very important. A lot of people do not dance to the beats. It is important that they have fun and express themselves,” said the judge, commending the youngsters who performed for the big chance. “It is crucial that it should be entertaining as well as a sport battle and they give the audience something to cheer about,” he emphasised.

World B-Boy Classic is a two-on-two Dutch breaking competition founded in 2009 in Rotterdam. An hour before the competition begins, all the participating B-boys are randomly assigned a partner. They may or may not know each other. The purpose of the competition is to judge which duo has the best chemistry when working with someone they have not trained with.

The Dutch were ready for the show. The Dutch Ambassador to Doha, Yvette Burghgraef-Van Eechoud, said the preparations were almost over for the big final on June 14 this year. She was present at the qualifiers and remained seated till the end to encourage the participating B-boys.

“I am not an expert on break dance or B-boying but what I really find fascinating is that all these guys understand each other because they speak one language which is one of music and dance,” said the ambassador talking to Community.

“They actually put all their energy into this break dance. It is a very friendly battle so that is really admirable. All these boys are doing their best being very fit and practising every day,” she added.

She said she was supporting the event by being present there and to let people know that it is really an important event for cross-cultural cooperation. It is also a culture, an urban culture. “It is the culture of the youth and I think it is really important for young people to get to know each other and see that they speak the same language and they are also same in many ways,” the Dutch ambassador added.

She said WBC 2014 in The Netherlands was a chance for the youth to get together and experience all this energy to the maximum.

Hamza Elbellaj, the winner of the qualifiers was excited about heading to Holland. “We have been practicing day and night; let’s see what happens in The Netherlands. Definitely, it is one of the best in world,” Elbellaj told Community after being declared the winner by the judges. He and his partner Omer had outclassed all other B-boys from the region who had travelled from Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Morocco, UAE and other parts of the region to participate in the qualifiers, being hosted by Qatar for the third time.

The B-boy said he and Omer have been practising hard for months for the show. “To be honest, we have been practising with my teammate since February. We regularly practise every day but we have been pushing very hard for WBC,” said an all-smiles Elbellaj.

B-boying is an addiction, he said. “Since the day started, I have to do it every day. It is like studying, like eating to me. I started in 2004. My brother was the biggest inspiration for me,” he told Community.

His brother would drag him into different styles’ training, he added. From him and other B-boys around him, he continues to learn.

Abdelhakim Mohamed Omar, the official promoter, organizer and Founder of WBC Middle East Qualifiers told Community that his team would look after the qualifying team’s travel and related expenses for their trip to Holland for the big final. “Yes, we are the ones who are taking care of their trip. That is the prize actually,” he said.

The level of talent in the Middle East was very high, he added. “You can see the development year by year. In 2012 and there on, you can see the difference. B-boys are really getting better in their skills, in their fitness, flexibility and everything,” said Omer. “I would not say that it is in line with that of Europe but we are fast getting there,” said the organiser.

The first ever qualifiers for WBC started here in Doha back in 2012, followed with 10 qualifiers in 2013 and 10 qualifiers in 2014, he added. Omar had just made the third edition for WBC Middle East qualifiers first qualifiers in the world to happen for the third time in a row.

He said he and his crew at the Mighty Jokers do have workshops for training people in Qatar on B-boying or breaking.

The WBC qualifiers were sponsored by Burger King Doha, Renaissance Hotel as the official Hotel accommodation for the artists, iloveqatar.com as the official social medial partner and City Center Doha as the official venue for the 2014 edition.

 This style of street dance that originated among Black and Puerto Rican youths in New York City during the early 1970s is fast getting popular among youth across the globe with new innovations coming into play every day.

The dance carrying four primary elements such as toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes is particularly popular in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, Russia and South Korea. It is typically danced to hip-hop, funk music, and especially break beats, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.

 


BELOW:

1) ONE FOR THE ALBUM: One of the judges Mario Bee, first from left, with Mighty Jokerz crew that put up the show.

 

2) SUPPORTIVE: Dutch Ambassador Yvette Burghgraef-Van Eechoud, third from right, with the judges and the organisers.