Taipei, June 1 (CNA) One of Taiwan's largest Filipino migrant worker hip hop dance crews Saturday called on local dance crews across the country to challenge them in dance battles, in an effort to showcase the two country's respective street dance styles in the lead up to an annual street dance competition in Taipei next month.
The preliminaries for the 2019 Metro Street Dance Competition, jointly organized by Taipei Metro and Cathay United Bank, will kick off July 27-28 in Taipei, with the finals to be held Aug. 17.
In an interview with CNA, representatives from the Filipino dance group My Style Crew and Family (MSC), which has over 50 members, invited Taiwanese crews who feel they are up to the challenge to contact them and set up crew battles so that Taiwan and the Philippines can bridge cultural differences through hip hop dance.
Jasper, the 32-year-old founder of MSC, said in addition to mutual improvement, the battles will also provide Taiwanese crews with an insight into the styles and techniques popular in the Philippines, such as flips and other acrobatic movements, while the Filipino dancers in MSC can also see what's popular on the local dance scene.
"Its just like sharing the culture, to give and take," Jasper noted, adding "Maybe it is the best way to enhance our skills, by battling each other."
MSC, formed in March 2016, embraces different genres of hip hop, including krumping, popping, and locking, in competitions, which is a contrast with Taiwanese crews who usually just focus on one main genre, Jasper pointed out.
Speaking on Taiwanese dancers, Jasper said he thinks they are awesome, but he noticed that during the four times he took part in the Taipei Metro Street Dance Competition, many Taiwanese crews only focused on one element, such as popping or locking.
That is different to MSC, where they try to showcase many different styles, Jasper added.
Meanwhile, in response to questions about the meaning of the group’s name, Shark, 32-year-old krumper and MSC's current group leader, said that in addition to dancing, the group also provides a support network for its members like a family, as they are all migrant workers from the Philippines.
"As we are far away from home, as you know, we feel homesick or loneliness, so if you have something (problems) just share it with the group and we will help you," Shark said.
The upcoming 2019 Metro Street Dance Competition will be the fourth consecutive year MSC has attended the annual competition after also participating in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
