Verve Dance Studio

Battle @ Buffalo!

This is our signature monthly event at Verve Dance Studio. Held the last Saturday of every month from 7-11pm. $5 to watch and $6 to battle. Battle @ Buffalo was created to encourage the development of young dancers in a supportive environment and to provide a place for the community to learn, share and support the dance community.  Listed below are various pictures and updates from previous battles. For more information please contact us at vervedancestudio@gmail.com

B-boy Kaos showing you whatz up!

Ruffneck bringin’ it hard!

Charity and her signature move.

March Battle Recap
What up everybody, going to give you a quick recap of the battle. It was a great turn out as usual,Buffalo was definitely in the house ! A lot of people from Cuse, Roch and Binghamton showed up. We even had some guys come down from NYC this month which was really dope. The vibe and the battles were really good …great competition and a hype crowd. The All Styles had some fire battles! We had Rook face Devee and Flywalker Vs. Scorpio for about the 20th time. In the end it was Devee Vs. Flywalker. Dynamic matchup, both dancers displayed mega skills and showed why they are two of the best dancers out there today. They went round for round and when it was all said and done Luke Flywalker walked away with the win. Flywalker is the first dancer to win three Battle @ Buffalo’s in a row..Props to him.

This month’s B-Boy battle was also an action packed display of skill,wit and creativity to say the least. This month battles were extra heated, people really gettin it in and going all out. The finals came down to Mixed Nuts Vs. Cobra Kai. Mixed Nuts had Teddy Krueger and Battle @ Buffalo vet Pete Nasty make his return to the nickel city to try and take home the gold. Cobra Kai had Rez and NYC’s Merlin returning to Battle @ Buffalo to try and steal the show away from the comp. After four rounds of heated B-boying, Mixed Nuts walked away with the title and bragging rights for the month.

For the record I would like to say a few words about  B-Boying in general based off some of the things I saw at the battle this month. I know the culture. I know where it’s roots come from and I know the complete history of not only B-Boying but all three elements of Hip Hop culture. My question is- does there really have to be as much disrespect and hostility  as there is in the dance today? I mean at the end of the day it’s dancing. I know that people call each other out and get mad and such, but I feel like you can just dance and let your skills speak for you. I don’t think you get points for C rocking anyone and in my opinion B-Boying is about expression and gaining ones respect on the dance floor. If your trying to out skill someone and gain their respect I think disrespecting them would be the last thing to do. To me it’s childish and a lack of dance vocabulary,you can make one million other gestures other than grabbing yourself or putting your hands in someones face disrespectfully. Again that’s just my opinion. I know that a battle is a show and your trying to out do your opponent, but I think people need to relax, have fun and just dance.

I would like to end with a Big Shout out to New Era for sponsoring this months jam. They came thru with some gift cards for the winners and a couple of lucky spectators. Go and visit the flagship store in downtown Buffalo at 160 Delaware Avenue Buffalo, NY 14202-2404. Thanks to everyone that showed up this month it was a blast and I will see y’all at the next jam. Peace!

February 2011 Battle @ Buffalo Recap

A momentous event happened last Saturday at Verve,and our 50th consecutive Battle @ Buffalo! Thank you to all the loyal fans and dancers that came out to celebrate with us.

The Funk Styles Battle was awe- inspiring as it came down to returning champion Luke Flywalker and Skyline, a regular in the battles that we have watched progress rapidly in the past year. Both dancers amazed us as they continued to come with new moves, entertaining us while dueling for the title of the February Battle @ Buffalo Funk Styles Winner. By a unanimous vote Flywalker remained the reigning champion.

The B-boy/B-girl Battle was a 2 vs 2 this month and it was really hype to see new comers Saiko Skematiks from Toronto make it all the way to the finals against our own home crew DFC members, T$ and Just Paul. The final battle was very a unique combination of intense moves and props for the other crew. The northern guys really brought a new creative style to the battle but D.F.C.’s clean execution won the jam!

To the runners up, Saiko Skematiks, thanks for coming down and we hope to see you back next month!

Check out our Facebook page for more photos from the Battle and stay tuned for the most recent videos.
See you March 26th for the next Battle @ Buffalo.

January 2011 Battle @ Buffalo Recap

A Battle@Buffalo First! The January Battle was sure to be exciting. It was the first battle of the new year, we had new linoleum for warming up, new graffiti for inspiration, a trick battle to keep everyone on their game and DJ Simple was bringing the funk like never before. As if that wasn’t enough to rock the house, in the midst of the B-boy Battle we saw B-boy Pest (Buffalo) and B-boy Jack (Toronto) bust out a totally dope UP Rock Battle. It was so fresh to see their energy build off each other. The crowd went wild.

Tin Man, a Battle@Buffalo favorite won the trick battle and he brought down the house with B-Boy Baracus in one of the more entertaining battles of the night.

The Funk Styles Battle dominated the night with many new competitors, mixin’ it up to DJ Simple’s funky beats. Flywalker, a Battle@Buffalo regular, flew through the brackets to beat out Devee for the win. Nice work Xavier, smooth as always.

Which brings us to our main event of the evening, The B-Boy/B-girl Battle. Jack from Toronto, Spyder, Tin Man and Devee from Rochester brought us some great flava and Charity from Buffalo did an awesome job representing the local B-girls but when all was said and done Buffalo B-boys Monkey and T$ were the only ones left standing for the Final Battle. Both fought hard but DFC member T$ came out on top for the first win of 2011. Definitely check out the video and let them know what you think.

Thank you to everyone who came out and to all the newcomers we hope to see you again. Battle@Buffalo was created to support the mission of Verve Dance Studio which is dedicated to the art of B-boying and Hip Hop culture. We encourage diversity and integrity in self expression through dance, music and art. If you have any suggestions, wish to volunteer or to sponsor Battle@Buffalo please email us at vervedancestudio@gmail.com.