SDK DANCE BATTLE 2017 HONG KONG PT.2

攝影/Photos : Falcon Lam / Falcon Lam Photography
撰文/Article : Jose Chu

繼續第一部分的訪問 Interview continued from PT.1, July 14th, 2017 1:08PM>>

SPITGAN : 今次香港區既賽事你覺得香港既Dancer表現如何呢?
Travis Pang : 今次香港Final的香港Dancer表現都很好!其實香港有不少勁人隱藏系到。但我想建議香港的Dancer要多去Party!由其與世界各地不同地方的人jam下,我地叫Cipher,圍圈的練習,隨機出去跳舞!多去Party,比賽時就會更放!

S : 有無一隊香港的團隊你特別記得或者喜歡?
T : 有一隊有3個香港人,2個日本女仔的,都算香港隊吧哈哈!他們叫Ganbatte Ganbaru。因為他們的隊員的舞蹈種類很齊全,基本上我們有的style項目他們都有參加1 on 1 單人賽。他們的All Style是最齊整的,齊舞的部分也很深刻。雖然他們最後沒有勝出,但對我的印象卻很深。

S : 下一年再辦的時候你覺得有什麼要改善或者加大力度去做呢?
T : 第4屆最想改善就是場地控制、人流、入場管控,什至想再請更多有質素的嘉賓。其實每一年我們都有個目標比自己,不想翻炒評判!所以每年的評判都會是新鮮滾熱辣,年年不同!DJ方面我們都希望有更多新鮮感,可能換一換MC或者DJ!所以下一年最緊要個場地設定,遮陰遮太陽、避雨的地方都會加多點。什至我們希望舞台不止一個!讓Dancer上台比賽前可以有一個熱身的區域,當他們真正上台比賽時更加放膽更加投入!

SPITGAN : What did you feel about the Hong Kong dance performances in general?
Travis Pang : All Hong Kong dancers in the finals did a great job! I believe Hong Kong has many great dancers. Having said that, I do want to suggest to our Hong Kong dancers : join more parties, dance with people from everywhere! We call it a cipher (dancing in a circle), but go out dancing randomly! Play more, join more parties. It will help a dancer be more bold when they are in competitions and on stage!

S : Any Hong Kong team you really like or you feel has great potential?
T : I remember one team had three Hong Kong people and two Japanese girls. We can count it as Hong Kong team haha! They are called Ganbatte Ganbaru. They are still in my mind because their dance styles covered most of the categories of our games! I think they joined every dance style’s 1 on 1 battles. All their style performances were tight. Although they didn’t win, I still can remember them.

S : Anything you would like to improve or upgrade on the SDK ASIA 2018?
T : The fourth SDK, we will definitely want to improve the site control, and flow. Even invite more high quality guests. Every year we have a goal, we don’t want to having same judges. So you can see we having different judges everytime. The DJ too, we also want to have more of a novelty style, maybe we will change our MC and/or DJ. The most important part in the coming SDK must be the venue setting! We will add more places to cover people from the elements. Furthermore, we hope we can have another stage next time. It will help our dancers have a warm-up before they really go on stage and battle, this can help them more prepared and courageous!

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SDK DANCE BATTLE 2017 HONG KONG PT.1

攝影/Photos : Falcon Lam / Falcon Lam Photography
撰文/Article : Jose Chu

「跳舞先來落雨,吾通連個天都吾中意我?」NO!NEVER!誰說落雨就不能跳舞!早排有位跳舞的朋友告訴我香港SDK的賽事,說SDK是「街舞界的奧林匹亞」。講到咁爆,不可能不去了吧!早早就聯絡好主辦單位,滿懷期待的等待…點知!6月24號的全日賽事居然落大雨!當日賽事延至4點先開始,又濕、又熱、又曬,好難想像這種天氣還要我這種大懶人有任何活動!冷氣PLEASE!但是,SDK的場內卻沒有我這種垃圾人存在,攝影師後來告訴我,當時又再落雨,大會原本想暫停賽事,但台上比賽的人卻好像完全發現不到(或可能完全不介意!),繼續跳、繼續鬥,真心好有型好熱血好MAN阿!比賽之後我已經急不及待要去聯絡主辦方的Travis來個詳細訪問!

A dancer friend told me about the SDK Asia 2017 street dance competition, describing it as the Olympic Games of street dance! With such a glowing endorsement, I contacted the organizers immediately to ask for an interview and the low-down. Saturday, one of the main days of the competition was completely rained out by tropical downpour until 4PM. The venue was hot and muggy, I could barely stand to move let alone dance in this type of weather. It’s pretty disgusting. Where is my beloved AC?! The partipants of the SDK competition are clearly not lazy like me. Our photographer, Falcon, tells me that with the on and off rain, another suspension was looming but the contestants seemed oblivious to the bad weather or just really didn’t give a F…carry on! Guys, girls and even kids were going at it with gusto, and zeal! We finally caught up with the games organizer, Travis, after the event and were able to ask him a few questions.

SPITGAN : 今年是第3年舉行Street Dance Kemp亞太區預選賽,你有什麼特別的感受或心情嗎?
Travis Pang: 我想最大感受在於今次在户外舉行,有太多不能控制的因素。例如三日的賽事都有落雨,當有太陽、好天的時間我們都會超感恩!當下雨的時候當然也很燥底!BUT SHOW MUST GO ON!今次特別感受到團隊精神的重要,台前幕後都風雨不改地工作、比賽、跳舞!實在系喜出望外,就算落雨都很開心!

SPITGAN : This is the third edition of SDK (Street Dance Kemp) Hong Kong’s section, how do you feel about this year’s event?
Travis Pang : I have very strong memories about the outdoor venue this year. There were a lot of factors beyond my control. All three days of the games were rainy. When our team saw the sun coming out, we were so grateful! But when the rain cames again we were so frustrated…BUT SHOW MUST GO ON! I felt the importance of team spirit, and their positive attitudes. Everyone kept going and did a good job in their position. That was a very pleasant surprise to me. The weather was terrible but I still felt a great sense of joy and accomplishment.

訪問在第二部分繼續 Interview continued in Part 2, July 25th, 2017, 1:08PM>>

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她有勁/SHE GOT MOVES. SUKI RABBIT INTERVIEW

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特別嗚謝/Special thanks to ‘Lil Fly
翻譯/Translation – Sharon Chiu
攝影/Photos : Nick D for Precursorprints.com

當Lil Fly跟我提及Suki Rabbit時,說她曾跟Suki學舞,我立即打起十二分精神,因為Lil Fly介紹的,都是非等閒之輩。我對於街舞這一欄也有些許認知,因為身邊也有朋友會定期舉辦一些與Hip Hop 、街舞有關的活動,但卻未曾聽過Suki Rabbit這個名字。於是我在YouTube上稍為搜索一下,BLAM! 很快便出現Suki Rabbit的街舞視頻。對於一隻兔子來說,她有著的是人類的超級基因,這當然是開玩笑,但在她的視頻中,你可以見到她跳Reggae及其他音樂時的超凡舞姿,她有的是勁,超酷!那些自命IT Girl的時尚博客,看看什麼才是真正的“IT” 吧。

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So a ‘Lil Fly told me a while back about this amazing dancer in Hong Kong called Suki. Said she trained under her a bit, so my ears perked up cuz, when a ‘Lil Fly speaks, you know, ish gets a buzzing! I feel I have a foothold in the Hip Hop/dance game because I have some friends pretty involved in throwing events on the regular, but the name doesn’t register. A little Youtubing though and BLAM! There’s Suki! Suki Rabbit. For a rabbit, she definitely has dominant human genes! Jokes. Girl don’t kill me! In the videos, you can see Suki gots the funk. Seeing her get down to Reggae and different music styles, you just see she’s got IT you know, by the ton. So yeah, for all of fashion bugging out over whatever self-ordained ‘it’ girl of the moment, let’s ordain our first at SPITGAN, Suki Rabbit!

SPITGAN : Why do you dance?
Suki Rabbit : Because dancing makes me happy and is the way I release my emotions. Every time I hear the music, I feel things in my brain, and my energy finds the way out. Dancing has become a part of my life. Without it I have no place for release. It’s very simple, I dance whether I’m happy or not.

SG : Are you more yourself when you dance?
SR : I really like the free spirit of freestyle (dance). I’m afraid of the limitations of traditional formats and being trapped by a lack of creativity. Every time when I hear the music, it inspires my freestyle movements, I find that’s the “real me”. I don’t know if I would be “wilder” or not, I’m just being myself when I dance. I dance to the music. When the music goes wild, I follow.

SG : What’s the most important part dance?
SR : Every part is crucial from the techniques, and emotions, to your soul. There are no rules saying if you’re a bad dancer you can’t dance. Everyone can dance. Dance can be purely a hobby or a profession, but when dance is your profession, you have to be good. So it really depends on dancing in what circumstance. When I work, I use more techniques, but when I am doing freestyles and dancing in my leisure time, I use more emotions in order to express myself. Different music can generate different emotions, and I use different emotions to interpret it. For different occasions I use different approaches too.

SG : I think your dance style is very aggressive and full of power. How would you describe your own style?
SR : My dance style is very me, so I never really think of what style that is. I’m just being myself. Suki is Suki. It’s hard to find words to describe. If you have to have a name for it, maybe it’s “Suki Style”.

SG : Do you watch your own dance recordings?
SR : Yes, (to see how I do) sometimes I like my performance, and sometimes I don’t. When I see myself dance poorly, I will get upset and give myself some pressure to dance better next time. Of course, there are times I am satisfied with myself.

SG : How did you discover dance?
SR : When I was a kid, my parents would give me lots of freedom and let me try many things. When I learned ballet, I realized I love dancing, but ballet wasn’t the dance style I liked. I loved art back in the days. Drawings, designs etc. but I never did well in school, so I decided to spend more time on dancing. I never thought of being a professional dancer. I never chose dancing, but dancing chose me. I say that because every time I wanted to give up, it always came back to me like an addiction. In the path that I have travelled, I have met lots of friends who share the same dream, as well as, mentors and students. Their support and encouragements are my motivations to carry on. There are many things in life that I feel happen against my own will, but dance give me a clear mind and lets me be myself.

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