Runway of Australia competing in the Adults Division at the Hip Hop International World Hip Hop Dance Championship Preliminaries – Day 4 held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, NV. The event took place on Thursday, July 28, 2011. Photo by Sthanlee B. Mirador_Pacific Rim Photo Press.
By Peter Gonzaga
Los Angeles – I can still remember these young lads from Australia practicing their hearts out before their initial preliminary performance onstage at last year’s Hip Hop International. The boys were a bit timid when asked by Bryan Boogiemind East for an on camera interview. That changed when the Brisbane, Australia dance crew wowed the crowd with their fierce hip hop, gender bending performance. These boys let loose and “gave face” during their interview.
According to Shaan Vandermeulen, Agency & Promotions Manager of the crew, “Runway Dance Crew was formed 2 years ago by Aleki Collins and Frankie Tagilao. Following their footsteps at last year’s event, We have created a Junior crew, Blush, Varsity Crew, Stiletto and Mega Crew, formed as of 1 year ago. Collectively, our dance family are known as THE EMPIRE.”
These young dancers are ready to take the stage and turn it into a complete runway that The Empire will rule. Runway Dance Crew are known for Vogue, Waacking, Reggaetton, House & Urban Choreography. Shaan adds, “These street dance styles have been part of the crews repertoire since the beginning with a main focus of Vogue, Waacking, Reggaetton and Urban Choreography.”
After their exciting debut last year, the boys mentioned to Pacific Rim Video how crews from HHI inspired them. “We feel that every crew each year has something different and unique to offer the event and we believe that giving all these amazing crews a platform to display their amazing works of art is inspiring within itself. No doubt, each crew, including ourselves, get inspire by seeing so many dancers BUT never influenced.”
Their journey to this year’s HHI hasn’t been a smooth catwalk for the crew. They explain, “The most difficult part would be time. Especially, for Runway, we were recently on Australia’s Got Talent and made it to the Semi-Finals. Along with that we have had performance commitments and out 3 other crews we have had to set time for and on top of that, financial assistance. It’s not exactly cheap when your taking a group of 25 to America BUT we have fundraised a lot of the funds needed and that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t had the support from our friends, family and many fans.”
Runway Dance Crew would like to gain and form new dance relationships, meet new people, enhance their repertoire by furthering in the competition than what they had placed last year and create memories with the rest of their dance family, management team and supporters.
Get to know this crew from last year’s event.
Some fun facts about Runway:
Runway Dance Crew have recently been on Australia’s Got Talent.
Their crews placed 1st in all divisions for HHI Australian Qualifiers.
Featured in Nationwide productions such as Champions Tour alongside ReQuest Dance Crew.
