Dancing Machines

Hip-hop dance was created in the United States, and then, like America's best cultural exports, left home to travel the world.

But, next week, hip-hop returns home when Las Vegas hosts both the United States and world hip-hop dance championships.

The nearly weeklong schedule of events begins Monday , with qualifying events for the U.S. championships at the Red Rock Resort. U.S. winners will advance to preliminary and semifinal heats of the world championships July 29 and 30, again at the Red Rock Resort.

Then, on Aug. 1, the U.S. winners join fellow winners from countries around the world for the ninth annual World Hip-Hop Dance Championship finals at the Orleans Arena. (Full schedules and other information can be found at www.HipHop International.com.)

It's the third year that the championships have been in Las Vegas, says Howard Schwartz, the event's co-creator, who credits the continuing popularity of street dance to the diversity of the art form itself.

When he and his wife created the event, "people would say: 'Street dance? That's break dancing, right?' " Schwartz says. "Yes, break dancing is a form of street dance, but street dance has many different types of disciplines within that genre."

The appeal of street dance lies in its "passion and emotion," he adds, as well as its "anything-goes" nature.

Unlike, for example, ballet, "it's not a technical dance," Schwartz explains.

And that gives crews -- teams of dancers -- wide latitude in which to express themselves. During the competition, crews will be required to create a two-minute routine during which they'll have to perform at least three of 10 specific styles of street dance.

For the world championship event, "we anticipate 30 countries this year, all the way from South Africa to Brazil to Singapore to Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and all throughout Europe and Russia," Schwartz says.

Thanks to the Internet, routines created by a crew anywhere can be viewed, copied, tweaked and expanded upon by other crews anywhere else. However, Schwartz says it's not unusual for crews at the world championships to incorporate into their routines a bit of their own country's culture.

Nine crews -- gold, silver and bronze medal winners in three age groups -- will represent the United States at the world championships.

"If there ever was an Olympics games for hip-hop dance, this is it," Schwartz says. "Whoever comes out (Aug. 1), bring a flag of whatever country you're representing, because everybody's got flags. They chant, sing songs from their country and cheer their country on and, hopefully, their country will be world champion.

"And when the event ends and a winner is announced, it's incredible, because here are these kids from somewhere in the world stepping up on a riser, and their national anthem is playing, and they're raising they're flag, and they get a gold medal placed around their neck by some icon of hip-hop, and it means everything in the world."

The event is "family entertainment," Schwartz adds. "So often, hip-hop gets a bad rap, so to speak. This is an event that everybody can come to."

Also scheduled next week are the World B-boy 3-on-3 Crew Battle, the World Freestyles Battle and the World Popping and Locking 1-on-1 Battle on July 31 at Red Rock Resort, and "Urban Moves" workshops on Tuesday and Aug. 1 at Red Rock Resort, where choreographers for such performers as Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez will teach moves to the public.

In addition, the world final event will include presentation of the 2010 Living Legend of Hip-Hop Award to Grandmaster Caz. Past honorees include MC Hammer, Toni Basil, Boogaloo Sam and Don "Campbellock" Campbell.

Among the crews participating this year will be defending U.S. champion Poreotix, which after winning their U.S. gold medal last year -- they placed sixth in the worlds -- also won season five of the MTV competition "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew."

Poreotix co-founder and member Matt "Dumbo" Nguyen, 21, called the double wins "definitely crazy" for the California-based crew and admits that going into this year's event with both a U.S. gold and the MTV award under their belts is "double the weight."

But, he continues, "we just want to come and have fun, because the event is just so nice and just so fun. You meet people from all over the world sharing the same love of dance."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.