By Mokka (SXS Arizona)
Returning to the Hip Hop International stage for the second time, Dance Coolture from Portugal will be showing us their best hip hop, waacking, vogue, and dancehall moves in San Diego! This crew is well known in their home country, competing in dance shows on their national television, making appearances, and training! Last year they competed in the Varsity division and this year they will be competing for the World Adult Gold Medal! Check out their story below!
How did the name Dance Coolture come about?
Well, the word “dance” has an obvious explanation. The word “coolture” comes from our usual mix of different hip hop styles (hip hop as a cultural movement) and the fact that we are cool! 🙂 So, through dance we practice and hour dance/ hip hop culture in a cool way.
Who is in the current crew?
The entire group has about 50 dancers, with ages ranging from 4-24 years old.
The crew competing at Hip Hop International 2015 has 7 members, 2 male (Douglas and Sérgio) and 5 female (Danni, Marta, Carolina, Beatriz R., and Beatriz G.).
What types of battles/competitions does the crew compete in as a crew?
As a crew we’ve been in several competitions, national and international. We were finalists on Battle Dance Crew (a show/competition that took place on one of our national TV channels) last December. We’ve also been on national television shows too, several times.
Who are your biggest inspirations or influences?
We are great fans and very inspired by different people. We’ll just name a few here. Bulota (a friend of ours who trained us and danced with us for a long time, she’s a great dancer and a special human being who is now living in London.
Royal Family and their mentor, Parris Goebel. Cookies, Lando Wilkins, Chachi Gonzalez and Jukebox (a great and inspiring Portuguese crew)
What does it take to prepare for something like Hip Hop International?
Only blood, sweat, and tears 🙂
As a matter of fact, we have to clear our minds and focus on the competition, creating routines, practice, practice, and practice; then repeating it all over again.
In the meanwhile, we had to work very hard to raise money because it is expensive to travel across the globe!
What message would you like to share with the dance world?
Don’t ever give up on your dreams! Keep dancing!
Dance Coolture Facebook Page (CLICK HERE)