LOS ANGELES — At Hip Hop International's USA Dance Championship this past weekend, hundreds of kids and adults from around the country cheered , waved flags and danced in their seats and onstage at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center. The energy was palpable. Even for the older crowd gathered to see children and grandkids compete, it was, dare we say it, infectious. Not a poor choice of words but a much better nonmedical malady than what had been hanging over the event for a couple of years due to the pandemic.
The 2021 championships were in-person, and the kids and adults who competed were joyous, but this year, there were more dancers, more teams and more supporters. Longtime competitors, some of whom had watched online or attended but didn't compete the last few years, took note.
"The teams were stronger. Everybody was motivated and were not rusty. I can feel everybody was coming back to it after a long break," says Greg Chapkis, choreographer (Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Tyga) and owner of the Chapkis Dance Academy in Fairfield, Calif. Chapkis' Northern California crews won two gold and two silver medals, though he wasn't totally sure what to expect from the competition.
