Posted on April 2, 2007
Students from in and out of state flocked to Godwin’s Sinclair Gymnasium Saturday for a night filled with dancing and music, as the Breakdance Club hosted its eighth- annual charity event, Circles. The event is one of the largest hip-hop charity events on the East Coast, attracting artists from several states. The night featured live DJs, a graffiti expo, MC battles, Bonnie and Clyde battles and 4 vs. 4 crew battles, creating a high-energy atmosphere for dancers and spectators.
PoeOne emceed the event, which began at 5 p.m. DJ Sickroc played music and special guests Jermoskee and Machine judged the dancers.
All of the proceeds from Circles go to various charities. Last year, the club raised $10,000 for multiple charities through Circles. This year the club’s proceeds will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mercy House, Camp Kaleidoscope, Boys and Girls Club and the American Red Cross’ Katrina Relief Fund.
The club’s president, senior Raph Villacrusis, has been breakdancing for five years and understands the art’s importance in the JMU community.
“Circles is Circles,” he said. “It’s alive. It’s different every year. The vibe is totally different. We bring the hip-hop culture to JMU. The vibe is totally fresh and unique to Circles. You can’t experience this anywhere else in the Harrisonburg community.” Villacrusis has five years of breakdancing experience and has been the Breakdance Club’s president for two years.
Founded in 1997 by Kevork Garmirian, Josh Rosenthal and Dannie Diego, the JMU Breakdance Club aims to unite the dance-club scene in Harrisonburg. The founding members started the club with an effort to spread good vibes and be a positive influence in the community.
JMU’s Breakdance Club is currently led by Villacrusis and assisted by several other team leaders. The Breakdance Club boasts roughly 40 talented students for the current semester.
The club’s vice president, senior Jessica Johnston, has also seen the club’s impact on the community.
“We are just happy to be representing hip-hop while still raising money for a good cause,” Johnston said. “Circles began as a charity event for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. That is a lot of our driving force. Circles is intended to break the negative stereotypes about what breakdancing is. It’s not about drugs, sex or crime. It’s about having fun.”
Not only did the dancers bring their show to the high-energy event, but the graffiti artists also did their part to make the evening complete. Artists gathered to join their creative efforts in making a very impressive graffiti expo.
Marshall Rowley was one of the artists on the team. He has been producing his artwork for seven years from his home in Norfolk.
“It’s an underground art form,” Rowley said. “It’s the purest form of art out in the USA because you’re risking going to jail just to put your artwork out. I don’t feel like we get enough recognition for what we do. It’s a whole different lifestyle.”
Another graffiti artist known as Sink has been creating graffiti since he was 12 years old. He has created numerous works of art, including a collaboration wall piece in the studio of the student-run radio station, WXJM. Recently, Sink has had some run-ins with the law, landing him in jail. It put him thousands of dollars in debt and required 250 hours of community service for his love of art.
“It’s the one thing that keeps me sane in life and the fact that it’s been taken away, I feel like they took my first child away,” Sink said. “I feel like I’m lost right now. I can’t express myself in the way that I usually do.”
Sink stressed that graffiti is really all about the love, since you don’t really get anything out of it except for satisfaction. The Breakdance Club gives these artists an escape and a way to express their creative abilities without suffering the repercussions.
For more information on Circles or the Breakdance Club, go to orgs.jmu.edu/breakdance/main.html.
