Crews to take their skills to Pomona’s Glass House on Saturday for intense Breakfest competition

Like the Wayne Newton story, I wrote this too but I will post it here in case the story gets taken down.

Giovanni Avelar,
promoter of the Breakfestival Crew vs Crew Event at Pomona’s Glass
House, has 18 breaking, or breakdancing, crews lined up to try and
out-dance each other.

“You have crews from San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco,
the greater Los Angeles area, international folks from Japan and from
Korea,” Avelar said.

The battles will take place from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

“What makes the battles happen is music,” Avelar said. “The music has to be on point. It’s all due to the music.”

After the competitions, music DJs will spin music until 2 a.m., Avelar said.

“We are going to play everything from funk, soul, reggae, salsa, break and early ’90s hip-hop,” Avelar said.

Pomona
was chosen for a reason. “I feel that Pomona is the middle from L.A.
and people from the I.E. and people from San Diego can make it out,”
Avelar said.

Avelar expects 1,200 people for Saturday’s event.

The first Breakfest took place in 1996 in Downey. The second took place at Eagle Rock in 2008.

This
year, the event in Pomona will feature DJ Abel from the Circle Kings,
DJ Franki Flave from Killafornia and DJ Mark Luv from the Zulu Nation
playing the music.

Events taking place include popper battles with the winning
crew getting $2,000, house battles with the winner taking $500 and
locking battles with the victor getting $500.

Crews taking place include Furious Soldiers, Body Poets, LA
Breakers, Mellow Drama, Suicide Kings, Dip & Sip, Underground Flow,
Brainixe, Anarchy Tribe, Killafornia, Concrete Allstars, Battleholix
and Nuetroniks Crew.

Avelar said some celebrity dancers in the industry will
also be in attendance. He hopes the festival will be held at the newly
renovated Fox Theater in Pomona next year, he said.

For now, though, he’s concentrating on Saturday’s event.

“I’m
expecting a really good positive vibe with amazing dancers, so you can
come and enjoy yourself. It’s going to be pretty exciting,” he said.

BREAKFESTIVAL CREW VS. CREW EVENT

Where: Glass House, 200 W. 2nd St., Pomona

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $15

Information: www.ticketmaster.com; www.breakfestival.com.