James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

Page 27 text:

Executing a difficult power move, a competitor does a windmill to gain the crowd ' s attention. Due to their difficulty and required strength, many breakdance moves took months to master. Pholo by Revee TenHuisen Gray Matter, who took home $250. Besides the participants. Circles 8 also featured the emcee PoeOne from Zulu Kings in California. He just brought a completely different feel to the event, said Johnston. We had so much feedback from people that came to the event from outside of JMU Two well-known break dancers served as guest judges: (eromskee from the Massive Monkees crew and Machine from the Rock Force crew. It was just so great to have both of them there... they hung out with us but they were also great teachers, said Johnston. The competition was so popular that a YouTube.com video was posted on the Breakdance Club forum for those ' who might ha% ' e been too far outside to see what happened. Having a group of people that was inclusive while other organizations on campus were exclusive was something that helped Rosenthal through school. Having Circles 8 showcase break dancing made Rosenthal feel really good to see how much people enjo) ' it.

Page 26 text:

Break dancers from around the world came to showcase their talents. or Brittany Leblina ii t was JMU, but it was so eclectic, said se- nior Jessica Johnston, vice president of the Breakdance Club. On March 31, the Breakdance Club hosted Circles 8, one of the largest hip-hop charity events on the East Coast. Break dancers battled against each other to raise money. The com- petition raised about $14,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mercy House and the Boys and Girls Club. In Godwin Gym, Circles 8 presented four vs. four crew battles, emcee (rapping) battles, Bonnie and Clyde {one girl and boy vs. another girl and boy) battles, live DJs and even a graffiti art expo. Contestants came from as far away as France, and the prize amounts were up to $3,000 for the winners of the four vs. four crew battles. There were also ciphers, non-competitive battles tor those who just came to dance and be a part of the scene. There was a lot of hype about Circles 8 according to Johnston. We had a lot of community involvement; not just from JMU, but from the Harrisonburg community overall. Golookon.com printed T-shirts for the competition and helped to pass the word around ttnvn. The Breakdance Club was formed by fosh Rosenthal in 1997 after the idea came to his friend Kevork Garmirian in a dream. JMU was a different school than it is now, said Rosenthal. There was a lot more of the Greek scene. I knew there were other people like me out there, but there was just no way to unity these people. The Circles charity competition began three years later and only drew about 100 people. In its eighth year, with over 1,500 in attendance, the Breakdance Club was well on the way to its goal to create a home hip-hop culture at JMU. 1 think they ' re getting better at it every year, actually ' said Rosenthal. People come from dl over the countr ' to get to this. Beat Whakz won the four vs. four crew battle and the $3,000 prize at Circles 8; Mellow Styles took the Bonnie and Clyde battle and $200. The emcee battle was won by 2.2. (featured

Page 28 text:

o o o Advertising for SafeRldes, a club member displays the fundraising week ' s events on her back. In addition to hosting a proceeds night at its restaurant, RT ' s Chicken Grille sponsored SafeRides during its first operational weekend Photo courtesy of Dara Silbeft 2. cZ-eatureii