Vietnam’s leading hip-hop dance group Big ToeA hip-hop
contest will be monthly organized for nationwide dancers in preparation for a
final round at the end of next year, says Nguyen Viet Thanh, head of the Southeast Asia hip hop champion crew 2010, Big Toe.

Thanh
said that the move was aimed at offering opportunities for hip hop lovers
nationwide to practice, compete and enhance their dancing skills and develop
the Vietnamese hip hop movement.

The first
monthly contest was held on December 26 in Hanoi, attracting 66 dancers throughout the
country, competing directly in a knock-out format. The judges included members
of Hanoi-based Big Toe namely Nguyen Anh Duc, Bui Manh Thang and Nguyen Manh Nam .

Thanh
added he hoped to invite foreign dancers to join the judges for the final
round.

“We
want to develop hip hop as a healthy way for Vietnamese youths to express their
characters,” he said. “The final winners will represent Vietnam to
compete at an international competition.”

Big Toe
won the Battle of the Year (BOTY) Southeast Asia
in Singapore in October to
earn the 10-member dance team tickets to France for the BOTY International
Final 2010 competition in November.

Founded
in 1992 when hip hop first arrived in Vietnam with just seven members,
the crew has grown to 60, and won national and international acclaim.

BOTY is
an international competition for break-dancers. Each region or country will
have one representative at the BOTY International Final in France.

Source: Tuoi Tre