Yes yes Peeps!

This week has been mad, loved being back in class having missed everyone so much whilst on tour (to view what we got up to on tour scroll down for the videos!)

Lots of exciting stuff all in the pipeline which unfortunately I can’t talk about just yet but rest assured as soon as I can I will, 2012 is looking to be an incredible year, new classes, new events new crews new everything!

Junior crew:

Well Sunday at the auditions was really impressive, you know I’m not easily impressed but I have to say I was deeply moved by the passion, commitment and performance ability of the dancers.

Having decided after much deliberation to start a junior crew I was so blown away by the turn out of dancers who wanted to be in the new Junior crew. I was also humbled by the attitudes of the parents which was open honest and excited about the future (my kind of people!)

Mel and Pete who will be heading up the junior crew I know are super excited about the standard and we are all really excited about what the junior crew are going to achieve. A big thank you to the parents who took time out of their Sunday to support their children (I’m sure Mr Cameron would wish there more parents as caring and supportive as you guys!)

Here is a few pics of the junior auditions:

A big thank you to everyone who came down and made the day such a special event, big congratulations on everyone who made it and also to everyone who didn’t make it. To audition for anything in life you have to be strong and have courage, two of the most important traits to becoming the success you want. As I said on the day those of you who weren’t successful this time – work hard, attend extra classes make it your goal to succeed next year and the likely hood is you will. Remember talent is a falsehood… real progress comes from daily application and focus. Talent is the ability to never ever give up.

Senior Crew:

So last year we only took on 3 dancers. We are specifically very tight on who we let in to either of a our crews. Being part of a performance crew is a big commitment and we make sure we don’t take tourists.

So given the uber high standards I thought we may only take on 1 or 2 additional dancers….how wrong I was.

The standard was a whole level up from last year, it seems when one person raises the bar everyone else has to raise their’s and that’s exactly what happened.

The standard was so high across the board it made decisions uber tough, at one point the panel (Me, Alison (company manager) Fi (assistant dance captain), Alex (dance captain) nearly had a stand up brawl!

Such was the standard it was not a clear cut decision at all. Making the cut at each stage became so difficult when we got down to the last 30 we looked and realised that anyone of the dancers deserve to be in the crew. So we added new choreo and had to test other things just to raise the bar and try and differentiate the slightest difference so we could make our decision.

In the end we took 8 new dancers many more than we thought but the standard and dedication was so high we couldn’t choose.

It seems the bar keeps being raised and the focus and dedication needed to be part of the official crew only gets higher with time.

I can safely say the future of the Urban Strides Crew is in safe hands, with this much immense talent coming through and staggering commitment focus dedication and energy it’s only going to get better and better and better!

Congratulations to everyone who came down we really appreciate your time and effort. Those of you who were unsuccessful keep going, remember – most people in the crew had to audition for 3 or 4 years before getting in, so if it’s something you want – focus on it, train more, do advanced and intermediate classes, practice outside of class and you too could be part of the crew.

If you came down to the auditions let us know what you thought of the day spread some leave on a friday and leave a comment in the box below.

Have a great weekend,

To infinity and beyond!

Big Luv

Andy

yeah yeah yeah!!!

I don’t quite know how we managed it but I think we just quite possibly had the best Hip Hop Don’t Stop ever. The atmosphere gets better, the teachers get better and understand you guys more and the whole vibe is off the chain thanks to everyone’s positive energy, I loved it. I spent this morning going through the feedback which was off the hook, thank you so much for all your kind comments and constructive feedback much appreciated and taken on board by the Urban Strides team.

I am surprised I have not hit my Hip Hop Don’t Stop post event low’s yet! although I have got my haagen daaz ready just in case!!

So I want to hear all about what you guys loved the most hit me up with a reply in the box below to let us know what you thought of the event, the vibe and to share the luv.

I promised to put the music I used up here so here it is the majority of these links are free some are to itunes, it’s up to what you want to take but it’s a gift from me to you to say thanks for an awesome three days and I can’t wait to see the Hip Hop Don’t Stop family back together again for the summer.

so the hip hop mix I used was by the awesome DJ A skills here is a link to the download link at sound cloud: http://soundcloud.com/a-skillz/a-skillz-beats-working-vol-1

The nasty hip hop tunes with the heavy beats were from the awesome artist edit, here is a link to the album I used, I reckon you should just get the whole album, it’s nasty: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/battling-go-go-yubari-in-downtown/id264049964?i=264050002&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Here is that baaaad mix “oh my gosh” which is perfect for a fast uptempo mash up flava: “Oh My Gosh (feat. Aaron Lacrate & Debonair Samir) [Gutter Anthem]” you can also download that at i tunes just put it in the toolbar.

Here is that MJ mix which I got from youtube which I also used for the warm up, it’s naaaasty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt9aL_xLIls

Plus the classics I used for the circles was” ain’t no stopping us now” by mcfadden and whitehead

And the Jackson 5 classic, “can you feel it

I am happy for you to go out and use the links to discover a great music journey but I would love to hear what you think of them, if you want to use the links leave a comment in the box below to tell me what you think of the mixes, or how you feel about Hip Hop Don’t Stop, how it helped you, the confidence you gained and what were your personal highlights. And if you didn’t attend Hip Hop Don’t Stop thats cool feel free to take the links but let me what you think of the tunes.

Mad luv

Have a great weekend

keep on dancing

Andy

Yo yo Fam,

I was talking to Mekanikool the other night (Urban Strides + Hip Hop Don’t Stop Instructor, family member, brother from another mother and UK Poppin Champion!) and we were discussing what he was gonna be teaching at this years Hip Hop Don’t Stop. Now those of you who don’t know, Mekanikool has had an extensive amount of personal tuition from Poppin Taco.  Those of you who don’t know who Poppin Taco is let me explain;

Poppin Taco was Michael Jackson’s personal artistic consultant for 16 years and taught Michael Jackson the animation, waving, gliding and poppin techniques that inspired so many dancers around the world when Michael jackson performed them. A lot of people don’t realise that Michael Jackson was taught…well he was and not just by Taco either, but thats another story!!  Take a look at this video and see the huge influence Taco had on Michael Jackson’s movement:

It’s crazy how similar they are isn’t it!

Well Mekanikool and I thought it would be dope if we taught these sik movements at this years Hip Hop Don’t Stop – The Ultimate Street Dance Experience.  So Mekanikool will be going through waving and animation techniques and if you ask him he will probably show you how to glide like Michael jackson as well!

The only place you will get hold of this incredible experience is at Hip Hop Don’t Stop this Easter from April 12-14th.

If you want to dance like a cultural Icon such as Michael Jackson this is an excellent opportunity to do so.  As well as getting access to these incredible skills you will also:

-  Get 4 Months of dance moves in just 3 days

-  Learn all authentic Street dance Styles with Europes leading master teachers

-  Have fun and laugh… a lot

- Be submerged in the positive and passionate atmosphere of the Urban Strides Crew

- Meet and enjoy hanging out with positive and passionate people who want to have fun like you

Places for Hip Hop Don’t Stop are going as we speak.  You have an opportunity to save £20 if you book now.

You can either call Alison on 08448 488825 or book right here on this website.

To get significantly better at Street Dance, rub shoulders with Europe’s leading dancers, meet some great new like minded friends, improve your freestyle, learn the latest routines and laugh.. a lot click here to confirm your place

Have a great weekend

Big Luv

Andy

P.S. Let me know what you thought of the Poppin Taco video, leave a reply in the comment box below I want to hear what you think!

Hi Fam,

Hope your cool, just had a mad weekend dropping some workshops at Move it. We had a great time as always but what I was really excited about was the responses to our workshops. We had so many positive comments that just reminded me that what we have at Urban Strides is something really dope. People said, “I’ve never attended such an inspirational class, I’ll never look at Street Dance Class in the same way again” another said, “I learnt more in your 45 min session than I have in the last year of my regular street dance class”

It got me thinking about The Ultimate Street Dance Experience: Hip Hop Don’t Stop – our inspirational 3 day Street Dance intensive course.  I started to get really excited about it! It’s now less than a month away and we’ve confirmed some incredible instructors.  I remember when I first thought about creating Hip Hop Don’t Stop 5 yrs ago and I never thought that it would get as big as it has.  When I created it I wanted to make sure it was so ground breaking you couldn’t possibly miss out if you were at all passionate about Street Dance.

So I made sure it included the following:

1. The best instructors from the UK and Europe

2. An intensive all day everyday 3 day experience that would make it worthwhile to travel for

3. The authentic street dance styles in a positive environment where you are free to express yourself exactly how you want

4. A community of dancers of various abilities who all get on with each other

5. A “no attitude zone” where negative behaviour and rudeness is strictly forbidden

6. A positive party atmosphere where you can have the confidence to “go for it” safe in the knowledge the person next to you wants exactly the same

7. A chance to hang out with celebrity choreographers and hear their experiences and stories of what it’s like to work with massive international artists like: Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Snoop Dog, Take That, Timbaland, 50 Cent and Dizzee Rascal

8. Spend 1 on 1 time with these instructors who will give you the time and energy you need to get really good at Street Dance

9. An experience that is totally unique and doesn’t happen any where else in Europe

10. Passionate, friendly and happy new friends who share a positive outlook on life

Since then this event has gone from strength to strength and has helped people take huge steps in moving forward in the following ways:

- More confidence

- Become a much better dancer in half the time

- Feel happier and stronger in life

- Met a new group of friends that they can share a passion of street dance with

Check out this video to see the difference it has made to people like you who decided to come and experience Hip Hop Don’t Stop for themselves

This event has become something so much better than I first imagined and has taken it’s place as the Ultimate Street Dance experience for anyone who is truly excited and passionate about achieving an exceptional Street Dance experience.

The most exciting part of the event is the energy in the classes, with everyone wanting to have fun and express themselves the atmosphere is like something you’ve never experienced and has to be seen to be believed.

Here are some facts you should know:

1. Every time we put on the event it sells out

2. After every course we ask you to fill out a feedback form to see how we can get even better and on the form we ask a simple question: “Would you come again?” Every single person over the last five years (over a 1000 people) have all replied, ” Yes I would love to come again”. When you make the decision to come you too will experience the same feeling where you will want to come back time and time again.

To top it all we are so confident you will love it we will give your money back if you don’t.

Simple.

So you literally have nothing to lose.

I know what an incredible event it is and I will do everything I can to make sure you get off your batty and make sure you come and experience it for yourself.  But you shouldn’t take my word for it have a look at the video and see what dancers like you have to say.

To find out more about how to spend 3 days laughing, learning and being inspired click here

Big Luv

Keep on dancing

Andy

P.S. The early booking discount runs out on 3rd April to confirm your place click now

Ah yeeeeaaahhhhhh!

I am so excited! It’s here! The only Street Dance festival of it’s kind in the UK…..Hip Hop Don’t Stop.
Hip Hop Don’t Stop is an intensive 3 day course where you get to dance with the best Street Dancers in Europe, improve your confidence levels, learn how to freestyle with confidence and meet some wicked people. When you attend Hip Hop Don’t Stop you will:

1. Learn 4 Months worth of dance moves in just 3 days

2. Meet like minded passionate and positive people who often become longstanding friends

3. Feel the positive, passionate + fun Urban Strides vibe all day every day for 3 whole days

4. Hang out with the best Street dancers in Europe and discover what they do that makes them the best

5. Discover how to dance with more confidence

6. Overcome the “Fear” of Freestyling

7. Learn the foundation steps of authentic street dance like: Hip Hop, Breakin (breakdance), Locking, Poppin, House and the latest styles including New Skool and Krump

8. Experience the latest classes with brand new moves and the latest choreography

Check out our video for what you can expect:

For more info including times, dates etc click here

You should know that even before our official release we have already sold 51 places.

Go take a look at how you can learn 4 months of the freshest dance moves in just 3 days:

Find out more about Hip Hop Don’t Stop here

Have a great weekend

Big Luv

Andy

P.S. If you’ve been before let us know what your favourite part of Hip Hop Don’t Stop is, if you are coming for the first time lets us know what your looking forward to, let us know what your thinking – drop a comment in the box below.

The final day in Manchester. Next venue is Sheffield, check out what happens…

Enjoy!….

Hi

So much happened in day 3 we had to do two videos!!! Here is the first one which features the “accident”…

and here is part 2, the rest of the day…enjoy

Day 2 at the LG Arena Birmingham…check it out!

Keep dancing!

Andy

PS If you were at the shows in Birmingham, leave us a message!

Hi Guys

Check out this short video of the Urban Strides Dance Crew rehearsing for the Arena Show. We will be performing at the LG Arena Birmingham, MEN Manchester, Sheffield Arena, O2 Arena and Royal Albert Hall with the Young Voices Concerts. We are going to being posting up a tour video diary so keep checking back and in the meantime take a look at a sneak preview of what’s in store!…..

Let us know what you think!

Big Luv

Andy