About 300 people crowded into the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Seattle on Brooklyn Avenue Friday to watch spinning and flipping break-dancers battle for the chance to be the night’s top dancer.

The event brought 16 of the region’s best break boys, or b-boys, into one room to compete against each other in one versus one, bracket-style matches judged by four experienced b-boys.

UW students attended the event as b-boys and spectators.

“It’s amazing to watch,” said freshman Juhi Jain, who brought friends along from Lander Hall to watch the b-boys.

Each b-boy follows a loose routine, which lasts a couple of minutes. The dance begins with “top rock,” or any dance done while standing upright, said Tim Uomoto, b-boy and UW alumnus. Afterward, the b-boy moves on to “down rock” or “footwork,” which is anything performed on the ground. The “freeze,” which is when a b-boy maintains a pose, ends the routine.

Infused into the dance are various moves such as “windmills” and “flares,” which are known as power moves. Acrobatics borrowed from gymnastics are also a major part of a b-boy’s skill set. All of these moves are performed facing the b-boy’s opponent rather than the judges.

“It’s a battle for a reason,” said Junior Orduña, the winning b-boy from the Art of Movement crew. “You’re in a battle mentality. It's like a war.”

The judges look for several aspects of a b-boy’s dance when they decide who will win: difficulty, cleanliness, style, flavor and execution. Once the battle finishes, judges point to the b-boy they think performed the best to determine the winner.

Although this event featured single b-boys battling each other, other common variations include “two versus two” battles and team battles.

Each b-boy is part of a crew of b-boys who practice and compete together.

The Seattle b-boy scene encompasses a small amount of people, but is very inclusive to beginners, Uomoto said.

“Even Massive Monkeys, a world-class crew, practice at an open community center,” said Michael Huang, sophomore and president of a student hip-hop club. “We all help each other get better.”

Training for events enables the b-boys to perfect old moves and practice new routines.

“I train probably four to five times a week for three to five hours each time,” said Michael Stephens, also known as B-boy Manchild.

While b-boys hone their skills in the gym, they must also pay attention to the music.

“If you're not playing with the music, you're not even dancing — you're just doing a lot of tricks,” Orduña said.

Music during the event was mostly “old school ‘70s funky soul” and “old school ‘80s and early ‘90s hip-hop,” said Lars Sverre, also known as DJ Soulrane. The deejay takes songs from those eras and loops the break of the song, when a drum solo or a reprise occurs, to produce the beats that the b-boys dance to.

“James Brown was a big influence on the type of music people dance to,” Uomoto said.

The music drives the dance, and all judges are aware of how well a b-boy can coordinate his dance with the beat of the music. Music choice tends to be very similar from competition to competition.

“[The music is] definitely up-tempo,” said freshman Sean Lee, also known as DJ Fish Boogie.

The night concluded when Orduña claimed a $200 prize and a modified trophy purchased from Goodwill.

[Reach reporter Andrew Doughman at news@thedaily.washington.edu]