The dancer, also known as “TSU Terry,” got his start battling in Bmore Than Dance competitions, before forming his own crew - Team Squad Up, or TSU - which went on to tour with musicians like TT the Artist, and continues to perform at schools and various entertainment events like UniverSoul Circus. It just takes that person to get to those places.” “Know that Baltimore Club dance is rising, and it’s becoming in demand all over, to be honest. “Watching it on YouTube, you can imitate, but it won’t be like if it somebody from Baltimore teaching it to you,” he said. “It's basically old-school and new-school put together, which is fun,” Elana later said.Ĭash, who has been dancing for over a decade, said the Baltimore Club dance moves are more complicated now - something he noticed when he moved back to Baltimore after a five-year absence. Markel Cash, 22, broke into the center of one circle with a ninja-like back flip that left the crowd in awe. In between rounds, impromptu battles and dance displays happened within the crowd.
The crowd erupted in cheers, and Elana made it to round two. Today, Bmore Than Dance is known for setting a stage for local dancers, even though LaBoo said events have scaled back.ĭuring this year’s Queen of Baltimore, held in June, Elana “Lanii” Keel, 12, of Randallstown, unleashed a fury of the heel-toe and sidekicks - signature Baltimore Club moves - on stage, her limbs thrashing at every side at a breakneck beat. Nine-year-old Destiny Jones of StuckkUpDance performs during the sixth Queen of Baltimore dance battle at Liberty Recreation Center.
Bmore Than Dance began hosting more than 150 events a year throughout the city, including annual competitions like Queen of Baltimore, a female-spinoff of the King of Baltimore, and We Run This City, a face-off between multiple dance crews. The event soon evolved into a movement and a platform for young dancers. It got to a point where it was like, ‘you know what, let's see what's up.’” “It’d be like, if you go over, this person is the best, but if you go over west, this person the best. In November 2007, LaBoo, 29, began hosting King of Baltimore, a major club dance competition in which young men in the city displayed their best moves while battling it out for a cash prize. That youthful energy is what Wedington’s TSU and LaBoo’s Bmore Than Dance hope to capitalize on. “They’re getting more organized, and that’s attracting a lot more young people to the club community.” and making it feel like there's more structure around the movement,” said rapper TT the Artist, born Tedra Wilson, who is known for incorporating the Baltimore Club style in her music. Now, they're focusing more on mentorship and teaching classes. “They're kind of evolving to a place where they are now creating programming around the art of the Baltimore Club dance movement, whereas they're typically in the streets, just having dance sessions without a real agenda. But people like Wedington, the founder of dance crew Team Squad Up (TSU), and Errigh “Neek B’Chillin” LaBoo, founder of Bmore Than Dance, are hoping to revive the local dance scene for future generations - via dance classes, competitions and community events. Since then, Baltimore Club’s prominence has plateaued. Miss Tony, and DJs like Rod Lee, DJ Technics, Blaqstarr and the late K-Swift dominated the sound system.
There were dance crews who competed against each other at recreation centers throughout the city and during teen nights at major nightclubs like Paradox, where a combination of Baltimore Club hits by the late icon Big Tony a.k.a. Often referred to as “rock off” or “shake off,” Baltimore Club dance became popular among the city’s African-American community, based on energetic footwork, in-and-out knees and punctuated by arm movements. Wedington grew up during Baltimore Club’s heyday, about a decade ago.
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