Breakdancing Competition Draws Huge Crowd
By: Sophie Nielsen-Kolding WMBD/WYZZ TV
Updated: January 5, 2013
PEORIA- When you think of Peoria, you might think of Caterpillar, hospitals, even the river, but there are some people who want you to think breakdancing.
On Saturday the River City hosted one of the Midwest's largest breakdancing competitions, called 'Rep The Midwest.'
Competitors spun on their heads and twisted around as if they were defying gravity. Some as young as six-years-old, like Louis Guy from Michigan said he was there, "so I can battle and win it!"
Crowd members said they were excited, that they'd never been to anything like this before. Tony Sheirer founded Peoria's breakdancing crew called 'Dopestylez,' and said there are many people here who haven't.
"Peoria doesn't have anything like this and it really needs it," Sheirer said.
Sheirer and his crew helped organize the competition, which was headed up by a group called City Dance and the ELITE Youth Outreach Program. H said there are only a couple Midwest competitions, all in big cities, and he wanted change.
"I had to tell them like, no it's Peoria, they're like Peoria, what's that?"
Even though Sheirer had to remind people of the city's name, this competition might put Peoria on the map. There were 65 crews competing from 25 states and five different countries. Impressive to judge, Dominic Diamatteo.
"Honestly I didn't really expect all this it's kind of like, a surprise," he said of the huge stage and eager crowd.
Diamatteo is a professional break dancer from Philadelphia. He said dancing helped him keep out of trouble.
"Never into drugs, never into all like, the bad stuff, my mom was like, keep dancing," he said.
Shire said breakdancing is a positive outlet for young men and women, and can help other kids keep out of trouble too.
"They have dance studios around here teaching jazz and ballet, and I can be honest in saying a lot of young men aren't going to want to do ballet or jazz," Sheirer said.
He'd like to see this kind of dancing grow in Peoria in the future. But in that moment, teams were just busing out moves, going for that $3,500 prize.
On Saturday the River City hosted one of the Midwest's largest breakdancing competitions, called 'Rep The Midwest.'
Competitors spun on their heads and twisted around as if they were defying gravity. Some as young as six-years-old, like Louis Guy from Michigan said he was there, "so I can battle and win it!"
Crowd members said they were excited, that they'd never been to anything like this before. Tony Sheirer founded Peoria's breakdancing crew called 'Dopestylez,' and said there are many people here who haven't.
"Peoria doesn't have anything like this and it really needs it," Sheirer said.
Sheirer and his crew helped organize the competition, which was headed up by a group called City Dance and the ELITE Youth Outreach Program. H said there are only a couple Midwest competitions, all in big cities, and he wanted change.
"I had to tell them like, no it's Peoria, they're like Peoria, what's that?"
Even though Sheirer had to remind people of the city's name, this competition might put Peoria on the map. There were 65 crews competing from 25 states and five different countries. Impressive to judge, Dominic Diamatteo.
"Honestly I didn't really expect all this it's kind of like, a surprise," he said of the huge stage and eager crowd.
Diamatteo is a professional break dancer from Philadelphia. He said dancing helped him keep out of trouble.
"Never into drugs, never into all like, the bad stuff, my mom was like, keep dancing," he said.
Shire said breakdancing is a positive outlet for young men and women, and can help other kids keep out of trouble too.
"They have dance studios around here teaching jazz and ballet, and I can be honest in saying a lot of young men aren't going to want to do ballet or jazz," Sheirer said.
He'd like to see this kind of dancing grow in Peoria in the future. But in that moment, teams were just busing out moves, going for that $3,500 prize.
