The watermelon emoji 🍉 has become a symbol of support for Palestine, representing resilience, hope, and solidarity. It's a vibrant sign of unity for the cause.
"'Dancers for Palestine' merges dance with activism to champion peace in Palestine. Featuring unique 'Dancers for Palestine' shirts and supporting the BDS movement, it's a call for justice and solidarity. Join this art-driven movement towards change."
Racial and wealth disparities in the United States have been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest throughout 2020. We see more clearly than ever just how often Black business owners and creatives have been thought of as less than their Caucasian counterparts – and Black businesses are paying the price.
This hip-hop group burst onto the NBC World of Dancestage and spread their message of acceptance with their no-audition policy. Check out Str8Jacket’s division winning routine below and see what they were most nervous about before the Qualifiers in this exclusive Q&A with WOD Magazine.
As a dancer who has studied ballet, jazz, and modern since the age of four, Alison Merrill never expected to break into hip hop and perform with a professional dance crew on national television for millions of viewers.
Str8jacket prides itself on being a no-audition dance crew, accepting anyone who is willing to put the time and effort in to becoming the best they can be. They strongly believe in providing the right tools for dancers and people as long as they have grit, discipline, and a positive attitude and are proactive in teaching the team about various topics in order to gain more skills outside of just dancing.
Truth Gamora is like a mom of the Str8jacket community due to her son Darien’s past involvement in our competitive team. This is due to her undying support for the team, attending all performances, advertising our events, and donating to our efforts while and after her son was competing with us. She is the creator and founder of her own clothing line, TruGem Dance, an emphasis of a dance and fitness lifestyle. We decided to sit down with Truth (over some Philz Coffee) to get to know her and her motivations behind the TruGem brand.
As part of the World of Dance 10 year anniversary and Championship Week celebrations, we held the first ever WOD DX, a dance convention unlike any other. DX was loaded with classes, panels, and more, but one of the best parts of this two day event was that attendees had the chance to audition for being a part of Alyson Stoner’s new dance video for her single Who Do You Love.
Andrea Guzman has been dancing with Str8jacket since the beginning of 2017. Her first performance with Str8jacket was during their America’s Got Talent Season 12 Audition, and her most recent accomplishment with the team includes making her set-choreographer debut for Str8jacket’s Evolution UDC “50’s Diner Set”.
JC co-founded Str8jacket in the summer of 2012. From the beginning, JC believed Str8jacket should be founded on hard work, discipline, creativity and passion. He made Str8jacket a no-audition team because he wanted dancers of diverse backgrounds and also because of his ideology that every dancer has the potential to become skilled with discipline and passion.
Nic ("not Nick") Sanon joined Str8jacket in the Summer of 2017 just in time for their World of Dance Championship routine. His very first practice he learned flexibility drills and a contemporary piece from Str8jacket’s Gustavo Morales and knew right away this team would be a great for him.
Kicking off Str8jacket's blog series from the perspective of its diverse members. Here is a blog written by Kristie Lui, one of Str8jacket's directors, on where the name Str8jacket came from and what that means to her. Enjoy!
With crew members hailing all the way from Vietnam, the Philippines, and across California, WOD Bay Area Team winners Str8jacket have a lot to offer. We were lucky to catch up with the crew and ask them questions about their team, competing in World of Dance, and hear about an amazing fundraiser they’re putting on. ICYMI, here is their winning performance from World of Dance Bay Area.
With crew members hailing all the way from Vietnam, the Philippines, and across California, WOD Bay Area Team winners Str8jacket have a lot to offer. We were lucky to catch up with the crew and ask them questions about their team, competing in World of Dance, and hear about an amazing fundraiser they’re putting on. ICYMI, here is their winning performance from World of Dance Bay Area.
While NBC’s new competition show “World of Dance” starts May 30, the live tour that launched the show is heating up: On April 1, World of Dance’s 2017 tour made the first of 15 U.S. stops.
In Pomona, Calif., more than 40 crews competed, mostly with hop hop and urban styles. But WOD, among the largest international urban dance competitions, now incorporates dancers who mix in other dance styles: In a first for World of Dance, two ballroom couples, DNA and Luka & Jenalyn, were headline performers.
The watermelon emoji 🍉 has become a symbol of support for Palestine, representing resilience, hope, and solidarity. It's a vibrant sign of unity for the cause.
"'Dancers for Palestine' merges dance with activism to champion peace in Palestine. Featuring unique 'Dancers for Palestine' shirts and supporting the BDS movement, it's a call for justice and solidarity. Join this art-driven movement towards change."
Learn how to support Black Lives Matter online, while staying safe and avoiding harassment from trolls, hackers, and more.
A year after George Floyd’s murder, local hip-hop dancers look back on a year of uneven but hard-fought progress toward racial justice.
Racial and wealth disparities in the United States have been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest throughout 2020. We see more clearly than ever just how often Black business owners and creatives have been thought of as less than their Caucasian counterparts – and Black businesses are paying the price.
This hip-hop group burst onto the NBC World of Dance stage and spread their message of acceptance with their no-audition policy. Check out Str8Jacket’s division winning routine below and see what they were most nervous about before the Qualifiers in this exclusive Q&A with WOD Magazine.
As a dancer who has studied ballet, jazz, and modern since the age of four, Alison Merrill never expected to break into hip hop and perform with a professional dance crew on national television for millions of viewers.
Str8jacket prides itself on being a no-audition dance crew, accepting anyone who is willing to put the time and effort in to becoming the best they can be. They strongly believe in providing the right tools for dancers and people as long as they have grit, discipline, and a positive attitude and are proactive in teaching the team about various topics in order to gain more skills outside of just dancing.
Truth Gamora is like a mom of the Str8jacket community due to her son Darien’s past involvement in our competitive team. This is due to her undying support for the team, attending all performances, advertising our events, and donating to our efforts while and after her son was competing with us. She is the creator and founder of her own clothing line, TruGem Dance, an emphasis of a dance and fitness lifestyle. We decided to sit down with Truth (over some Philz Coffee) to get to know her and her motivations behind the TruGem brand.
As part of the World of Dance 10 year anniversary and Championship Week celebrations, we held the first ever WOD DX, a dance convention unlike any other. DX was loaded with classes, panels, and more, but one of the best parts of this two day event was that attendees had the chance to audition for being a part of Alyson Stoner’s new dance video for her single Who Do You Love.
Andrea Guzman has been dancing with Str8jacket since the beginning of 2017. Her first performance with Str8jacket was during their America’s Got Talent Season 12 Audition, and her most recent accomplishment with the team includes making her set-choreographer debut for Str8jacket’s Evolution UDC “50’s Diner Set”.
The studio doors are locked, the lights are out... now it’s time to reflect on practice. What we learned beyond the workout and choreo...
JC co-founded Str8jacket in the summer of 2012. From the beginning, JC believed Str8jacket should be founded on hard work, discipline, creativity and passion. He made Str8jacket a no-audition team because he wanted dancers of diverse backgrounds and also because of his ideology that every dancer has the potential to become skilled with discipline and passion.
Gustavo (“Goose”) Morales has been an on-and-off member of Str8jacket since 2013!
Nic ("not Nick") Sanon joined Str8jacket in the Summer of 2017 just in time for their World of Dance Championship routine. His very first practice he learned flexibility drills and a contemporary piece from Str8jacket’s Gustavo Morales and knew right away this team would be a great for him.
Kicking off Str8jacket's blog series from the perspective of its diverse members. Here is a blog written by Kristie Lui, one of Str8jacket's directors, on where the name Str8jacket came from and what that means to her. Enjoy!
With crew members hailing all the way from Vietnam, the Philippines, and across California, WOD Bay Area Team winners Str8jacket have a lot to offer. We were lucky to catch up with the crew and ask them questions about their team, competing in World of Dance, and hear about an amazing fundraiser they’re putting on. ICYMI, here is their winning performance from World of Dance Bay Area.
With crew members hailing all the way from Vietnam, the Philippines, and across California, WOD Bay Area Team winners Str8jacket have a lot to offer. We were lucky to catch up with the crew and ask them questions about their team, competing in World of Dance, and hear about an amazing fundraiser they’re putting on. ICYMI, here is their winning performance from World of Dance Bay Area.
While NBC’s new competition show “World of Dance” starts May 30, the live tour that launched the show is heating up: On April 1, World of Dance’s 2017 tour made the first of 15 U.S. stops.
In Pomona, Calif., more than 40 crews competed, mostly with hop hop and urban styles. But WOD, among the largest international urban dance competitions, now incorporates dancers who mix in other dance styles: In a first for World of Dance, two ballroom couples, DNA and Luka & Jenalyn, were headline performers.