"A Boogie Down, B-Boyin,BreakDancin, Dubai type of Night"

"Breakdancing" is a style of street dance that originated primarily among Puerto Rican and African American youths during the mid-1970s. The dance spread worldwide due to popularity in the media, especially in regions such as Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United Kingdom. While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, b-boying consists of four kinds of movement: toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. B-boying is typically danced to hip-hop, funk music, and especially breakbeats, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.

*Wikipedia

  The sounds of Latin music had our hips sashaying, shoulders bouncing, and feet skipping with anticipation has we hopped out of the car and headed into the festivities. We had just left a perfect afternoon at the Dubai Mall and was ready to mix and mingle with the locals and other nationalities during a food festival that was taking place near Business Bay.

What I am loving about Dubai so far is that there never seems to be a dull moment; there is ALWAYS something to do, especially on the weekends. A work week for a teacher is Sunday through Thursday, so the motto is "live for the weekends". Friday for me is a good day and evening to go out an explore because we don't have to be the work the next day which gives perfect timing for chill and relaxation before starting my work week. Of course Saturday is an option as well, but for me personally, Friday is for hanging out and Saturday is for resting and work week prepping.

Last weekend, Dubai hosted a series of events in relation to the Dubai Food Festival that took place. This particular event we popped in on was hosted by a promotions group by the name of Street Nights Dubai. They provide entertainment through food, arts, and music; an overall cultural atmosphere. This evening, not only did they had the food trucks and vendors going, but they also were host to a break dancing competition.





This competition was one like I never seen before. It totally made me feel like I was in New York somewhere but of course with a Dubai flare. They had bean bag chairs located near a black and white checkerboard stage filled with people from all over the world bopping, cheering, clapping, shouting, and dancing all for the sake of the merriment of enjoying a dynamic piece of hip hop culture.  

This competition was complete with dancers representing from all over the world moving and grooving to the sounds of rap, hip hop, Latin music, and my favorite...James Brown. This competition even included a twelve year old boy who made it all the way to the semi-finals. It was very impressive to witness. Every b-boy was in their element, feeding off of the music and the crowd's energy, which lead to an overall battle to the best. They all deserve much recognition.

This cultural experience also included a variety of elaborate graffiti art that spanned across a wall from one end of the festival to the other. People could strike a pose next to their favorite pieces while enjoying the sights seeing the artists spray paint their work.

As I reflect on this event, I realize that I did not get pictures of the actual FOOD at the food festival. But, I did capture a sweet treat that is a favorite of mine from back home. Here, they call them "Cryspes", but in Georgia, we call them "Funnel Cakes". What made these versions different is that one, the portions are a lot smaller, and two, the topping variations differ. for example, they had Nutella, a cheese spread, a spicy version with seasonings. I opted for the Oreo and Hershey syrup creation.

All in all, this festival was LIT! One of the best festivals I've been to in my adult life of festival hopping. I definitely plan to partake in future events that this organization put together for the city of Dubai.