Las Vegas dance crew continues success

By Tovin Lapan

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Hip-hop dance crew The Prodigy has advanced to the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship after taking silver earlier this week in the USA Hip-Hop Dance Championship.

The Prodigy became the first Las Vegas dance crew to win any category at the dance competition last year, when the seven-member team of youths ages 7 to 12 took the top prize in the 10-team juniors division at the 2011 national competition.

The crew then went on to the 2011 world competition and was eliminated in the semifinal round.

After earning second place in the national competition Tuesday night, The Prodigy will take the stage for the preliminary round of the world competition Thursday morning at Red Rock Resort.

Along the way, they will have to do battle with a strong New Zealand delegation, which took three of the four possible gold medals at the 2011 World Hip-Hop Dance Championship.

The semifinals will be Friday morning and the championship round will be Sunday at the Orleans Arena.

Saturday is dedicated to a series of “can you top this” showdowns between dancers in “World Battle Day,” in which the world’s best B-Boys, poppers, lockers and freestylers face off in 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 competitions.

The World Hip-Hop Dance Championship, now in its 11th year, includes teams from 43 countries. Teams compete in three age groups: junior, ages 7-12; varsity, ages 13-17; and adult. There is also a separate “Mega-crew” division for teams of 15 to 40 dancers. This year, there are more than 2,500 dancers competing.all over the globe. Teams compete in three age groups, junior, ages 7-12, varsity, ages 13-17, and adult. There is also a separate “Mega Crew” division, for teams of 15 to 40 dancers. This year there are more than 2,500 dancers competing.