Breaking It Down

This past Sunday on the Harbourfront Sirius Stage, B-boy and B-girl crews from all across Canada faced off for the final rounds in the sixth annual Pop, Lock, and Load competition. Crews bounced, broke, jumped, spun, and twisted to the great beats of DJ Serious as veteran breaker Benzo—of award-winning crew Bag of Trix—played host. Rude Bwoy Posse took home the fifteen-hundred-dollar cash prize.

Two crews performed at a time, taunting and posturing at each other while a packed audience cheered them on. At one point the sound system collapsed with a noisy fart, and host Benzo coaxed the audience to play it old school, clapping the beat for the competitors—the show must go on. The afternoon wouldn’t have been complete without the special Michael Jackson tribute at half time, which had the entire audience on its feet and all the crews filling the stage for an aptly thrilling moment. Toward the end of the competition, host Benzo announced his official retirement from break-dancing for good. It was clear from the action on stage that there’ll be plenty of dancers ready to represent in future.

Photos by Vicky Peters/Torontoist.