Breakin' that beat

Bangkok-based hip-hop team D Maniac is on top of the world after winning the final of the Thailand Hip Hop Dance Championship at MCC Hall of The Mall Ngam Wong Wan last Saturday, putting up a furious fight against other dance teams for the top slot.

Judges awarded the team the highest score of 8.3 out of 10 points, though it was a near thing as first runners-up Gimmick Force scored 8.2 points.

“D Maniac brought together the best performance and skills,” says American judge Ian Lavia. “Their energy level was remarkable and their technique was very, very clean. Not only were they able to execute the different styles of hip hop perfectly, but the way they used the music was fantastic.”

With just one-tenth separating D Maniac and Gimmick Force, Lavia was only sorry that the competition couldn’t have two winners.

“In the end, D Maniac had just that much more energy and a better technique in terms of the style they chose for their routine,” he says.

“All the teams were excellent,” says Saran Siritasanakul, D Maniac’s founder and leader. “It’s not unusual for the marks to be so tight, especially these days, as Thais are now capable of competing with foreigners and all the teams have a chance to represent the country. The difference really lies in the presentation,” 

D Maniac was founded in 2009 by Saran, who’s affectionately known as Khru Pump, at the Dance Mania Studio. The team already has several other prizes to its credit, among them the first prize in the Seacon Street Challenge Thailand Championship 2010, Future Fusion Thailand Best Dance Crew 2009 and awards from Singapore’s AXN Dance Off 2010 and Illest Cipher Hip Hop Battle Dance Crew 2010.

“Back then the hip hop circle was already getting wider though it was nowhere as big as it is today. The standard of our skills was lower than that of the foreign competitors. If you see us on stage today, I’m confident that we are on par with the foreigners and ready to fight for the big prizes,” says Saran.

D Maniac has already participated twice  in the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas, coming in 26th out of 64 teams in 2011 and 15th in 2012.

“This is the first time that the Thailand Hip-Hop Dance Championship is being held. Two years ago, we sent our profile to the competition and we received a favourable response. This time we will carry more clout when we go to Las Vegas, as we’ve won this contest,” says Saran.

He notes that there are large differences in presentation between teams from Asia and America, with the Asian teams tending to show off their cultures. “Last year, the Japanese team showed discipline and preparedness, while the Filipino team was rather aggressive and violent. We emphasised the charm of Thai-ness, presenting khon in 2011 and muay Thai in 2012.

For the final round of last Saturday’s heats, the D Maniac crew donned black T-shirts and wore masks reminiscent of the painted faces of American rock band Kiss.

“We come up with different concepts and songs each year. In fact, the masks have nothing to do with the band. We felt they depicted our craziness and rawness,” says Saran, who is a trained dancer and has worked as a choreographer for many artists. “My favourite songs are by James Brown, while my favourite artist is Ne-Yo.”

D Maniac has two months to prepare before the world championship in August.

“We are very proud of our show today, but we need to develop some moves and add new ideas,” says Saran, whose goal is to put Thailand on the global dance map.

Thailand Hip Hop Dance Championship features three categories with D Maniac topping the adult selection, Do Do the varsity, and TZ Crew the junior.

“Vegas is the biggest stage of the world but sadly most Thais lack the chance and support to go there. I would like the Thailand championship to be a starting point for Thais to make it to the international stage,” says organiser Tharuekamon “Mix” Yodchan, pointing out that local teams have performed in Malaysia, Singapore and France..

“Hip hop was born in the US but people from all over the globe have embraced the sound and the moves are their own. Here it has a distinct Thai flavour, just like Thai food,” says Lavia.