By Amy Fortier
Staff Writer

At the first annual Beantown Bounce dance competition, a hip hop dance competition in Boston, audiences and judges were dazzled by a small group of dancers from Rockin Robins House of Dance in Concord, which placed first runner-up out of 20 different competing teams.

BUSTIN’ MOVES IN BOSTON – Members of the Rockin Robin hip hop competition team in Concord pose with the trophy they won at the first annual Beantown Bounce competition a few weeks ago. Doing so well in their first competition at that level has boosted the self confidence of the group and they are already anticipating next year’s event. (Amy Fortier Photo)

Liz Patria, 17, of Pembroke, is part of the Rockin Robins hip hop team, coached by Sabrina Adair, owner and director of Rockin Robins House of Dance. The dancers went to the competition to see how they measured up to other hip hop performers, and were astounded by the reception they got for their routine.

Sabrina Adair is one of the first in New Hampshire to teach hip hop dance, a form of urban dance that incorporates break dancing, funk and pop dance styles and is named from a form of music called hip hop that originated in New York City in the early 1980s.

Adair said opening a dance school was the only thing she ever wanted to do. Although she went to college for business, she said she spent her free time making up dances in her head. Adair originally opened a small studio in the basement of her parents house four years ago, but with the expanding school, she moved to Main Street in Concord.

“The studio is named after my father, Robin, who passed away, and he was the most supportive out of anybody with our dance and our talent,” said Shana Perry, Adair’s sister. “He went to every rehearsal and he never was the type to complain that it was during football. He was always very supportive and loved it.” Perry is a member of the hip hop competition team and is also very involved with the school.

Because she had no other teams to compare hers to, Adair said she was always wondering how her hip hop measured up, as there is no standard in New Hampshire. This is one of the main reasons Adair wanted her team to compete in the first annual Beantown Bounce Dance competition.

“There is a movie that came out last year called ‘You Got Served’ that we all got into,” said Perry. “It was predominantly break dancing and hip hop and we really liked the choreography because it was our style, and it was really intense, motivating choreography, and at the end there is a big competition. We always said, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome to be in that kind of competition?’ To break away from the monotony of the competitions in this area.”

For the Rockin Robins hip hop team, the opportunity to dance in a competition similar to the one that inspired them in “You Got Served” came in February.

Before she went, Adair was warned by the competition officials that her students were going to be up against some fierce competition, but she was determined to see how her students measured up to some of the most talented young hip-hop dancers in the Boston area.

THEY GOT FLAVA – Dancers at Rockin Robins House of Dance, owned by Sabrina Adair in Concord, rehearse their hip hop routine for an upcoming competition in New Hampshire. Members of the team are teenagers from Concord, Bow and Pembroke. (Amy Fortier Photo)

On Feb. 12, Adair’s team traveled to the Madison Park Community Center in Roxbury, Mass., for the Beantown Bounce Dance Competition. Members of the dance team include Kayla Adair, 17, of Concord; Shana Perry, 28, of Concord; Allyson Morin, 14, of Bow; Annie Snyder, 15, of Concord; Bessie Georgopoulos, 17 of Concord; Liz Patria, 17, of Pembroke; Kristina Blake, 14, of Concord; Sarah Lewis, 15, of Concord, Brian Eldrege, 14, of Bow; and Amanda Thompson, 14, of Concord.

Perry said the competition was extremely intense and unnerving for her and the other dancers.

“We never got to see the floor we were going to perform on, and we didn’t even know where we were going,” she said. “Finally, they brought us up there and the group before us got booed, and they were from the area. So, we were having a stroke thinking about what they were going to do to a group like us from little ‘Cow Hampshire.’”

Although they were anticipating a bad reaction from the crowd, the dance team was shocked when the audience exploded with enthusiasm for their dancing.

“When we ran out onto the floor, the place erupted. Every single person came to their feet, and completely flipped out even before our music started. When our music started, it was three times more and they totally accepted us. They screamed so loud that we could barely hear our music,” said Perry.

The energy from the crowd on its feet, clapping and cheering the dancers on, and the thrill of being accepted pushed the team to dance as they never had before.

“We have never done it like that, and we probably never will again because we fed off the intensity of the crowd. They appreciated the style, they appreciated the hard work, and it was something different, so they just loved it,” said Perry. “We went there for the experience to see what hip hop was like, to pick up the style, and we told the kids, ‘Don’t plan on placing, it’s just for the performance experience.’”

Adair’s team came in first runner-up, missing the first place award by only one point. Rather than being disappointed with their results, the entire team and Adair were ecstatic that they were received so well and had placed so well for their first effort.

“When you do competitions around here, you are sitting in a theater and there is just a little applause at the end, but at this competition, the energy was just amazing,” said Adair. “It was also great to get feedback from judges who appreciate hip hop and understand it.”

She was so happy, she cried at the competition.

“Around here, it’s not that people don’t appreciate hiphop,” said Perry, “I think they don’t understand it. It’s still coming up. It’s still catching on.”