These young Cairns dancers are putting youth stereotypes aside and harnessing their energy in a positive way, writes Jesse Kuch

A lot gets said about the youth of today.

However, words such as irresponsible, binge-drinking, violent and unmotivated couldn’t be further from the truth when talking about the people behind Cairns’ biggest and best-known urban dance battle, Stomp The Nard.

What started as an idea for a back alley dance competition in 2005, has evolved into an open-air, widely publicised event with about 3500 punters when it was last staged at the Esplanade Skate Park last year.

Created by Angelo Saliba (aka DJ A.N.G. from Evident Entertainment) and Mark "Montaj" Montajes, it features a wide selection of Cairns’ finest dance troops, including ThreeSixFive, Stylin Techniques and the all new AMAJ All Girl crew.

Along with television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, it has been majorly responsible for the boom in urban dance styles such as breakdancing, krumpping, clowning and hip-hop in the Far North in recent times.

Angelo says the idea behind bringing the event out into the open was to educate the public about hip-hop and urban culture and to give a voice and form of expression for the young and highly talented people in the Cairns community.

"The first event was across the road from McDonalds on the Esplanade. It was meant to be really small, like only 40 or 50 people," he says.

"But more than 1000 people showed up. It was crazy, people were everywhere, climbing trees so they could get a look. We ended up getting banned from the area."

Angelo says the event couldn’t have made it to where it is today without both the major support of the Cairns Regional Council and a dedicated committee that includes himself, Mark Montajes, Spencer Brown and Clint Smith.

"The original idea came about to give dancers and hip-hop heads in general a place to vent," he says.

"And it’s gone and turned into something massive."

One of the leading dancers and organisers for Stomp The Nard is Clint "GMC" Smith from ThreeSixFive Crew who, along with fellow crew-members Bert Anderson and Jaymen Drahm, scored himself a place in the top 100 of last year’s So You Think You Can Dance on Channel Ten.

Clint’s father is the man behind the Blue Light Disco phenomenon through Police Citizen’s Youth Clubs around Queensland and it is here that he first started his dance career.

"Dad was an old-school DJ. I first started dancing when I was eight years old at the Blue Light Disco events in Brisbane," he says.

"It was here that I first met Wade Robson, who is now a well-known choreographer involved in So You Think You Can Dance.

"We were both eight, and we started to do Michael Jackson impersonations together and things like that. I thought it was so cool."

He says the hip-hop culture is what first drew him into the urban dance style.

"The style was great, but it was really the culture that got me. There were guys out there wearing baggy clothes and cool gear and were attracting attention because of their dancing," he says.

"I like the freedom in the genre, it’s a really freestyle sort of thing."

He says the idea for ThreeSixFive crew came about at the start of 2006, when he moved to Cairns from the Sunshine Coast and started teaching dance classes.

"I saw Burt "Magic Step" Anderson at a dance show at Stockland and thought he’d be a good audition," he says.

"I was also teaching another guy called Jamon in class and thought he is really quite talented, so I pulled him out to join as well.

"Over the years, members have come and gone. These days the main members are me and James Elmer, who is currently hosting the dance competitions at Velvet Underground."

Clint says the Cairns urban dance scene has moved forward leaps and bounds in recent years.

"I think it’s healthy. It’s growing heaps," he says.

"The biggest plus and benefit is just to see kids doing something instead of causing trouble, running amok and shoplifting to impress people when they can do it through art, music and dance."

He feels Stomp The Nard has been instrumental in broadening the perception of urban dance in the wider community.

"You have so many different cultures up here – Torres Strait, Aboriginal, Filipino, Caucasian and heaps more. Everyone’s got their own style," he says.

"The thing with the crew dance battles is they are all rehearsing their performances weekly, even the Mini Crew that I teach, who range from 5-14 years old.

"It’s not just keeping them off the street for one night, it’s every week. It has their constant attention and gives them a sense of achievement and some goals. When they finish one performance, they are straight into working on the next."

Amanda Jasher, 19, one of the lead dancers in Cairns’ first all-girl crew AMAJ, agrees with Clint that events like Stomp The Nard give bored young people a focus for their energies.

"It’s an excellent way for kids to get out some of their aggression in a positive way," she says.

"Especially with styles like Krump, there is a real culture out there and it’s a good way to go out, have a (dance) battle with someone and then shake hands at the end. When it’s over you feel like you’ve accomplished something."

She thinks the reason many young people are out on the streets causing trouble in the Cairns region is that there isn’t enough to keep them occupied.

"I’ve always promoted the idea that I thought the reason people go out and party, get drunk and cause trouble is that they are just bored," she says.

"They haven’t got enough events out there where there are goals to reach in front of their peers."

This year’s Stomp The Nard will be the first time Amanda’s crew, AMAJ, hits the dance floor in public, battling ThreeSixFive Crew.

"I was a bit nervous at first," he says.

"But Clint was the one who got me into hip-hop and we are all mates in that sense, so it doesn’t matter who wins in the end – it’s all fun."

Sean "B-Boy Spyder" Knauss, from the Stylin Techniques crew, is another dancer in the show who echoes Clint and Amanda’s sentiments.

"Breakdancing originated in the US as a style of fighting without contact," he says.

"There is just as much aggression in battling someone as there is getting in a fight. We teach the kids, if they have a bit of a feud going on, instead of resorting to violence, just battle it out."

So what do crowds have to look forward to when Stomp The Nard goes down on Sunday, April 5, in its new home of City Place?

Aside from the freestyle sections (which allow dancers to express themselves without a set format) and the smaller crews going head-to-head, there will be a massive finale by the Evident Supercrew – a combination of all the dancers involved in the show.

"We’ve been working on it for the past couple of months, with Stylin Techniques, AMAJ, ThreeSixFive and the Mini Crew all coming together," Clint says.

"We’ve got a bit of a half-time surprise as well, with an MC Battle, but I won’t let the secret out on that one too much.

"One day, I hope it will be so big that people will want to fly to Cairns to compete and get that recognition. Judging by the quality of the events in the past few years we are not far off."

Angelo hopes Stomp the Nard will continue to evolve into an internationally recognised event.

"The end goal has always been, and this has been discussed a lot, to create a hip-hop festival that shares the four elements of hip-hop – breakdancing, MC’ing, turntablism and graffiti," he says.

"That’s the mentality behind it, to incorporate it into one massive event and broaden public perception of hip-hop culture."

>> Stomp The Nard goes down on Sunday, April 5, from 7pm, presented by Evident Entertainment, Youth Substance Misuse Service and Cairns Regional Council. Entry is free.

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