FUNKAMANIA XII: 14 JAN 2 0 0 6

If you happened to be shopping at Ngee Ann City last Saturday, you might have thought you had wandered into Hip-Hop Land. Hordes of young tertiary students congregated at the make-shift stage erected at Civic Plaza to be part of the action-packed Funkamania, an annual inter-tertiary dance competition.

On stage, ten finalist teams hailing from schools such as NUS, NTU, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic had their supporters in awe, showing off groovy moves and well-choreographed displays. For the next 3 hours, Civic Plaza was to be the arena for budding dancers aspiring to move and groove like J-Lo and Pussy Cat Dolls.

A showcase of the tertiary student community's very own hip-hop talents, Funkamania 2006 attracted more than 25 teams and several rounds of auditions later, 10 finalist teams with groovy names like Da' Street Soulz and sleek moves like Usher's emerged to form the cast for the much anticipated event of the year.

In this 12th edition of the competition which has traditionally been dominated by varsity teams from Halls of Residence and Dance Clubs in NUS, NTU and SMU, several polytechnic teams emerge to compete alongside teams from universities. Poly teams made up more than half of the 15 semi-finalists (5 teams from Ngee Ann Polytechnic; 3 from Nanyang Polytechnic; 1 from Temasek Polytechnic).

While younger dancers from the polytechnics brought diversity and spiced up the competition, we certainly wish for more varsity teams to provide more maturity to the competition. Funkamania looks and feels different with less involvement from the universities. The only NTU involvement in the competition came from eventual champion Da' Street Soulz where half of its members are NTU students. SMU's Eurythmics pulled out even before the semi-finals.

With almost half of the competition comprising of sexy all-girls teams, the event almost screamed "Sex and Money"! There was a stunning array of mid-riffs, bikinis, short skirts, blingbling accessories and well, loads of stripping.

Fortunately, tasteful and energetic dance numbers shut conservative critics up. The range of grooves, though all hip-hop, was diverse and innovative. For instance, Fat Mama Crew had a segment of a hilarious puppetry show, weaved into their dance while the Indidolls created a cultural fusion grooving in pretty little Indian tops and gold jewellery that rattled each time they did their signature ass-shaking moves. Hot favorite Steezers also enthralled the crowd with their smooth, seemingly effortless moves and baseball-themed hip hop dance.

Girl power is obviously in vogue as all-girls teams clinch all the top 3 prizes. The ladies, however, did not have it easy during training. Both Indidolls (2nd Runner-up from NP) and Outfitters (1st Runner-up from NP) had to practise for two full months while Da' Streetsoulz (Champion team comprising of students from NTU and NAFA) choreographed their dance themselves and managed to put their act together within two and a half weeks. Off-stage, the down-to-earth girls were totally unlike the wild persona they displayed on stage and most were glad that hard work has finally being paid off. Yvonne from the Outfitters wanted her mates to "pinch her", obviously still in disbelief that her team has won something.

Carol Cheong, a dance instructor at Studio Wu Dance Center and Judge of Funkamania 2006 felt that standards (of the competing teams) have improved and it was a close fight between the top teams. She said "With such a close fight, the judges paid a lot of attention on techniques and scrutinized the top teams." Technical proficiency is probably behind the reason for Da' Streetsoulz to eventually outshine all other competitors to emerge as Champions.

For those who missed the sass and fun, hey, there is always next year! Before we sign off, here's our wish list for Funkamania 2007:

• More varsity teams, please!
• Where are the guys? More guy-dancers in the teams, please!
• On behalf of the spectators, supporters and students who bothered to turn up, please allow us to groove nearer to the stage. The VIP area situated right in front of the stage took up almost 1/3 the length of Civic Plaza. That is too big an area for 20 bored and distracted VIP/Sponsors. After all, it's about spirit, passion and atmosphere. What's Funkamania without the cheering and passionate crowd? So we say, reduce the VIP area, bring the crowd closer to the stage and let us rock!

	Da' Street Soulz (7 members) from NTU & NAFA Style: A mixture of new school mix and street. All girls-team with infinite groove and underground feel.
	Outfitters (6 members) from Ngee Ann Polytechnic Style: Lots of girl power and aggressive showmanship.
	Indi Dolls (8 members) from Ngee Ann Polytechnic Style: All girls-team who is all about growing up and having fun. Influence heavily by hip hop techniques. (Singapore Idol finalist Daphne Khoo is a member of this dance team. It appears singing is not her only forte!)
	Best Female Dancer: Gin (Da' Street Soulz)
	Best Male Dancer: Seng Kiat (JK Scafs)

More Funkamania photos at the Funkygrad Gallery