A Dance-Filled Weekend in Shanghai as B-Boys and the Godfather of West Coast Dance, Doc Martin Set Dancefloors Ablaze.

In what could be the first ever all-China Breakdance Competition, 16 of the nation's top crews converge on Shanghai to bust moves in single and group/team PK competitions and performances.

The breakdance craze took off in North America during the 80s with a few full length feature films such as "Breakin" and "Beat Street" dedicated entirely to the phenomena. The basic elements of hip hop, beats, graffiti, breakdancers and DJs all gelled and then skyrocketted through the 80s, and as the landscape of hip hop morphed into the 90s, breakdance took on new meaning. Today, it could be considered more of a sport having all the demands of say, competitive gymnastics as the purely physical demands of being a breakdance champion could include a very similar regime of practice.

Either way you look at it, it's inspiring to see that there is such heavy interest from the crews inside China to simply participate. At one level, it shows an acceptance of new means or methods of communicating ideas about individuality and self expression. Even within a team-competition framework there are unique and individual personalities, and unique interpretations of dance that goes into the makeup of a crew. The crew and its members communicate through dance, the message is clear: "This is my crew, this is who I am, and this is what I do".

It all goes down starting Thursday night at Club Bonbon with a preview of the Battle Dance competition with guest DJ I:Dee providing the beats for pre-battle show-ups... Like a pre-game trash-talk session, expect some of the key competitive dancers to show up to respectfully psyche-out some of the competition with new moves before the actual day of battle on Friday.

Friday at Dino Beach all 16 crews are representing and bustin' moves in team and individual dance competitions, displays and performances. You got served! It's an all day affair, starting in the afternoon and running through till 11PM with special guest Lil Fizz from B2K. The party then moves to Bonbon Friday night where West Coast dance music godfather Doc Martin is dropping the beats in the main room, and all the backroom goodness bubbles through the Ice Dome.

Doc Martin's visit marks a return to the source of West Coast DJs and comes on the heels of some very good parties with trademark sets by Mark Farina, Claude vonStroke and Colette. It also kicks off a month-long run of "United Nations of Dance" themed parties at Bonbon with some of the most respected ambassadors of dance music from around the globe dropping in to Shanghai for a visit. Doc represents the USA and after a solid 15 years in the business his reputation as one of the founders of the West Coast scene is well-deserved. A masterful technician, Doc can mix styles in a way that creates a truly unique and distinctive sound. In fact, there were times during the 90s acid and electro - flavored Doc Martin sets in warehouses up-and-down the West Coast that dance circles would form and the B-Boys would bust out the breakdance moves just as they had done some 10 years earlier.

For this visit to Shanghai, Doc is accompanied by Sub Level vocalist "Lilia". The addition of live vocals gives an organic sound to the entire set, and after the success of last month's visit by OM Records' DJ/vocalist Colette, the singer/DJ combo appears to be a healthy trend.

Besides Friday's visit by Doc Martin, look for these global ambassadors of dance music over the course of August: Sharam Jey (Germany); Kid Massive (France); Funkerman (Netherlands) and Radioslave (UK).

Saturday night Lil Fizz drops into Bonbon brining the You Got Served spirit to the breakdance afterparty. Some crews remain in town post-competition to tradeoff moves and dance simply for the love of dance, outside the competition. This is where you'll get to see the core of the B-Boys and how far inroads of hip hop have made into China.

A free ticket promotion is ongoing for these and many more nightlife events in and around Shanghai. Visit http://www.urbanon.com for more details.

Club Bonbon
Address: 1329 Huaihai Middle Road
Info: 133 2193 9299