JNR's Annual Report July 05 – July 06:

(JNRs as seen through the unbiased eyes of Tristan the Amazing)

The JNRs crew has been fairly busy this year; we have been to and performed in many shows as well as going through a complete change in the lineup. Starting with the Summer show 2005 this report summarises just some of what the JNRs have been up to this year besides all of the workshops and teaching.

At the beginning of the Summer Show 05 the JNRs Crew consisted of: Tara (4True), Tristan (does anyone know his name? I’ll just use Task for now), Ben (Ben-Jammin’), Ben (Cutta), Kane (Upstart) and Jaelle (Rude).

Summer Show 05: Roots and Wings ‘part of me stays rooted so the rest of me can fly’

JNR's: 4True, Ben-Jammin’, Rude, Cutta, Task.

The annual summer show was held at the Junction in Cambridge. The show ‘Roots and Wings’ was choreographed by TrubL Roc, Ill Boogs, and Mach-1 as well as other Sinstars in their own pieces. The show was performed by JNRs, Sinstars as well as some beginners and improvers who attend workshops regularly. As a performer in the show I believe it went well. A lot was demanded of the JNRs crew this year to learn the choreography, especially in the JNRs piece ‘Organ Donor’ which required a lot of physical effort to pull off the flips and mental effort to get it right! But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, so here we are, a much improved crew, I hope.

The show was a success and another valuable experience to the JNRs. The Junction’s Theatre has a capacity of 220 and performing in front of a large number was another good experience. As a venue I think the Junction is my favourite with a nice open stage and plenty of room. There are also wings in the theatre which makes a show run easier (somewhere for me to hide).

Memories: The mythical ‘lost footage’ of the Summer Show 05.

Unfortunately this is where Ben-Jammin’s short journey with the JNRs crew comes to an end for this year. He moved onto bigger and better things apparently, no one has seen him since. Rumours say he may have joined the legendary Sinstars crew in the sky, congratulations!

Welcome! We also welcomed to the crew Aaron (AirOne) and Nathan (Munch). A big congratulations to the both of them.

(Farewell: At some point after the Summer show Cutta stopped breaking. I never heard his reason for this, perhaps he’d had his fill of SIN Cru, grew out of his short T-rex arms or had too many things going on. Either way, he never rejoined the JNRs Crew).

UK Bboy Champs:

JNR's: AirOne, Munch, Rude, Task

This year we visited the UK Bboy Champs hosted by Crazy Legs from Rock Steady Crew. A few images burned into my mind are Backspin to Airflare (someone out of RSC) and a circle outside on the pavement after the event. Although we were just watching going to these kind of shows are one of the most important aspects of improving as they open your eyes to what’s out there in the crazy world of Bboying, Gymnastics and Tricking. I think our yearly visits to different locations provide the crew with motivation to get better and are always a good thing to attend.

Memories: Backspin to Airflare.

Battle of the Year 05:

JNR's: Task, Munch.

Similar to the UK Bboy Champs this was another event in which to study performance on a massive scale. With crews showcasing their moves and battling in front of thousands I can only imagine the pressure that they must be under. However, the 3 days travelling required to get to Hannover in Germany has become a bit of a legend in its self. This SIN Cru road trip is packed full of laughs, arguments and the cramped sleeping conditions of a people carrier. What joy!

Memories: TrubL Roc trying to, and claiming to have tricked me into believing she and the rest of the crew had abandoned me at a petrol station by driving round the corner whilst in clear view and cackling like a maniac in the drivers seat.

Christmas Dinner at Girton College:

JNR's: Rude, AirOne, Munch, 4True, Task.

The JNRs crew was invited to perform at Girton College as part of the entertainment for the Christmas dinner of a senior citizen society.

There were a few minor setbacks, namely one of the JNRs had only just returned from Birmingham with a horrible cold and upon his arrival in Cambridge was informed he’d have to run to catch a lift to the College which he did at the cost of losing a shoe on the way. Setbacks aside we got there safely and warmed up.

Our crew showcase went as well as it could, the stage was very small and annoyingly sloped by a considerable amount to the front. Despite all this we did our best and held it together. Personally I didn’t particularly enjoy this show, despite pulling out a fantastic gainer, but it was another valuable experience under the proverbial belt.

Memories: Slanted stage. AirOne, Rude and Munch being told off for running down the corridors.

Shortly after their Christmas meal SIN Cru was to have its own Christmas meal at Chili’s in Cambridge. Another fantastic tradition where members of the whole SIN Cru collective get together, laugh at Ill Boogs being too drunk, throw ketchup all over each other and play Secret Santa.. The night is topped off by a breakin’ session on the marble floor in The Grafton Centre. This year I took it upon my self to see how far I could slide across the floor wearing a pink wig. Amazing!

Temporary farewell: At this stage in the game the SIN Cru collective went into its winter hibernation. It had been a busy year and it was time to rest. Upon its reawakening the crew suffered terribly as I departed soon after January to Chile where I would spend the next 2.5 months. The crew were left reeling from this blow, but the beat goes on.

Cambridge Hip Hop Week 06/Urban SINfonie!

JNR's: AirOne, 4True, Munch, Rude.

Every year SIN Cru hosts a ‘Hip Hop week’ around Easter time. Every year it is a great success. The week is packed full of workshops of everything Hip Hop. This ranges from the Bboy classes (beginner to master class) to Graffiti Art and DJing etc. There were also screenings of various Hip Hop films to get everyone in the mood for the week. As always the workshops culminated at the end into URBAN SINFONIE 06! Possibly one of the most ‘looked forward to’ events in the SIN Cru year, this is a chance to show off what has been learnt in the week. It is also an excellent opportunity to mix with and be battling other people from all around the region on home turf. Another fantastic eye opener to new styles as well as providing battle experience for the JNRs. Everyone has something to learn from this week.

Memories: Freezing on top of a mountain in Chile. Wishing I was at CHHW 06.

(Another Farewell: During my away period Munch slowly withdrew from the JNRs crew to pursue a life calling in Parkour. Although he was to attend a few workshops afterwards he was never really part of the crew again.)

Unstable:

JNR's: 4True, Task, Rude, AirOne.
Others : Alex, Saul.

Shortly after my return from Chile (in fact immediately) I was called upon for a mysterious meeting. Foolishly I stepped into the trap and was instantly catapulted back into the world of training and shows. In fact, I had 3 rehearsals in which to learn and perform a new piece ‘Unstable’, choreographed by TrubL Roc, at the Junction as part of a youth performance night, ‘Grace and Raver’. Despite feeling awful and the piece not being amazingly well rehearsed by myself the JNRs crew seemed to draw on that seemingly never ending ‘it’ll be alright on the night’ well of good luck (touchwood). Anyway, the show turned out well and we got plenty of cheers.

What made this show stand out for me is that although we were performing at the Junction, a familiar home territory, the atmosphere was completely different. Reasons for this were that there were other dance groups there who we were performing along side with that night. Also, the audience was made up of the general public and parents from the other groups. This was a subtle but big change from the audience of our Summer Show where the audience consists mainly of people in some way linked to SIN Cru. So where the odd mistake might be forgiven by those related to SIN Cru at the Summer Show, it wasn’t acceptable in front of a crowd where we had to represent properly. In other words… THE PRESSURE WAS ON. Pressure is good?

(Another farewell: Sometime during all this our second oldest member 4True decided that her up and coming exams required more attention and decided to take a ‘break from breakin’ in order to revise and ensure a pass. We all knew what was really up and wished a ‘Swift’ and silent farewell to 4True from the JNRs crew to which she never returned).

Unstable – take 2:

JNR's: AirOne, Rude. Task.
Others : Sarah, Alex, Saul.

We had a second performance of Unstable when we were invited to perform in Ipswich as part of another youth show called ‘High Voltage’. Between the 1st and 2nd performance of this piece the choreography was changed slightly making it harder in my ‘haven’t been practising for months’ opinion. Our biggest problem was not picking up the new choreography quick enough and before we knew it we had our tech run at the Ipswich theatre. This was a disaster, not helped by the fact that we had new material, an oddly shaped stage with crazy wings and setup and to top it off we had a ‘new costume’. This consisted of awful plimsoll like trainers which refused to stay on feet and my old super tight school uniform which I should have thrown away years ago.

We all gave it our best shot, and luckily for us the chaos that ensued on stage seemed to flow and weave in and out of itself so much that the piece looked as though it had been done correctly. I was told afterwards it didn’t go nearly as badly as I felt it had for me. The cheers we got confirmed this and I was left laughing at things I had noticed go wrong, but were unnoticeable to the audience. Just another lesson in performing for all of us!

Unfortunately my super tight white shirt tore while doing a backflip, so with tears in my eyes I had to retire it with respect.

Memories: Tearing my shirt. Awful tech run. Goats milk and chicken.

Ramsey Chaos Youth Club:

JNR's: Rude, AirOne, Task.
Others : Alex, Saul.

Between the 1st and 2nd performance of the ‘Unstable’ we were invited to perform at the Ramsey Chaos Youth Club as entertainment before their ‘battle of the bands night’. This was a good experience as there were lots of people there and a few of them did breakin’ themselves. The performance went well and was short and sweet. Unfortunately I was still super rusty from being away, thankfully no one noticed. Everyone had a good time.

Memories: Not being able to dance. Great atmosphere.

Breakin' Convention:

JNR's: Task.
Other: Alex.

Every year Jonzi-D hosts the Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London which we have attended every year since its start. This year was probably the best one I have been to. We attended workshops including one with Pervez and a power workshop with Project Soul. The Pervez workshop was very useful to me, teaching me Uprock and Toprock styles. These were excellent workshops and it was a shame that more of the JNRs crew could not have made it.

I have a mixed feeling about the Power workshop by Project Soul. The teachers were Physix and two junior members of the crew by the name of Moon and Phoenix. The teaching was great and I picked up a lot of useful tips which I needed. The problem was that the level of the workshop was very high, probably too high for me as my power ability is not amazing. Also, as the nature of the workshop was power it obviously attracted a lot of power heads from the UK and London which made the atmosphere very elitist.

As for the actual event it was good and I enjoyed the mix of styles and a memorable performance from Birdgang and Storm. I thought Wanted from France was a letdown but more than made up for when I saw the battle outside between Project Soul and Phase T during the interval, the best battle I have ever witnessed. I have since added Project Soul to my ‘Hero Worship’ list.

Memories: Best battle ever witnessed; Project Soul vs. Phase T. Storms amazing showcase, especially his ‘backwards walking’ piece at the end.

Big Dance Celebration:

JNR's: AirOne, Rude, Task.
Other: Chi-Boogie

The JNRs Crew was invited to perform by the Arts Council at the ‘Big Dance Celebration’ in Norwich as part of a week long series of Big Dance events. We performed our ‘Butterflies’ piece choreographed by TrubL Roc for the up and coming Summer Show 06.

This was the biggest and most nerve wracking show I have performed in. With a capacity of over 300 there were plenty of people watching, and the fact that there were only 4 of us (3 JNRs and Chi) who had to cover an enormous stage made the task much harder. The stage lights were burning, the hairspray was choking and the audience was massive. What stood out for me in this show is that each dance group was also part of the audience so as well as the adults/parents we had to perform to other groups.

Despite all the pressure this was probably my most memorable show, the support the groups gave each other made a very good atmosphere. Even though I didn’t perform particularly well, it felt good just to have done it. I’m sure all the other JNRs feel the same.

Memories: AirOne almost crying after I wiped a bit of sweat that was pouring off me onto his sweatband.

Classified: Last sighted in Hythe, somewhere in Kent (Latitude: 51:04:21N (51.0726) Longitude: 1:04:50E (1.0805) unbeknownst to almost everyone a certain Mr. Kane has been getting along with his merry old life. What has he been up to? You might ask. Unfortunately nobody knew until I caught up with him to gather some intel.

Apparently Upstart has recently joined the U.S. Marine Corps (see photo). He has been detailed into various covert missions, namely stealth bombing – no more information was provided. On the public front he has also been teaching graffiti workshops he then uses the money to feed his passion of oil painting and sculpting. Kane sends his love and hellos to all. When asked if he wanted to add anything else to the interview he simply replied with ‘UPSTART IS GHETTO’. He then cracked and added that life in Kent was nothing compared to Vietnam and wished he was back in his foxhole with his trusty rifle.

JNRs Reform:

JNR's: Everyone.

Shortly before the Summer Show 06 it was announced that the JNRs crew was being reformed. With attitude and morale in the JNRs at an all time low, following some turmoil in the general crew, their good name was being used as a scapegoat at every corner so there was a nothing-to-lose mentality when it came to reforming the JNRs.

The deal was that at the end of the Summer Show 06 the JNRs crew would be completely disbanded and put back together as the Sinstars saw fit. This meant that anyone could apply and audition to be a JNR Sinstar.

There were many entrants, but the new JNRs Crew to emerge consisted of: Aaron (AirOne), George (Curious George), Alex (Marsh-ski), Jaelle (Rude) and Saul (Soul Baby). Commiserations to the new crew, may the next year bring you brutal training sessions, regular grillings from TrubL, lots of stage fright and tedious but essential rehearsals. You’ll have a fantastic time, good luck to you all!

Summary: It has been a busy year with plenty of weekly workshops and teaching experience. No matter how slanted the stage may have been or how large the audience, all the shows we have done have provided us with experience and taught us lessons in how to perform. Performance is something I struggle with so all experience is good!

As well as the shows we have performed in there are also the shows we have been to. These were equally important as experience as they opened our eyes to new styles and more advanced moves giving us inspiration and motivation.

Hopefully the JNRs crew can take something from this and develop in the next few years.