LIGHTS. CAMERAS. MOTION.
Freestyle Takeover: Night in Motion proved that summer blockbusters aren’t just for movie screens. Full of flash, flavor, and fun times, it was the perfect kickoff for what would be an epic weekend at Infinity Stage San Jose—a rhythm-based gaming tournament spanning nine different titles held at Round1 San Jose.
Continue reading “Freestyle Takeover: Night in Motion”The Light is a rollercoaster of a track, with its vocals leading up to the build up that will leave you fist pumping all throughout the track well after its drop!
For songs like this, you want to convey the energy that the artist intended its audience to feel when composing the song, so your movements should be a solid outlier for this!
In the beginning, the best way to build up your performance is to start subtle. Don’t give away too much and don’t use up all your energy right away! If you know the songs lyrics, you can sing along/act out the words!
Once the main melody and drop kick in, it’s time to go all-in! You can do this in any way you desire. You can represent the energy of the song with your footwork, your body movement, or your facial expressions.
Although the song’s energy remains, your stamina may not! In this case, it is ok to lay off the gas pedal and “coast” along with the song. You don’t have to go full-out the entire time, but you can still freestyle at your own pace that still matches the music!
Dead Heat is a new Drum’n’Bass track carried by its hard hitting percussive sounds layered on top of smooth, atmospheric synth lines. Despite the song clocking in at 177 BPM, the song feels a lot smoother than most tracks around the same tempo as it is dictated by its instrumentation throughout, and the “feeling” of the song itself changes as shifts into each phase.
The beginning is headlined by its smooth guitar and familiar Maozon-like synths. The percussion doesn’t build up until after a few measures, so the beginning can be treated as a build up, where one may take their time as their freestyle goes along.
You can then match your body as the bass builds up, with each movement having a purpose. It is at this point where having good control over your body movements becomes vital.
Songs like Dead Heat usually have many instruments layered on top of each other, but that does not mean you have to move to every single one! Choose any part of an instrument (like the primary synth or the snare drum) and let your movement represent that.
As the song transitions in and out of the drum’n’bass patterns, the percussion instruments will subside, and the main melody will take over, leaving you with the freedom to interpret the “feeling” of the song. You can either slow down and make it smooth, or stay sharp and precise.
Don’t be afraid to switch in and out of different feelings, too. Different instruments can determine what you feel, which in turn will decide how you want to approach your Freestyle. It’s all about what you are feeling in the moment!
Seta Para Cima↑↑ is a hot new track that is sure to make you bop your head with its flavorful Latin-inspired sounds, arranged in a way that makes it live up to many of today’s Bemani bangers!
The overall feel of the track is carried heavily by its Latin-infused structure, so a lot of your freestyle can involve a lot of grooving.
Groove is the idea of expressing rhythm and feeling through your own movement. With that being said, a lot of your freestyle can be influenced by how you hear and feel the song, which in turn, is represented by your own “flavor”. And let’s just say, this songs rhythmic vibes can bring out a lot of that inner flavor. ¡Muy caliente!
If you are familiar with Latin-inspired dances (i.e. Salsa, etc.), then your footwork or your hip movements may follow a specific pattern, while your upper body and your arms are more free to do whatever you’d like with them.
Others may feel more inclined to use their entire body as one, so both the arms and legs are showcased equally.
There are several moments in the song where one can showcase their musicality. Do not be afraid to show off a bit!
Special guests 001 and Megumin join us in a jam-packed episode as we cover the arrival of DDR A20 in NorCal, recap our freestyle events at Fresno Frenzy 3 and FanimeCon 2019 and look ahead to future ones! We also interview Watson about his music game background and his recent entry into the freestyle scene and answer listener questions about the challenges & roadblocks newer freestylers face as they turn away from the machine and face the audience for the first time.
02:40 – NIght in Motion/Infinity Stage
05:30 – DDR A20 impressions
16:50 – CEO/DDR Storm
23:00 – Freestyle tutorials
28:40 – MAGWest announcement
31:00 – Fresno Frenzy 3 thoughts
39:20 – FanimeCon thoughts
51:10 – Megumin interview
01:13:40 – Listener questions
Also available on the following platforms:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/freestyle-takeover
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-freestyle-takeover-podcast/id1369213912?mt=2
Another year, another that FanimeCon overdelivers! Crowds eagerly gathered in the gaming hall on Saturday night of Fanime weekend to watch ten freestylers give it their best in our DDR 5th mix freestyle tournament. It was our second year hosting an event at the popular San Jose convention and dancers had noticeably stepped up their confidence and skills from last year. Fanime is always a great venue to play up the pageantry and is a low-pressure event for beginning freestylers to find their footing as well.
August 9th is PARTY TIME at Round1 San Jose!
Freestyle Takeover: Night in Motion is a dance game performance competition that’s bound to get you hyped for Infinity Stage weekend. We’ll be hosting two divisions Friday evening following Valkyrie Ascension to make for one hell of an opening day!
For our first division, the floor is yours in the very first DANCERUSH STARDOM freestyle event in the US. For the main event of the night, come show us your performance™ in our Dance Dance Revolution Ace freestyle competition!
We’ll be hosting a 2 round DDR 5th Mix freestyle competition on 5/25 at FanimeCon 2019! Cosplay strongly encouraged!
Full details: https://www.facebook.com/events/621737311573288
Our next freestyle event will be held on DDR Ace at Fresno Frenzy 3 on Saturday, April 20th alongside the lower/middle and upper division events of that weekend! You won’t want to miss this!
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/574473992997307
