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Report: The Waacktitioners “Waack It Up” at the Den

The Waacktitioners waacked it up in a four hour waackathon, whose arms hurt?

Words: Nicky Short / Princess Scribbles

The London Waacktitioners: Pioneers of UK waacking

Since September a group of dancers have been taking over dance floors indiscriminately at funk and house nights, showcases, events and battles all over London, using any opportunity to jam, practise and spread their love of a dance style largely overlooked in the UK.

As a result, waacking has become something of a craze with everyone trying to get in on the waacktion. So, by popular demand, The Waacktitioners, the culprits behind the chaos, took over Den on West Central Street on a mission to bring waacking to the people.

Waacking it up

Waacking began in the 1970s in the clubs and, as such, it was important that the party element of the style was maintained. Den was the perfect venue: sofas in the corners to observe the action from and chill on, and an ideal dance floor overlooked by DJ Zulu on the decks spinning the perfect blend of funky disco soul to get everyone hyped up.

We took the workshop out of the studio and back to the club as members of The Waacktitioners, under their waacking aliases, lead participants through drills, grooves and creative exercises according to their specialities. Jamming breaks in between each section allowed time to collapse in a sweaty heap, practise or ask questions and swap skills.

Battles

After the workshop and an extended freestyle, The Waacktitioners took over in full disco spangle for a showcase ‘6 to smoke’ style battle – they lacked an extra person to make it a full seven to smoke. The Prince of England brought props including hairspray and an array of hats and trainers for entertainment value, while Mademoiselle Ginger brought pure raw fierce feistiness from her corner, drawing squarely in the final with princess Kleio’s much cuter, sassy style.

The event as a whole truly demonstrated the versatility within the style and the fun and freedom to be had with it, from learning waacking styles to jamming to battling.

Waackers waacking it up with the London Waactitioners

Waacking for everybody

There’s something for everyone in waacking: amongst the members of The Waacktitioners there are b-boys, house dancers, martial artists and technical jazz dancers. The rag-tag mixed bag who turned up to the event were a testament to its broad appeal, from krumpers to commercial dancers. None of them could wait to get back on the floor after the battle and waack it out till they threw us out... whereupon the party vogued its way across town to Madame Jojo’s in Soho for an after party.

If you missed out, fear not, this event is the first of many more to come. Check out the Waacktitioners Facebook fan page where you can see photos and videos and feedback from the event.

London Waacktitioners debut video:

Related features:

Interview with Kumari Suraj of the Imperial House of Waacking

Why we’re excited about Waack It Up

TooMuchFlavour have also done interviews with Aus Ninja, from the Imperial House of Waacking which you can see on our YouTube channel:

[Part 1] [Part 2]

We’re excited about... Dancer’s Delight