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‘Bring It!’ hosts are Chattanoogans
KNOW THE TERMINOLOGY
Battle: Dance competitions. Battles are comprised of categories such as field show, creative dancing, creativity with props and poms.Battle Royale: Highly competitive dance battles for top honors; the equivalent of sports playoffs.Bucking: Repetitive pelvic thrusts as part of a dance sequence.Death drop: A fall, or drop, backward onto the dancer’s back with one leg folded underneath.Hand motions: Blades, L’s, jazz hands.Heel stretch: A move in which a dancer stands on one leg and holds the foot of the other leg straight up with the same-side hand. The other arm is held up in half a “V.”J-Setting: Moves inspired by those of the Prancing J-Settes, the Jackson State University marching band’s dance line.Stand battle: Teams draw numbers and are paired together. Both teams in the pair try to out-dance the other in eight-count sequences. An eight-count is a stand, thus the name. Some competitions may designate the number of eight-counts to be performed, others might allow teams to go back and forth until the judges determine a winner.Source: Various Internet sites, Kayla Moore
Inside a nondescript, white, concrete-block storefront on Ringgold Road, hip-hop music is thumping, setting the beat for two dozen teens in dance rehearsal.
Facing the dance studio’s wall of mirrors, the girls strut forward in a single-file line. Just before reaching the mirror, the lead dancer bows from the waist, snaps a neck-cracking hair whip, then peels off to the right. One by one, each girl behind her marches up to repeat the sequence while checking the mirror to perfect her moves because this is a trademark of the group, which calls itself Royal Envy.
“That’s what we’re known for,” says Royal Envy choreographer Kayla Moore. “Every time we exit a competition, we do some kind of hair whip as we go off the floor.”