Asian Pop Dance Cover Competition at the Cleveland Asian Festival
For Immediate Release
May 9, 2022
Cleveland, OH – One of the most popular events at the Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) has been the Asian Pop Dance Cover Competition which began in 2016. You may be familiar with K-Pop which was introduced in South Korea. But the Pop world has expanded beyond that and so has the CAF competition. This year it is open to Bollywood (India), C-Pop (China), J-Pop (Japan), K-Pop (Korea) and Nepali Hip-Hop dancers.
Six groups from the many entries were selected to compete LIVE at the Asian-Pop Dance Competition. The dance groups come from all over Ohio ranging from Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Akron, and Cleveland areas. The groups are 5K, ChoomKhun, Classick, Phoenix Q, SoJu, and Solar Dance Team.
To be considered eligible to compete, each group must contain 2-10 people, with at least one member being 18 years old. The routine shouldn’t overly exceed 4-6 minutes in length. Groups have to submit a video and judges from the Performance Committee will evaluate and select the groups which will perform live in front of a large and boisterous crowd on Saturday, May 21st between 4:30pm and 6:30pm.
The judges have varying experience in dance, music, fashion, journalism and performance. Besides lots of fun and exposure to the large crowd, finalists will compete for cash prizes: $1000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third. Groups can get more information at https://clevelandasianfestival.org/2022/contactus/.
Asian Pop Dance Cover Competition Committee Chair Ray Bondad was part of the first group to ever perform K-Pop at the Cleveland Asian Festival back in 2010 as part of a group called A-PoPhasis. He says “One way the Cleveland Asian Festival helps the community explore different cultures is by the performing arts – in this case, dance. To see the festival develop so much over the years and to be a part of it fills me with so much pride in my city, my culture, and my identity. We are ecstatic to safely see everyone in person this year and we absolutely cannot wait to show off local and distant talent at this year’s Asian Pop Dance Competition finals!”