• Society

The Rombak Battle to Showcase Hip Hop Dancers in Phnom Penh

• By Rin Ousa
• March 20, 2024 4:10 PM

PHNOM PENH -- National and international hip hop dancers are expected to take part in the Rombak Battle on March 23 in Phnom Penh, an event meant to put them in the limelight.

This international dance competition is to be held at the Factory Phnom Penh from 4:30 pm to 10 pm. This will be followed by a party at the B-BOX club from 10 pm to 2 am to celebrate all those who took part in the event.

According to Khenory Sok, who is one of the organizers, the Rombak Battle is meant as an opportunity for all dancers to perform. 

“We intend to see dancers expand their dance abilities during the workshops, during which they are trained by well-known hip hop dancers from Mar. 20 through 22,” she said. “We want to bring something different to the audience this year.” 

The judges and DJs invited for this year’s event are all talented and reputable dancers, Sok said. “We have Bboy Cielo who is from Australia, Toppy and Tayida from Thailand, Bboy Angelo from France, and Bboy Slick from Cambodia who will be the judges. 

“I think young dancers now have an extreme focus on choreography when they dance, so not a lot of them dance freestyle,” she said. “Thus, this competition is intended for them to choose their preferred categories.” 

Competitors can choose to compete as a team or individually as they did during this previous Rombak event. Photo: provided, taken during a previous Rombak event.

Participants can choose to compete in one of three categories on battle day. Those are: Breaking (hip hop on the floor), All Style (stand-up hip hop dance) and Rombak Style (one person doing freestyle solo). 

In the Breaking and All Style categories, participants must perform in teams of two dancers. 

The Rombak Battle was first held in 2013 by Lim Vibol who was also a dancer. At the time, the battle was held on a smaller scale with Cambodian dancers and foreign dancers who lived in Cambodia.  

However, in 2017, the battle turned into an international competition. The hip hop dance community was still small but dancers in the country were set on seeing the number of dancers grow. 

This led to hip hop battles being successfully held in 2017, 2019 and 2023. This year will be the fourth one. 

Those who wish to take the plunge and compete in the battle can still register on Rombak’s social media platforms by just putting in the name of their crew and the category in which they wish to compete. The prizes for the winners are also listed on social media. 

The registration period for dancers will remain open until 5:30 pm on the day of the battle. Entry is free for the public. 

For the party after the battle, the DJs will be Shortkut from the United States and Sonny Amerie from Thailand. 

According to Khenory, more than 700 persons are expected to attend the competition, which is bringing together internationally-renowned dancers and DJs along with Cambodian ones from Phare Ponleu Selpak and Tiny Toones. 

“We have become an annual event now and people know what we are doing,” Khenory Sok said. “Surprisingly, we also have competitors from abroad.” 

For information: https://www.facebook.com/RombakBattle/ 

Dancers can register to compete until 5:30 pm on the day of the event. Photo: provided, taken during a previous Rombak event.