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September 4, 2014

You know the saying, less is more? Well, sometimes, more is more—and that’s most certainly the case when it comes my new favorite hip-hop crew, Cookies Dance Team (aka Choreo Cookies). With 32 members and counting, this crew doesn’t just perform dances—they create all-out productions. (We can’t really be surprised: Keone Madrid co-directs the crew with Carlo Darang—and his wife Mari is a company member.)

Pulling off a successful hip-hop routine with so many dancers is certainly a feat. Think about it: It takes rehearsal after rehearsal to polish the seemingly endless line of uniform arabesques in La Bayadère. But at least every member of the corps de ballet is already intimately familiar with the basic step. Hip hop, on the other hand, isn’t a codified style—there’s no guarantee a dancer will have a pre-established relationship with any particular movement. Dancers essentially have to start from scratch every time they learn new choreography.

In other words: Clean, massive hip-hop group routines are SO IMPRESSIVE. (Remember The Company’s VIBE XIX 2014 performance??) And that’s just what you get with Cookies. Take a look at one of their pieces, “The Silent Cookie.” It rolls hip hop, musical theater and silent film into one wildly entertaining routine that took home first place at Body Rock this summer. Check it out, and then scroll through their other YouTube videos. (Warning: You may lose several hours of your Friday, but it’ll be totally worth it.)