Bobby Mileage is at the helm of an event that Calgary and the world has never seen before. The Change the Game Project (CTG) is a week full of unique dance camps and battles taking place from August 17-23, 2015. With $60 000 in prize money for every dance category, including house, hip-hop, breaking, and popping, the Change the Game Project is a part of a movement to support dancers and their futures. I had the chance to sit down with Bobby Mileage to discuss the potential of the Change the Game Project, his partnership with Pulse Studios, the importance of recognizing dancers’ worth, and beyond.
Rebecca Yang: Can you provide a brief summary of what CTG is all about?
Bobby Mileage: It is an event about a whole experience. We are going to have dance battles as well as a dance camp week with teachers who are going to help spread these dance styles around the world. It’s not just about the old school [dance]. We have people who implemented these styles to make them what they are today, so youth will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and information from these great inspiring dancers. Not only that, it is also about having a great party together and can vibe together every night. It’s not just about attending classes and battling, but also having the chance to really dance with each other. I feel like the social element is lost in these types of events, but Change the Game will also feature chances to get to know one another with great music from DJs all around the world, who also know the culture and the dance style.
RY: So it’s not just about educational or instructional sessions?
BM: Everyday there will be a preliminary battle. That way, it is not all bogged down to one day. Each day there will be a different style: one day, it’ll be hip hop; one day, it’ll be house; one day, it’ll be popping; one day it’ll be breaking, and then the Friday everyone will get to relax and chill before the final.
Every night, it’ll be filled with great music, EVERY night. We won’t categorize the genre of music every night, but it will just be great music every night, so EVERYONE will have the ability to have fun and dance to, and not just be constrained to one type of style. That’s why I don’t want it to be a jam where one style feels uncomfortable to be there. It’s going to be a variety of music that everyone can get down to and just jam to every night.
RY: I think it is extremely important to offer that kind of diversity of music and dance.
BM: And we need it so we don’t get into this situation where the b-boys have their event and the house kids just have theirs, and so forth. Then there’s no community or really coming together, which is crucial so that everybody can just really vibe and jam. This is a really great way to be inspired to learn other styles of dance.
RY: What made you want to partner up with Pulse Studios to make CTG a reality?
BM: I was actually trying to do this with another company, but I didn’t like the way things were going. They weren’t seeing the vision, as I was seeing the vision. From coming to Pulse Studios a couple of times, I saw how they were supporting their dancers and the street dance culture. They have also brought so many pioneers to their studio and I saw that as something that we could connect together with and ride it out to realize the vision of this type of event, so we communicated and felt confident that we were both a part of this movement of changing the lives of dancers forever.
RY: What do you think it is about street dance that draws youth out to come out and participate?
BM: With all this traveling I do in every country, the best thing I’ve discovered about street dancing is that it allows kids to have freedom and an identity and to not be afraid of being themselves. These things are important at a time when things can be stressful—school can be too much or stuff just happening at home. It allows them to de-stress, and that’s the best thing.
In certain countries, it can all be too homogenous, where the society is made up of primarily one race [or culture]. But street dancing allows people to be free from that and find who they are as an individual. The best thing about hip hop and street dancing and music is that it allows all these countries to come together. It doesn’t matter what colour of skin you are, you just come together, dance and have fun.
RY: You have quite the extensive resume, from working with Michael Jackson to Missy Elliot, and so with this experience what insight were you able to bring when you were developing CTG?
BM: With years and years of going to dance contests and visiting country to country, and seeing how others run their events, people are going to be happy with my event. It’s going to be seamless and organized, which most events like this lack. I also have a new judging system that I think is going to work better. I am going to change it up a little bit from what has traditionally been done. I have been a part of this community for a long time. I think that we’re going to have something that will make everyone really happy because I know what like and what I have always wished I had had from experiences like this.
RY: And what was it that you wished for?
BM: Not to put any other events down, but some events aren’t as organized as I would like them to be. Sometimes they just go over time, people don’t know where they are going and some of the people are very rude and unhelpful, but with this event, we have volunteers throughout the week and I am hoping that it will be something that will make people happy and make them feel comfortable at all time, so that everyone will feel a part of something, a part of a change, a part of a family that is going to make this whole thing so unique.
RY: This is the going to be the first CTG and you chose to launch it in Calgary. What was it about this city that drew you to do so?
BM: I mostly chose it because I felt comfortable with the people here, especially the people at Pulse Studios. It’s a great city; I like it. It’s clean and not too dirty. It’s a nice place where people can go downtown and be active and it’s not in the middle of nowhere, like most camps are. That way kids won’t be stuck in the woods and can experience this kind of city life too. So I think it is a perfect fit for what we are trying to do.
RY: How do you think this will impact our city’s dancing community?
BM: Well we are going to have 40 of the top battle dancers come in from all over the world. The impact on the city is going to be amazing because the kids here may not be used to a very high level of competition. It will give them a chance to be inspired by these top dancers and will help motivate them to work harder. Kids can get to see dancers on YouTube in the flesh and help inspire them to dance like them. They will get to realize that their dreams are reachable and create a whole new phenomenon here.
RY: Who are some of the dancers CTG will be seeing this year?
BM: I am super happy about all of the guests I invited to come out to Calgary. We are going to have Hero from Japan, Acapella, a house dancer from France. We got Guchon from Japan, who is one of the best poppers. We got Nelson and Iron Mic from France. For popping, we also have Jay Smooth and Slim Boogey from the US. We got Hurricane, who is one of the top dancers in the world for many categories in hip hop. We have top rate b-boys coming out as well, like Maino and Morris from Europe. We also have some new up and coming dancers, like Nick from the Yukon, right here in Canada. We also have other Canadians , like Monster Poppin’ and Venom from Montreal. So we have a great diversity of dancers coming who are all very well known around the world and it’s going to be amazing. Even with these top dancers coming out, I am not saying that lesser known dancers cannot win whatsoever. But it legitimizes the fact that someone who really deserves it will win it. It’s the chance to spot that new kid who works hard and is hungry and that is what it is all about. To have the opportunity for these new dancers to win money they have never won before and a sponsorship with my company and I.
Also, they have the chance to become connected with someone like me, who has deep connections in the dance industry, as well others rooted from all over the world, giving them a chance to travel and dance.
It gives dancers the chance to truly implement change in their lives. I cannot stress enough how big dance events are. But if we were recognized like skate boarders, BMX riders or snowboarders, these great, big dancers would also be winning a lot of money. So we need something like this to happen and someone with a company to really endorse dancers like they deserve. People are using hip-hop and street dancers for commercials, movies and other forms of media and making millions of dollars, yet the street dancer is still wondering if they can dance for the rest of their life. That’s what made me say that I am going to use the platform of my own company [Bobby Mileage Clothing] to give back to the culture I love so much and has made me who I am and can help others change their lives, which is how Change the Game was inspired.
RY: What is the future for CTG?
BM: First of all, I really want to grow the prize money so that dancers can recognize how much it can change their lives by winning one contest. But the goal of the project is to also help other events, so that they will be better and will help dancers from all around the world. I see this as a way to infuse change and to improve the rewards of other competitions and events like this to provide dancers a chance in this world to live better through dancing, judging, and educating. I hope that this will spark change to have dancers be recognized for the value of their art.
The money value at competitions have significantly gone down from when I was at my peak, which is the saddest part about this. So I hope that this will change the way that dancers are looked at for generations to come. That’s the most important thing, for the money value to go up. The hope is to spark a change that will help every aspect of the dance world, even if you work as an artist. These competitions will help recognize the value of dance so that when someone approaches you to star in a film or a commercial, they can’t undervalue you, like we have been throughout the years so that we can be recognized like athletes and other artists. I hope that this will exponentially change for them.
RY: How can youth get involved with CTG?
BM: If people are excited about it, they can go to ctgproject.com. They don’t want to miss it, because this is the first time it is launching and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be apart of something like this for the first time. I also want to highly encourage other studios to come out and to learn different aspects of street dancing, as it exposes them to the history and background to the dance types that are being taught at their studio. Each year, as we grow, we will have different types of people and dances, so I hope that they can enjoy this learning process for all types of dance studios.
Thank you so much to Bobby Mileage and Pulse Studios for providing the opportunity for this interview. The Change the Game Project is going to be a huge event, not just for Calgary, but for dancers all across the world. To support and/or to register, please go to ctgproject.com.