Judges 

Mary Mar aka BGIRL MAMA is part of Hardcore Detroit & Venus Fly dance crews and the dance duo Mama2. Mary started her journey in Hip Hop culture when she started breakin’ aka breakdancing in 2001. Since then, she has performed, judged, and competed throughout the United States and Canada. Mary runs a performing arts studio just north of Detroit, MI and hosts a free open session practice spot in Detroit empowering youth and adults of all ages through hip hop dance and culture. In 2016, Mary was selected to be part of the Caravanserai: American Voices Tour in which Muslim-American artists shared their cross-cultural stories in unique, contemporary expressions. Mary introduced her solo project, Escape From the Killing Fields. Her solo project is an emotionally driven, theatrical dance piece motivated by her family’s journey to the United States in which they escaped the Khmer Rouge and the war in Cambodia. In 2018, Mary also toured with Mama² for the Get Down Session tour (supported by the U.S. Embassy) where she taught workshops throughout Malaysia. She also got the opportunity to perform and teach at the Bates Dance Festival in 2019.

Mary is also a competitive b-girl and won several competitions including 2011 Breakin’ the Law in Madison, Wisconsin; 2011 Grand Rapid’s Slam N Jam; the 2014 Detroit’s Quality All Styles Dance Competition; the 2016 On the Rocks battle.  As she continues her journey with Hip Hop and dance, she never loses sight of who she is: a Cambodian Muslimah B-Girl. 

FB/TWT/IG/YOUTUBE - bgirlmama. www.bgirlmama.com

 

John Maria Gutierrez is an actor, mover, creator who performs on screen and stage nationally and internationally. His works combine bboy and postmodern aesthetics, original music, singing, and experimental theater to unwind a complex urban disparity brought on by social and systemic failings. As the first person in his family born in the US, John is carving out and balancing his own identity within his family, cultural history, and an artistic landscape that doesn’t often highlight the experiences of lower income, multilingual, and queer expressions. Recent credits: The Trojan Women at La Mama dir. Andrei Serban, performing internationally with Miguel Gutierrez (This Bridge Called My A$$, Sadonna), MOTUS (PANORAMA), and Pilobolus. He is a graduate of the Terry Knickerbocker Studio and faculty at Peridance Contemporary Dance Center. John is a proud member of the Great Jones Rep Company of La Mama and G^2, an ongoing collaboration with Beth Graczyk which recently presented work at Judson Church and the Shanghai Tower in China.

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Pep C  is an actor, mover, creator who performs on screen and stage nationally and internationally. His works combine bboy and postmodern aesthetics, original music, singing, and experimental theater to unwind a complex urban disparity brought on by social and systemic failings. As the first person in his family born in the US, John is carving out and balancing his own identity within his family, cultural history, and an artistic landscape that doesn’t often highlight the experiences of lower income, multilingual, and queer expressions. Recent credits: The Trojan Women at La Mama dir. Andrei Serban, performing internationally with Miguel Gutierrez (This Bridge Called My A$$, Sadonna), MOTUS (PANORAMA), and Pilobolus. He is a graduate of the Terry Knickerbocker Studio and faculty at Peridance Contemporary Dance Center. John is a proud member of the Great Jones Rep Company of La Mama and G^2, an ongoing collaboration with Beth Graczyk which recently presented work at Judson Church and the Shanghai Tower in China.