Toronto just got slapped across the face with the biggest shuffling show-off battle that I had ever had a pleasure of witnessing, on the dance floor of a cozy – newly renamed – Populus Nightclub. With the help of some of our own local Techno DJs, the fire from the speakers felt like it was boosting the endless stamina of these energetic and talented beat soldiers that brought the roof down with their crazy stomping moves.
Some of my friends and I decided to come out on Saturday, May 6th, 2015 and support one of the rising, street and rave dance collective groups in the city, TRU (Toronto Rocker Union). Being in their 3rd year, TRU is now one of the biggest dance groups in Toronto, boasting some of the 6ix’s most talented shuffling and shape-cutting monsters. Ravers came from every corner of the city to Populus and it was packed, almost to full capacity, with dedicated dancers who had come together to support and celebrate their passion.
Being a small venue, Populus always has it’s own way of bringing people together. It feels like at the end of every event I attend there, I find myself making some new friends and acquaintances. Positioned at the heart of downtown, and being one of the few venues with any free parking, Populus has been “the spot” for new and on the rise groups like TRU and Frozen Face Melters (FFM) to celebrate their anniversaries and promote their ways of flow and musicality.
Opening the night, HUNNTER set the vibe and tempo for all to sync with, and started the flame that would grow only bigger throughout the night. One memorable track she laid on the crowd was Apollo 84‘s Toasted. Creating an open circle for talented dancers to show-off in the middle of the dance floor, TRU members made sure that everyone in the club got a chance to vent their urge to lay down some serious moves in the spotlight. No matter how good or unique any dancer was, the crowd supported everyone who put their moves on the floor. I can safely say that there is a lot of talent here in Toronto, hopefully it will get noticed by the right people and get these dancers more recognition. I decided it was time I took a break outside under the mild, not so noticeable rain, but I knew it was nearly time for the main event.
Near the end of HUNNTER’s set, Tim Patrick aka Thien jumped in to B2B with her for a while. Thien regularly spins with with Hunnter under the name Trash Doves; together they started the transition to the very energetic headliner that was coming up next. Thien played Lee Coombs feat. K Ellis – Shiver (Tom Novy Remix) and Lorenzo Bartoletti – Slight Needles (Barem Remix) as he amped up the crowd. The dance floor was heated, the muscles in our bodies were stretched and ready, and the vibe was electric.
Sadly, I didn’t have a chance to stay for the closing set. Brian Moar came in from Hamilton and from what I hear, he continued to feed the atmosphere with Techno beats and the crowd went hard. Almost half of the guests stayed until the very end. I spoke to Ben Lawrence, a TRU admin and the organizer of the 3 Year TRU Anniversary, about Brian’s closing set and he exclaimed “Ya’monnn. Brian Moar was slaying! They had to shut him down at 4AM or else we would’ve kept going!”.
After a full night of dancing, I was sitting in the car stretching my tired legs and wondering if I would even be able to run errands tomorrow. I can assure you all that is a true sign that the night was a blast, just check out the photos by Max on our Facebook page. I think Deko-ze said it best:
“Extra shouts to Ben Lawrence and the entire Toronto Rockers Union! That party was Pure Fire and was very reminiscent of the rave scene in the early 90s. It was about the family, the community, the music, dancing (not fist pumping) and watching out for each other. Carry on, guys. You are on the right path!” – excerpt taken from a post on Deko-ze’s Facebook profile.
If you are into dancing but haven’t found your style yet, or you wish to learn some of the Toronto rave scene’s signature dance moves, you are more then welcome to join TRU’s Facebook group (links below), attend their events and see where your feet take you.
LINKS:
Toronto Rockers Union
Facebook Page
Facebook Group
Instagram
Populus Nightclub
Facebook
Deko-Ze
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
SoundCloud
HUNNTER
Instagram
SoundCloud
Thien
Facebook
Twitter
SoundCloud
Brian Moar
MixCloud
SoundCloud
Seriy Zhulik – EDM TOR
