“Back to Reality,” read their flyers. “Break Dancing Battle for Invisible Children.”

It was effective cadence for Newport’s chapter of Invisible Children. Newport students held a break-dancing battle on fundraising on Nov. 5, raising more than $6,000 as part of a greater campaign.

Invisible Children is an international organization which works to improve conditions for children in Uganda. Presently, their focus is on stopping Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel Lords Resistance Army in Uganda that has led an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government since 1987. According to Invisible Children, Kony and his army are now spreading conflict to bordering countries.

Newport’s Invisible Children club chose the moniker “Back to Reality” as an homage to a break-dancing battle, “Reality Check,” held earlier in the year that also served as a fundraiser. The event inspired the club to hold a similar fundraiser for their cause.

Simultaneously, the title of the event was a reminder of the stark contrast between the conditions that most high school students enjoy, and those that children in Uganda have suffered from.

Surrounded by spates of child kidnappings, children would have to “walk at night to cities because they thought it was safer,” said Weina Chen, a senior at Newport and the president of their Invisible Children club. The founders of Invisible Children had witnessed this “night commuting,” and, after further investigation, were inspired to help fight the problem, Weina said.

Where Newport fits in is fundraising for the rebuilding process. The Schools for Schools program “partners 11 Ugandan schools with US schools. A dozen or two schools here support each Ugandan school, and there’s a competition between them to raise the most money,” said Weina.

Newport raised money for Uganda’s Anaka Secondary School, as well as awareness for the ongoing conflict in Uganda, and ended up raising $17,758.78 over the course of a year, tops out of the schools fundraising for Anaka Secondary School and sixth in the country. They also won the competition for most creative fundraiser for Back to Reality. The two accolades came with a prize – between them, two tickets to Uganda for Newport students.

At the same time, “Back to Reality” raised awareness for the break-dancing scene in Bellevue.

Kevin Hoang, another Newport student and former president of its B-Boy Club, emphasized that most local break-dancing events are held in Seattle. “We want to take that b-boy community and introduce it to Bellevue, which is why we’re holding the event at Newport,” said Kevin.

Weina, Kevin, and other students spread their flyers for weeks. They distributed flyers at battles in Seattle and even in Kentridge and Marysville. They also extended invitations through social media and spread the news through the break-dancing community via forums.

The work paid dividends, and the organizers had a strong turnout, including crews from throughout the Northwest.

“One of our judges is from Massive Monkeys,” said Kevin proudly, before the event. Massive Monkeys earned national prominence by competing on the reality show America’s Best Dance Crew.

Break dancing competitions aren’t familiar to most, but Kevin explained the process in detail. The competition begins with a “showcase round,” where “two crews pretend to battle to show what they know to the judges,” said Kevin. The judges picked the top 16 crews, and then the crews faced off head to head in single elimination. “The judges decided who won each battle,” explained Kevin. “There was a prize, determined in private, for the winner,” added Weina.

Newport’s event garnered the attention of the overall Invisible Children’s organization as well. Invisible Children sends groups composed of “roadies” on extended trips to promote their cause. James, a Ugandan and an alumni of Anaka Secondary School, was part of one of these touring groups, and was in attendance at the event.

When the dust settled after a night of break-dancing, the crew Battle Reflex stood triumphant in the 3v3 competition, and “Ivan” took home the prize from the 1v1 tournament. Neither of the winners were from Bellevue.

Newport’s Invisible Children club also sold T-shirts at the event and ran a consignment shop selling donated clothing to raise additional money for Invisible Children. In an additional gesture to the community, the $7 tickets were reduced to $5 for guests who brought a can of food for Northwest Harvest.

The event featured judges Mel Massacre of No Roots, Boxcutta of Fraggle Rock, and Tim the Pitt from the aforementioned Massive Monkeys. In addition, the event included Mikeskee as MC, live music by Sureal, and photography by Connor Surdi and Aaron Tokita.

East2West Productions – a group that records-break dancing videos and posts them on the web – attended the event and uploaded several stunning videos of the event onto Youtube.

Derek Tsang is an intern at the Bellevue Reporter. He attends Interlake High School.