The largest dance competition in the world is taking place in Phoenix this week.
It's so big the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship is taking up just about every guest room at the Arizona Grand Resort.
It's not just the music filling the halls, it's some of the best hip-hop dancers around.
"Hip-hop is a culture," says Davin Kibblewhite, a member of S Rank, recently voted the best hip-hop dance team in the United States. "It's not just a style. It's not just something you do. It's something you are. It's something you live."
The nine members of S Rank are all from California. Melvin Timtim is the group's choreographer. Together the team practices for hours each night for weeks straight.
"I felt like this competition itself made us a lot better as people and dancers," Timtim said.
The group is just a few of 4,000 dancers from 50 different countries all in Phoenix to compete. The championship was started 16 years ago by Howard and Karen Schwartz, who are also the creators of the popular MTV show, "America's Best Dance Crew."
"It's a feeling you get inside when you hear the music and you just want to dance," says Howard Schwartz. "It's an expression and that's what people are here for. They've trained for this moment."
The competition is tough. The teams have to win their national championship first before coming to Arizona. You can consider this the Olympics of hip-hop dance.
S Rank is happy they've got the gold medal and the moves to prove it. The ninth member of S Rank had to drop out of the competition after an injury about an hour before the preliminary competition. He's expected to be ok. The big championship will be this Saturday at the Grand Canyon University Arena.
For more information on the competition, head to their website.
