LIHU‘E — Need something to do on Furlough Friday? Quest Crew, from Artesia, Calif., arrived on Kaua‘i Tuesday afternoon. Fans decided they were the best crew last year on MTV’s Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew. Art Umezu said
LIHU‘E — Need something to do on Furlough Friday?
Quest Crew, from Artesia, Calif., arrived on Kaua‘i Tuesday afternoon. Fans decided they were the best crew last year on MTV’s Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew.
Art Umezu said tickets for a one-night exclusive concert are now on sale. Umezu, the county film commissioner, is helping local coordinators Katherine “SuperKat” Guerrero (her brother is Aldrine Guerrero the ‘ukulele maestro) and Daphne Sanchez of the Jam Crew Youth Team. The VIP tickets have sold out, according to SuperKat.
The group will only be performing one show in the state. It starts at 7 p.m., Friday, at the War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Four local youth dance crews have spent the past several weeks grooming for the opening act auditions. Dara Nanbu, a Kaua‘i High School graduate, came home to help choreograph the winning dance crews who will advance to perform in the live concert.
When the Jam Room, site for the auditions, was double-booked Tuesday, Nanbu called on her dad, the manager of Kaua‘i Toyota, for help and the auditions were moved to the Toyota showroom following the close of business that day.
“We have a manicurist at King Auto Center and a big dance group at Toyota. What’s next?” said Mary Pigao, whose daughter Whitney was one of the aspiring hopefuls and watched the proceedings from the shelter of the showroom eaves.
Dominic Sandoval is a Quest Crew member who was also featured in the television show, “So You Think You Can Dance,” Umezu said. Sandoval has relations to the extended Largusa family in Lihu‘e and Hanama‘ulu, and Kaleo Largusa, Sandoval’s cousin and a local rapper, will be performing in the concert billed as The Year of Hip Hop.
“I’m looking forward to getting to perform for family members personally,” said Sandoval. “So far, everyone’s been really supportive. And it’s cool because we got to see local talent. So getting to perform with local talent in Hawai‘i is really cool.”
In the auditions Tuesday, Quest Crew surprised the young dancers by picking all four crews to perform in their live concert. Joining them on stage will be OBCD, The Pink Pebbles Crew, The Situation and Jam Crew.
The event benefits the Kaua‘i Big Brothers Big Sisters program. SuperKat said she is reserving 20 complimentary tickets for the Bigs and the Littles as well as an opportunity for the guests to meet Quest Crew.
Fifteen members from the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i will be helping set up and clean following the concert which has fan club members flying in from the Outer Islands for the concert, Umezu said. To help that program, there will be a Meet, Greet and Eat Lunch with Quest Crew from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Kukui Grove Center’s exhibition area fronting Deja Vu.
“That’s Furlough Friday!” Umezu said in an e-mail. “Yikes! Questies are flying in from other islands for the concert. They dat big?!”
The event is sponsored by the County of Kaua‘i, First Hawaiian Bank, the Aston Kaua‘i Beach at Maka‘iwa, Kukui Grove Center and Inkspot Printing.
