EC History

The following is an ongoing chronicle of  the East Coast Dance Community logged from its earliest beginnings to its present day development. Reflected on this page is an almost accurate recount of the history of EC Dance teams–their beginnings, the break offs, the consolidation, and the new beginnings. The purpose behind this project is to help other dance teams in their area to know where they came from and to know about each other. Simply stated, this is a subtle yet powerful attempt at dance community unity through the power of history. This work is a CONTINUAL progress! We encourage all reading to make corrections and or additions to the history via leaving a comment on this page.

NJ AREA

R.E.S.E.T. Ministries (Refocusing on Eternal Salvation and Empowered Testimonies)

The beginnings of R.E.S.E.T. stem back to the Fall of 2001, where weekly dance sessions at Allen lounge (Busch Campus, Rutgers University) drew a steady stream of bboys and bgirls from around the area. In November 2001, a group of freshman students from these sessions came together to compete at the annual Rutgers TASA Freestyle Talent Show. At the time, the group had no name, so the name RAG Crew (RAG = Real Asian Gully) was thought up as a last minute formality (credit to Eric Jen and Scott Wong). RAG Crew emerged victorious at the event, taking first place and claiming the $100 cash prize— which was used towards the purchase of a linoleum dance floor for the bboy sessions.

In 2002, several members of RAG Crew formed an official Rutgers Organization named S.E.T.U.P. (Self Experession Through United Performances). S.E.T.U.P. consisted of individuals specializing in bboying, popping, hiphop, and stepping, and the unique fusion of styles earned the group several first-place finishes and guest performances at various Rutgers-related events. Highlights for S.E.T.U.P. included taking 1st place at the 2002 Rutgers TASA Freestyle, invited guest performances at Asian Expo and China Nite, and earning an opening spot for Mr. Cheeks at Rutgers Unity Day.

In 2003, differences in interests between S.E.T.U.P. members lead to the bboys splitting off to form their own crew, which they called “Reset”. The name was chosen to pay homage to S.E.T.U.P., while at the same time to confer a new beginning that would focus back on the group’s bboying and popping roots. Also, several members began training in the style of locking around this time, and soon it would become a mainstay in their performance routines. Notable Reset moments included earning 2nd place at the 2003 Rutgers TASA Freestyle, a guest performance at the EOPSA Talent Show, and making the front page of the Rutgers Daily Targum.

2004 marked a defining period in R.E.S.E.T. history. During that year, several members of Reset felt a calling to start up a Bible study/small group fellowship based on Rutgers Busch Campus. After much prayer and planning, the first Family Gathering (called a family gathering because it was a “gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ”) took place on September 28, 2004 in Richardson 164. Word quickly spread of the weekly event, and attendance gradually increased. Many of the participants that showed up for the meetings turned out to be dancers and/or musicians, and the event quickly evolved into a night of praise and worship, testimony, prayer, open mic, and open cypher. It was during the early days of these gatherings that the name R.E.S.E.T. Ministries—which stands for “Refocusing on Eternal Salvation and Empowered Testimonies”—was created, reflecting both the meaning and motivation behind the group’s fellowship. R.E.S.E.T. no longer represented just a dance crew, but represented an entire three-part ministry inclusive of small-group fellowship (inward), personal relationships with God (upward), and performance and testimony (outward).

The non-acronym Reset name was retired in 2004 in favor of R.E.S.E.T.; however, since “Reset” was still a recognized name in the area, the group continued to be invited to perform at local events. With its members and guests gifted in many styles of dance, music, and spoken word, their talents were combined for performances with a new focus of proclaiming the name and gospel of Jesus Christ in unique, relevant, and entertaining ways.

Throughout the years, R.E.S.E.T.’s performance ministry has included members from many groups in the NJ/NY area, including Beats n Blessings, Boogie Bots Crew, Dawn of a New Age (DNA), Deep Foundation, 5 Crew Dynasty, Fr3sh Dance Company, Infamous Zebra Mob (IZM), Natural Born Killahz (NBK), Part Time Models (PTM), Project D, Raps Dance Troupe (RDT), Rhythmology, Rock with Finesse (RWF), Secretb8se, SERCisCompany (SiC), Sour Logic, Team Technique, and Warholsoup.

R.E.S.E.T. Ministries is currently still active and is predominantly known today as a locking/funk crew, representing Jesus Christ throughout the east coast dance scene.

[more teams coming soon]

NYC AREA

History of RHYTHM CITY, INC.

[more coming soon]

BOSTON AREA

D.C. AREA

[coming soon]

MD AREA

[coming soon]

VA AREA

[coming soon]