Stomp the Yard

Stomp the Yard is a 2007 drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges to join a fictional Greek-letter fraternity. The film's central conflict involves DJ's fraternity competing in various stepping competitions against a rival fraternity from the same school. The film's script was written by Robert Adetuyi, working from an original draft by Gregory Ramon Anderson. The film was originally titled Steppin', but to avoid confusion over the 2006 film Step Up, the title was changed.

The film stars Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Darrin Henson, Brian White, Laz Alonso, and Valerie Pettiford, with Harry Lennix and, in their film debuts, R&B singers Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. Stomp the Yard was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia on the campuses of Morris Brown College, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, and in the MAK Historic District of Decatur, Georgia.

DJ Williams (Columbus Short) is a krump dancer in inner-city Los Angeles. He and his younger brother Duron (Chris Brown) compete in local dance competitions as members of a team known as the "Goon Squad". Primarily due to one final dynamic step from Duron, the Goon Squad win a cash-prize battle held one night at an underground krumping competition, and the losing home team responds by ambushing DJ and his teammates after the show. A fight breaks out, and the leader of the rival shoots Duron and kills him.

Arrested for assault, DJ is subsequently sent by his mother to live with his aunt Jackie (Valerie Pettiford) and uncle Nate (Harry J. Lennix) in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is to attend historically black Truth University. Nate, the physical plant director at Truth, aims to teach DJ responsibility, and puts the boy to work doing maintenance as part of a work-study program.

While waiting in the line to register for classes, DJ meets a fellow student named April Palmer (Meagan Good), whom he is immediately attracted to. After registration, he moves into his dorm room, where he meets his new roommate Rich Brown (Ne-Yo). Rich takes DJ to a stepping competition on the green between the Truth chapters of rival fraternities Theta Nu Theta and Mu Gamma Xi. The Mu Gamma Xi team, seven-time national stepping champions, easily steals the show until DJ sees April across the way and runs right through the Gammas' step line in an attempt to speak to her. A fight nearly breaks out between the freshman and the Gamma steppers, whose best stepper Grant (Darrin Henson) is April's boyfriend.

That night, Rich and his friends go out to a local club called the Phoenix and invite DJ along. DJ takes to the dance floor, hoping to impress April and upstage Grant and the Gammas, all of whom are also in attendance. Despite the animosity between DJ and Grant, the Gammas recognize DJ's skills as a dancer, and the Gamma chapter's president Zeke (Laz Alonso) invites DJ to pledge for Mu Gamma Xi. DJ turns down both Zeke's offer as well as an offer from the Theta Nu Theta chapter's leader Sylvester (Brian White).

After learning that April is a student history tutor, DJ signs himself up for tutoring so that he can spend time with her. The two slowly begin a friendship, and DJ takes April out to dinner. During their date, April discusses the importance of black fraternities and sororities with the clueless DJ, and tells him to visit Heritage Hall on the campus' Greek Row. At Heritage Hall the next day, DJ learns about the significant number of African-American historical figures and celebrities who were members of various Greek-letter organizations, and decides to pledge for the Theta chapter along with Rich and their friend Noel (Jermaine Williams). April eventually leaves Grant for DJ, angering her father, Dr. Palmer (Allan Louis), the school's dean and a Gamma brother himself.

After "crossing over" to become official Theta members, DJ, Rich, and Noel join the Thetas' step team. Dismissing their traditional step moves as old-fashioned, DJ teaches his frat brothers a few of his old krumping moves. DJ does not notice that, while he is practicing a few of his brother's old dance moves, one of the Gammas is secretly videotaping him so that their team can learn DJ's steps.

Sly disapproves of DJ's attempts to modernize the Thetas' steps, and challenges DJ to a battle at the Phoenix between his line brothers and DJ's; the new moves against the old. DJ's line brothers lose the competition due to DJ's show-boating, although Sly agrees to let DJ teach the team some new moves as a compromise.

A few of the Gammas' run a background check on DJ, and learn about his criminal past. This information is forwarded to Dr. Palmer, who has the school's Ethics Committee suspend DJ for the remainder of the year, preventing him from stepping at the nationals. Dr. Palmer later offers to reinstate DJ, with the provision that he stop seeing April, an offer DJ refuses. When April learns from her father why DJ has been suspended, she confronts DJ and learns first-hand the story behind his arrest. DJ's aunt Jackie, an old girlfriend of Dr. Palmer's, intervenes and confronts the dean herself.

The final round of the nationals stepping competition ends in a tie between the Thetas and the Gammas, and each team is required to choose a dancer for a head-to-head competition. The Gammas have secretly recorded DJ's practices, and choose Grant, who has learned all of DJ's steps, as their dancer. However, DJ, reinstated thanks to his aunt's help, shows up in time to be chosen as the Thetas' dancer. Going first, Grant does DJ's exact routine from the tape. After Grant finishes, DJ matches Grant move for move, tossing in something the Gammas didn't get on tape: the move Duron performed to win his last competition with the Goon Squad.

The Theta Nu Theta team is declared the winners of the competition, and DJ is mobbed by his frat brothers as April runs out to kiss him. The scene is captured in a still black and white photo, which is added to the wall at Heritage Hall.

New York Subway breakdance

Take the Lead

Take the Lead is a movie starring Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, Marcus T. Paulk, Jenna Dewan, Lauren Collins and also features America's Next Top Model's third-season runner-up, Yaya DaCosta. The film was released in mainstream cinema on April 7, 2006. It was filmed in Toronto, and at a number of local schools, including UTS.

Rock, the film's underdog protagonist, arrives at a school dance with a water-damaged ticket and is denied entrance by Mr. Temple (John Ortiz) and Principal James (Alfre Woodard). Rock leaves and encounters some thugs, who lead him to vandalize Principal James's car. Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas), a classical dance instructor, catches Rock in the act, but Rock runs away before Pierre can question him further.

The next morning at the school, Pierre waits to see the principal as Mr. Temple discusses the detention program with Principal James. Pierre explains to the principal that he was a witness to the vandalism on her car, and eventually offers to take over Mr. Temple's detention shift, to which Principal James agrees, although she is sure that he will not last more than a day.

Pierre is led to the basement where the students who have earned detention for the remainder of the year, including Rock, are kept. His first class is disastrous due to the uncooperative personalities of the students, all of whom scoff at his efforts to teach them classical dance.

The next morning Pierre returns, much to the surprise of Principal James who later explains that Rock’s brother was involved with a gang war, and one of the casualties was a brother of LaRhette, who had refused to dance with Rock the day before. Later in detention, Rock has forged a doctor’s note excusing him from dancing.

At Pierre's dance studio, Caitlin is a student who is under pressure to learn to dance because her cotillion is fast approaching. Pierre invites Morgan, a highly trained but haughty student, to his detention session for a demonstration of the tango, which inspires the detention students to be more willing to learn. Caitlin decides to join the detention students for dance class and practices with Monster, another student struggling to learn.

Rock, who still refuses to dance, makes it clear to Pierre that he attends detention not to dance, but to be able to graduate. Later he is fired from his job for being late. He goes home and confronts his parents, who have been unable to provide him food since Rock's brother's death. His ailing father kicks him out of the house and he finds a new albeit dangerous job with some street thugs.

LaRhette, whose mother is a prostitute, cares for her younger siblings while her mother works. One night, LaRhette runs out of the apartment and to the school after one of her mother's clients attempts to rape her. She practices her dancing in the basement, and runs into Rock. They fight and are caught by security. Principle James wants to suspend LaRhette and Rock, but instead agrees to give them extra detention hours with Pierre at 7 AM each day. Pierre tells the class about a dance competition which he wishes them to enter, and this is further inspiration for the detention students to learn.

The detention basement is flooded, so Pierre takes the detention students to his dance studio to practice. They are confronted by Morgan and some of Pierre's other students. The detention students are further disenchanted by the skills of Pierre's students as well as the $200 entrance fee for the contest. However, Pierre manages to provide funds for the detention students to enter.

Caitlin is unable to enter in the competition, as her cotillion is the same night, to Monster's disappointment. The two still practice together. LaRhette and Rock will compete in waltz, and Ramos and Danjou learn to share Sasha during practice.

Mr. Temple complains about the supposed waste of resources on the dance program. He brings Pierre to a meeting with the parents' association, but Pierre convinces them to keep the dance program going.

On the night of the contest, Rock has to work. He is told that he must shoot anyone who approaches the theft operation. He shoots the sprinkler system instead, setting off the alarm and causing the thugs to run away.

At the cotillion, Caitlin makes her grand entrance down the staircase and dances with Monster, surprising her mother. After they dance they make their way to the dance competition.

LaRhette is disappointed that Rock has not arrived at the competition, where a $5000 prize is at stake. Sasha, Danjou, and Ramos perform an impressive three-person tango but are disqualified for it. Surprisingly, Morgan calls it a tie and gives Sasha her trophy.

Principal James, thrilled with the success of the program, insists on making the program permanent and expanding it to more schools. Rock arrives at the last minute to dance the waltz with LaRhette, whom he kisses at the end of the waltz.

You Got Served

You Got Served is a 2004 film written and directed by Chris Stokes, manager of its stars, recording artist Marques Houston and the members of boy band B2K. The plot concerns a group of friends, participating in a breakdancing crew, who take part in a street dancing competition. It was released by Columbia Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 30, 2004, during the Super Bowl XXXVIII weekend and was produced by Billy Pollina. It was the most-seen movie during the Super Bowl weekend with $16 million USD grossed in its first week, a record until late 2005; the movie went on to gross over $40 Million USD, but has ultimately been featured on numerous "worst movies" lists, including the IMDB's "Bottom 100" list since its release. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California from May 1 - June 25, 2003. Despite poor reviews, the film's choreographers, Dave Scott, Shane Sparks, and Robert James Hoffman III earned a prestigious American Choreography Award in 2004 for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography - Feature Film",and the film was also nominated for Best Dance Sequence at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. According to Sparks, a sequel, Backdown, is scheduled to start shooting in July 2007.

There has been some attempt to break the titular expression into the mainstream. The expression "you got served" has been used to describe someone or something that has either lost badly or been humiliated (or possibly both). Also, "to be served" is legalese for facing litigation, i.e. being officially warned that the process is pending against you (see Service of process); or, a reference to serving food, or one's head on a platter. The key concept is that to be "served" is against one's will - to be given something that is undesirable.

David (Omarion) and Elgin (Marques Houston) lead a promising hip-hop/streetdancing/breakdancing crew in Southern California, who participate in street dancing battles produced by a local club owner (Steve Harvey). All is well, until Sonny, a member of the crew, expresses dissatisfaction over the subordinate role the other members of the crew play.

When David and Elgin are challenged by "some rich kids out of Orange County" for five thousand dollars, they think it's easy money. They deal drugs for Emerald (a local drug lord) to cover their half, never dreaming they would lose the battle.

When Sonny (Young Rome) sells them out by going to the other side ("Wade's crew"), he teaches his new companions moves from the David and Elgin group, and in the battle they are badly defeated. Wade, crowing over his success, delivers the titular line, "You're just mad... 'cause tonight you suckas got served!"

Meanwhile, David and Liyah (Jennifer Freeman), Elgin's sister, are falling in love. At a restaurant, Liyah turns off David's cell phone immediately before Elgin attempts to call him to say that Emerald has given them a job earlier than expected. David fails to show up for the job, and Elgin is beaten and robbed.

Consequently, Elgin gets very angry at David for attempting to "hook up with his sister when he should have been taking care of business," and is also annoyed at his sister for "acting like a ho". Elgin is also worried, since he owes Emerald money to cover for the loss of his goods.

Each split up and form their own crew, but neither is as good as the original. They learn about the "Big Bounce," a $50,000 dance competition purportedly sponsored by MTV which will provide the winning crew the opportunity to perform in a Lil' Kim video. Elgin sees this as a good way to pay back Emerald.

Attempts to bring Elgin and David together, particularly by Liyah, are fruitless, and twice they nearly come to blows and have to be separated. One of the younger members of the crew dies prior to the competition; while all are saddened it is not enough to bring the warring enemies back together yet.

At the "Big Bounce" competition, Elgin's crew beats David's crew in semifinals, and then ties the finals against Wade's crew. Lil' Kim, guest referee, on advice from Harvey's character, declares a playoff competition, "straight hood," with no rules, even allowing other people to join the battling crews.

This proves the catalyst for Elgin's feud with David to end (though only after prodding by crew members and threats of forfeiting the competition to Wade), and together they defeat Wade's crew in a mesmerizing final battle using advanced powermoves of professional breakdancers like air flares, flares, split mills, and runners. They shout the "You Got Served" line in retaliation to Wade after he claims the battle settled nothing. The partisan crowd, elated, begins chanting "Served! Served! Served! Served!" getting louder and faster. Elgin accepts David's relationship with Liyah at picture's end.

Canon