Beats from a compilation of popular hip-hop songs ring out in Tiffany Maaske’s small dance studio on Fourth Street near downtown Morgan Hill, as about 30 of her younger students called “shorties” practice their “Hot Wheels” routine in unison.
On this July 7 afternoon, Maaske tells her enthusiastic pupils: “Energy was good, but we need to be clean.”
The 31-year-old Live Oak High School alumna (Class of 2002), owner of The Dance Hall studio and founder of “Hip Hop Craze” competitive dance teams is preparing them for an upcoming national competition at Lake Tahoe.
“I started the whole hip-hop scene here,” said Maaske, who developed the competitive team out of Lana’s Dance Studio at age 17 before branching out on her own. “I was very into hip-hop music. I was technically trained in jazz and ballet, but got into hip-hop music in my free time.”
Now, Maaske—beloved by her dancers for her caring nature and push for perfection—choreographs all the routines for Hip Hop Craze, which won back-to-back national titles in 2014 and 2015.
“I went from my first year having maybe 20 students to now being at 60 on my competitive teams alone,” said Maaske, who trains beginners from toddlers through adulthood. “Most of my classes are for beginners.”
They then have a choice to stick with taking lessons in the studio, performing in the bi-annual showcases or pushing the envelope and trying out for the competitive level if they want to bring it.
“I wanted to be a professional dancer myself. I had no real desire to teach,” said Maaske, who changed course after being invited to teach a class at a private studio at age 15. “Once I started, I was like, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do.’”
The energetic Dance Hall leader built Hip Hop Craze from a nomadic group renting out studio space at various spots in San Jose into the champions they are today with a home base here in Morgan Hill. Maaske teaches four to five classes per day nearly every day of the week.
“It was hard by myself, but I made it happen,” Maaske said. “It’s hard work, but it’s fun and very rewarding.”
The competitive teams dance in about five competitions per year against squads from much larger studios around the western region and across the country. In 2014, they won their first national title in Anaheim and then followed that up with another the following year in Las Vegas.
“The kids teach me the new moves,” said Maaske, who then incorporates them into their new routines.
Those choreographed routines have turned Hip Hop Craze into two-time national champions. In 2014, they won the Spotlight Dance Cup under Spotlight Events, which saw 22,000 individual dancers and 18,000 performances at its 35 regional events and three national championships last year. After winning the 2014 Spotlight, Hip Hop Craze then shined as the nation’s best in 2015 before judges with StarPower, one of the largest talent competitions in America.
Team captain Ariana Argel, 18, is in her sixth year with Hip Hop Craze. Like many of Maaske’s students, she has remained dedicated to the team and shares a passion for dance and hip-hop music.
“I just love it here. We’re all so committed,” said the 2016 Ann Sobrato High School graduate. “It’s all about dance here and that’s what I love to do. We all share that same passion and I felt welcomed right away.”
Argel assists Maaske with the shorties as they work through parts of their routine. They mix in words of encouragement and praise (“It’s looking a lot better,” Maaske tells them) with calls for improvement in one technique or another (“It’s time to work,” she says). And the students give their own feedback and introduce new ideas.
“She’s very on it, very articulate. Everything has to be perfect,” said Argel of Maaske. “She cares about each and every one of us. She’s like my second mom. I look up to her.”
Argel is not alone in her admiration of Morgan Hill’s hip-hop dance pioneer.
“It’s just fun to dance. It makes me happy,” said 11-year-old Malia Bryant, a sixth grader from Morgan Hill who has been dancing for Maaske since she was 3.
Hip-hop classes open to everyone
The Dance Hall is not exclusive to girls, either. Hayden Taylor, 9, a fourth grader at St. Catherine’s School, is in his second year of lessons and first on the competitive team.
“I loved it right away,” Taylor said. “Every time I hear music come on I want to dance.”
Hayden’s older sister Jacoba, 11, was the first to get hooked. She is in her second year with the competitive dance team.
“I love the music and love being part of a team,” she said. “I always loved to dance. I was doing tap and jazz, but I found my love with hip-hop.”
Each dance routine is about four minutes long and takes two to three months to perfect, explained 11-year-old Rosilyn Aguilar of San Jose.
“Here just feels like family,” said Aguilar, who has been learning different routines as a competitive dancer for the last five years. “There are some parts that get a little hard, but we all work through it together. We just help each other out.”
Hip Hop Craze is the competitive byproduct of Maaske’s classes. However, a variety of dance classes are offered at the Dance Hall (70 E. Fourth Street) and they are broken up into age groups and skill levels. Registration details are available at thedancehallmorganhill.com.
“Any music gets me to go because dancing is my passion,” said 10-year-old Mariah Hardy of Gilroy.
Some of the students, like 11-year-old Delaney Serrano, of Gilroy, at the July 7 class have been part of Hip Hop Craze since before Maaske was able to secure the local studio.
“It was way better here because we had to keep moving everywhere,” recalled Serrano, who was also part of the national championship teams. “That was pretty awesome.”
Looking back on the last 15 years of ups and downs, Maaske amazes even herself with her team’s accomplishments as well as her own success in building her hip-hop brand.
“That wasn’t the initial plan,” Maaske said. “I just try to keep it fun for them.”
