It was pure raw energy and dance grooves as the Macau b-boys took on French professional hip hop dance crew Kafig this month. The French crew, in Macau for a series of shows at the Macau Cultural Centre, took an hour out of its schedule to meet the Macau b-boys in a public break session. Going through their moves - back spinning, head spinning and furiously fast footwork, there was no doubt the Macau crew held their own. Kafig performed two sold-out shows at the cultural centre on June 8 and 9. The show, Terrain Vague (Wasteland), features nine dancers on stage performing hip hop dance, circus moves and theatre. Kafig creator Mourad Merzouki said the break session was mostly about cultural exchange. 'It is a lot of fun, and we get to see what the locals can do,' Merzouki said. 'These things always draw a good crowd. There is a lot of energy.' Many of the dancers are good enough to impress, even amaze, an experienced gymnast at the more difficult moves, which can take up to two years to master. The local crews had strong support as the crowd pressed in on the dance floor, cheering as the teams took turns showing off their intense routines. Macau b-boy Luis Lourenco, also known as Rocklee, a member of the Slain Illusion crew, practises at least two hours a day. Rocklee said there were four b-boy crews in Macau, totalling about 40 dancers, who regularly compete against each other and other crews in Hong Kong and the mainland. He said the break session with Kafig was a great opportunity to exchange dance ideas. 'It is really a cultural exchange, and we had a lot of fun too,' he said. 'The break session was a way of cutting down the barriers. It did not matter about language or anything like that. Outside of Macau we keep going to competitions, and the more we go the better we get, which is our aim.' There are indoor venues in Hong Kong and the mainland where breaking sessions are held, but in Macau the majority of b-boys still dance in the streets, alleyways or outside the cultural centre, and this suits them fine. 'We do not have the large numbers of people here in Macau, but we still rock the beat,' Rocklee said. 'It is a way of life. It is all about peace, unity, love and having fun.'