On
August 10, Everett based Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex announced that
one of its hip hop dance teams, Lil Phunk Boyz, received a gold medal
at the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championship. Barnes is one of the
eight boys on this team.

Despite his young age, Barnes' history of dancing goes back several years.

"A lot of my cousins and friends were always into dancing," he said. "I guess that's how I got interested in it at first."

Barnes says that he started really becoming involved in dancing when he was just four years old.

"I started dancing at home, teaching myself new moves," he explained.

It was not long after this that Barnes' dancing started getting attention.

"When
he was about five years old, at my brother's wedding, the DJ put on
some music and Dre was out on the floor dancing. The photographer was
filming him and everything," laughed Barnes mother, Aurora.

Barnes
has been on the professional dance team, Lil Phunk Boyz, for about one
year, and has been involved with Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex for 3
years. His sister Xhane, 13, is also involved with the dance studio,
and is responsible for introducing him to the dance complex.

The
2009 World Hip Hop Championship was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and drew
over 1,500 dancers from 28 countries worldwide, as well as an audience
of thousands. The competition, which has inspired the popular MTV show
Randy Jackson Presents "America's Best Dance Crew," awards medals for
junior, varsity, and adult divisions. Lil Phunk Boyz brought home the
gold for the junior division, and was the only U.S. team to win a medal
this year.

"Successes like this one don't just happen. We worked
the boys very hard this summer and they never missed a beat," said
Chris Dinicola, Lil Phunk Boyz coach and choreographer in a press
release.

"We started out practicing two times a week, every
week," explained Barnes. "When it got closer to the competition, we
were practicing every day of the week for at least three hours."

Clearly,
all of the hard work and dedication exhibited by Barnes and the rest of
his team has paid off in a big way. Incredibly, the team managed to
persevere through the competition despite the last minute loss of
teammate Kyle Brooks, who fell ill with appendicitis following a first
place win in a preliminary round of the competition.

While
Brooks was hospitalized, the rest of the Lil Phunk Boyz had to change
their dance choreography to accommodate the missing teammate. The crew
managed to advance in two more rounds of the competition.

"The
boys are incredibly professional when it comes to their dancing," said
Barnes' mother. "You wouldn't believe they were as young as they are."

Brooks
was able to rejoin his team for the final competition, which meant yet
another change to their choreography. Incredibly, the boys still
managed to come out on top.

Despite the high pressure,
unexpected complications and the stiff international competition,
Barnes that he never feels anxiety before or during a performance, and
the world championship was no exception. The only time he mentioned
feeling anything but calm and collected was when he and his teammates
were awaiting the judges' final decision.

"We were really nervous before they announced the results," Barnes said. "We were really shocked when we won."

Despite
the notoriety of being a world champion, Barnes remains surprisingly
nonchalant about the win and speaks of it in a remarkably casual
manner.

"I don't think the win has really hit him yet," his mother commented. "But he's very humble about it."

Barnes plans to continue dancing in the future, saying that it's "a lot of fun."

Phunk
Phenomenon Dance Complex requires auditions to be on the team every
year. They are holding fall registrations on Aug. 30th and Sept. 13
from 4 -7pm at 1760 Rear Revere Beach Parkway (behind Boston Harley
Davidson) in Everett, MA.

Barnes plans to audition to be on
the team again, but is very levelheaded about his expectations. Despite
being having won the competition, he remains grounded and humble in his
understanding that nothing is guaranteed.

"When we found out that we won, everyone was like, 'we're dreaming,'" he commented. "Sometimes, it still feels that way."