A performer competes in a “dance battle” in the Coolidge Auditorium on February 22 during a Homegrown Concert Series event of the American Folklife Center. Dance battles are an urban dance tradition that celebrate individual talent while helping to keep diverse forms of urban musical and dance expressions alive. In the Coolidge, pairs of dancers organized by the nonprofit Urban Artistry competed with one another for audience applause. Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, Urban Artistry documents and teaches urban musical and dance traditions of the Washington, D.C., region and beyond. It was founded in 2005 by performing artist and historian Junious Brickhouse, who served as the event’s emcee.