The KrisCast

Find Hudson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hudsonfelker/ Hudson Felker (a.k.a. KAZE.573) is an elite Dance Dance Revolution competitor known for his seemingly endless drive and training discipline. He was a finalist for the 6th Konami Arcade Championship in 2017 and has numerous victories/top finishes in major tournaments throughout his 20+ year career. He is also a lead organizer of the Extra Exclusive tournament series, a unique event in which the world's best competitors get a rare...

Jaz (a.k.a. Sega Jeanasis) is an intermediate-level Dance Dance Revolution player and a co-founder of Black Flag Academy, a platform where other intermediate players can compete and hone their skills alongside one another. She is also a powerful Valkyrie, cosplays from time to time and has quickly become a fixture of the DDR community as a whole. In this episode, we discuss the origin and evolution of Black Flag Academy, how intermediate DDR players can grow into high level competitors,...

Grant Siegel (a.k.a. GEM) is the lead organizer for The Big Deal rhythm game tournament series based in the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex. He is also the owner of The Big Deal Gaming LLC, a Pump It Up specialist with a wide array of tournament experience and a skilled linguist. In this episode, we discuss what makes The Big Deal tournaments such a big deal, Grant's experiences with Korean culture, the legend of JaZima (a unique alcoholic concoction), and much more. Find Grant on Twitter:...

Ben Madsen is a co-founder and instrumental operator of LIFE4DDR (link below). He is also a husband, father and 15-year DDR veteran with a recent Upper Division Top 16 finish at Infinity Stage. In this episode, we discuss the origin and evolution of LIFE4DDR, how to maximize the value of your sessions, our preferred methods for studying stepcharts at home, and much more. Find Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/benmadsengaming Find LIFE4DDR on Twitter: http://twitter.com/life4ddr and...

Steven Lo (AKA VivaLaMooChicken) is an accomplished dance game veteran from the southeastern United States with over 15 years of tenure. He is also the lead organizer for the DDR Storm tournament series, recently paired alongside CEO Fighting Game Championships located in Florida, USA (links below). In this episode, Kris and Steven discuss their methods of bouncing back from injuries and setbacks, the evolution of DDR Storm as a major dance game event, their thoughts on scaling the big...

Roger Clark is an 18-year dance game veteran known especially for his precision timing ability. He is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a founding member of SF Evolved. is heavily involved with DDR tournament coverage as well as The Arrow Panel podcast (link below). In this episode, Kris and Roger weigh in on the recent curated song list debate for DDR A/A20 tournaments, the merits of trying new things, why you should get more serious about branding, and much more. ...much more...

Find Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahwhatsup Sarah Kilpatrick is an accomplished dance game veteran who loves to juggle several plates in the air at once. In addition to holding down a 9-5 job, she is a mother, a web content producer and designer for LIFE4DDR (link below), the owner of http://hackmycab.com and a dance game tournament organizer. In this episode of The KrisCast, we discuss the pros and cons of big vs. small arcades, how celebrating micro-wins can help players stay...

Find Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/riodoitg Kyle Dobay (a.k.a RiOdO) is an influential figure in the competitive dance game scene, particularly with In The Groove (ITG). He is an experienced tournament organizer, founder of the East Coast FA tournament series and a top performer when he competes himself. In this episode of the KrisCast, Kyle and I do a deep dive into the world of dance game competition from an organizer's perspective. We discuss his methods for curating a fun, yet...

Leon C Brunson is a high-level dance game competitor, Neuroscience student at Florida State University and up-and-coming chef from the Florida panhandle. in this episode of the KrisCast, we discuss the benefits of cross-training with different dance games, the southeastern U.S. dance game scene, lessons learned from 9 years of professional cooking experience and much more. Find Leon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/leoncbrunson

admstyles is an 18-year dance game veteran and one of the original DDR/ITG content creators on YouTube. He is well known as a high-level competitor, master of precision timing and advocate for Coors Light consumption. In this episode of the KrisCast, we discuss the competitive dance game scene in the early to mid-2000's, using lower difficulty charts to build a foundation for precision timing, the legend of "Coors Man," and much more. We also discuss the merits of cheap booze and its role in...

Ambones is the inaugural Valkyrie Ascension champion and a Top 16 Upper Division competitor at Infinity Stage 2019. She is a strong advocate for Valkyrie Dimension, a warm community figure and a master of shock arrows. In this episode of The KrisCast, we discuss our recent Infinity Stage experiences, our mindsets for growth and the upcoming calendar of major dance game events. We also give shoutouts to the Seattle dance game community, discuss the merits of non-dairy milk and our preferred...

Omid Farivar is a long-time dance game veteran with almost 20 years of experience. He is an accomplished competitive player with top finishes in a wide array of tournaments, recently placing 2nd in Upper Division at Infinity Stage 2019. Outside of competition, he loves to interact with the community via Twitter, YouTube, The Arrow Panel podcast and LIFE4DDR (links below). In the inaugural episode of the KrisCast, we discuss our dance game origins, our experiences with tournaments and...