Meet the Crew
Tatiana “Tanya” Armendariz |
Co-Founder, Artistic Director
Born in Moscow, Russia, Tanya is a Chicago-based freestyle movement artist, educator, and community leader. Her work intersects her identities as an immigrant, parent, and woman, championing the cause of mothers’ representation in the world of street dance, a historically male-dominated field.
Specializing in popping, waving, and boogaloo, Tanya has over a decade of experience in her craft and has proven herself a fierce competitor in popping and open styles battles across the US. She has been invited to compete and represent Chicago at Red Bull Dance Your Style (2021 & 2022) as well as judge events such as Snipe’s Hip Hop in Chinatown (2022), Skunkworks Dance Studio’s Dust Off (2022), and The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago’s B-Series (2020). With a deep pedagogical practice, Tanya teaches regularly at Shadow Puppetz weekly popping sessions and has been invited to teach across Chicago at Chamber.io Intensives (2023), University of Chicago (2021), and Chicago Dance Crash (2024).
Tanya holds a Bachelors in Marketing from University of Illinois Chicago and is the Co-Founder of Shadow Puppetz, a nationally acclaimed Chicago-based popping and animation freestyle dance crew. Tanya’s influential reach in the street dance scene not only stems from a respect for her craft, but is also rooted in authentic personal connections and a commitment to fostering inclusivity, demonstrated through initiatives to ensure Shadow Puppetz events remain safe spaces for women, POC, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Under Tanya’s leadership, Shadow Puppetz has successfully hosted national events including Nightmare on Rockwell St (2021) and Out of the Shadows (2022-2024). She is also the Founder of Flow First (2022), an independent waving event and movement collective.
Alex “Prototype” Malblanc |
Co-Founder, Design Director
Alex “Prototype” Malblanc is a powerhouse multimedia artist that seamlessly blends his mastery of design engineering with freestyle animation dance. As a neurodivergent and biracial artist, his work helps marginalized artists find their voice.
Diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome from an early age, Alex’s dance is informed by the nature of his condition’s involuntary muscle spasms. In the street dance scene Prototype is known as an expert on glitchy textures and the precise micro-controls required to execute on animated, robotic illusions.
Alex holds a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Design from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design. His fascination with mechanics led him into work as a toy inventor, where he has experimented with claymation, stop motion, robotics, engineering, digital rendering, and character illusion, building a library of reference material for his dancemaking practice. Notably, Alex was honored for his innovative contributions to the toy invention industry with Mattel’s 2022 “Invention of the Year” Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field.
With over a decade of experience teaching, performing, and competing in street dance battles, Alex is a world-class animator, representing the Midwest animation scene. Onstage, he has performed with acclaimed artists such as Tyler the Creator, Ella Mai, Lois the Child, Flo Mili, Troyboi, and Glass Animals.
The healing, confidence, and purpose he has gained through his art has made him a dedicated ambassador for street dance culture. In 2019, he co-founded Shadow Puppetz, a Chicago-based popping and animation freestyle dance crew. Under his leadership, Shadow Puppetz has reached national acclaim, hosting the largest popping events in the Midwest including Nightmare on Rockwell St (2021) and out of the Shadows (2022-2024).
Jude “Jinx” Brummett |
Events & Marketing Director, Crew Member
Jude “Jinx” Brummett is a cultural producer, event specialist, entrepreneur, and independent curator whose work promotes economic empowerment for street dance artists. She holds a Bachelors in Dance from Columbia College Chicago and is the founder of Jinx Dance Media, a professional events, marketing, and design consultancy for the street dance industry.
Jude’s expertise spans event planning, strategic partnerships, marketing, digital media, content creation, pedagogy, and freestyle robot and animation dance. The Jinx Dance Media Podcast, her latest independent project, stems from an anthropological curiosity about historical socio-economic factors shaping street dance politics and the interplay between cultural preservation and evolution. Spanning 27 episodes, the podcast features 13 influential guest speakers such as Jessica Leyva, the CEO of Chicago Dance Crash, Handy “Hya” Yacinthe, the founder of Jack of All Trades International Street Dance Festival, Samuel “Sammy Mac” Macintosh, founder of 10K Hip Hop and Street Dance Movement, and Mik “Dr. Robotmik” Minier, a viral street dance content creator. The podcast explores topics relevant to elevating street dance professionalism while maintaining its cultural integrity.
Presently, she works as the Donor Events Specialist at Rotary International where she supports high-profile donor events and stewardship activities. Volunteering as the Events & Marketing Director for Shadow Puppetz, she oversees strategic partnerships with organizations such as Jet’s Pizza, Boxed Water, and Chicago Dance Crash. She also manages the production of national events including Nightmare on Rockwell St (2021) and Out of the Shadows (2022-2024), widely regarded as the best popping event in the US and a revival of grassroots street dance culture elevated by excellent service.
Jude has also independently curated a series of animation dance events, including featured masterclasses from Julius “Eclypse” Jenkins from the Millennium Robots in Cincinnati (2022) and Keumsae Pai from Los Angeles (2023). This initiative will continue with more featured artists in 2024.
Sid Tucky |
Music Director, Crew Member
With over 15 years of experience as a competitor, freestyle dance artists, and educator, Sid Lucky is a custodian of popping history and widely regarded as Chicago’s “heaviest hitter” within the national popping battle scene. His work as music artist is inseparable from his dancemaking practice, embodying a visceral connection to the music through his movement.
Member of Electric Funkateers since 2014 and Shadow Puppetz since 2021, Sid’s journey has been defined by victories in multiple popping and open styles events across North America including World of Dance (2021 Champion), Book of Styles (2023 Finalist), Bashville Stampede (2017 Champion), and Jack of All Trades International Street Dance Festival (2022 Semi-Finalist). He has also been invited to judge at events such as Snipe’s Windy City Throwdown (2023), World of Dance (2022), Kangz Kastle (2021), and The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago’s B-Series (2019).
With a mission to impart knowledge and preserve the essence of popping, ensuring its legacy resonates with generations to come, Sid’s reputation as an educator is coveted within the street dance community. He taught regularly at Electric Funkateer’s Sunday Funkdays from 2015-2017, and has taught several intensives including Electric Funkateer’s Popping Bootcamp (2017), Shadow Puppetz Popping Intensive (2023), and CODA Intensives (2016 & 2017).
Under the mentorship of DJ Illanoize and Mos Def since 2019, Sid has also become well known as a premier funk DJ in the Midwest. He has DJ’d at various clubs and dance battles in Chicago including B-Series (2019 & 2020), Hip Hop in Chinatown (2019 & 2022), Nightmare on Rockwell St (2021), and Out of the Shadows (2022-2024), and has independently produced and released two mixtapes on Soundcloud, Chillin…Killin Vol. 1 & 2.
Kevin Yu |
Crew Member
Kevin Yu began dancing in 2015 with Phinix Dance Crew, a freestyle dance club at the University of Chicago. He trained in popping under the mentorship of OG Poppin’ Chuck for one year and was self taught in locking. In 2017, he began to expand his horizons in the popping and locking community as he spent his summers training with Rashaad, Future, and FireLock while dancing with the DMV dance community.
Shortly after, he began teaching and choreographing for Phinix Dance Crew, and later Groove Theory. After graduating university in 2019, Kevin remained in Chicago where he later joined Shadow Puppetz and began competing in popping and open styles battles.
Kevin aims to continue developing his skills and knowledge through battles, training with his crew, and through the mentorship of other dancers. Meanwhile, he aspires to keep building the Chicago dance community while inspiring new dancers to become as passionate about the dance and culture as himself and his crewmates.
Ricardo “Rio McFly” Robinson |
Crew Member
Ricardo “Rio McFly” Robinson was born in Detroit, MI to a family of artists. His mother’s musical talents and his father’s street dance experience led him into the arts from a young age. Rio began learning street dance styles at the age of 12, where Black music genres including Motown Funk, Techno, and Hip Hop were household staples for his family. This early experience has made Rio’s dance rich with the context of his familial and cultural roots.
After two decades in the street dance scene, Rio has become a strong competitor, performing artist, and teacher, pioneering tutting in the Midwest. He is passionate about showcasing his dance with authenticity and vulnerability. Having struggled with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, he aims to practice his dancemaking by utilizing a variety of tones, movement styles, and music choices to showcase the healing nature of street dance while shredding the toxic-masculine elements of its roots.
His goal is to embody the multifaceted and diverse ways in which popping can be used to share his strong personal voice without reservation, and hopefully inspire others to do the same along the way.
Nancy “Miqui” uriostegui |
Crew Member
Nancy “Miqui” Uriostegui is a dancer and teaching artist residing in West Palm Beach, Florida. She grew up in the suburbs of Illinois and later moved to Chicago where she trained in both choreography and freestyle street dance styles such as popping, voguing, and hip hop. Miqui has competed, choreographed, and performed throughout the Midwest and West Coast with dance companies such as Ascension Performing Arts, CODA, and The Puzzle League in events including the World of Dance, Prelude, and Carnival.
Miqui has over five years of experience teaching children and adults at various levels. She has taught regularly at dance studios in Chicago and Florida, including Design Dance, Ashley’s Performing Arts Center, Kim Kids Dance, and The Royal Peacock Dance Studio.
In her dancemaking and teaching, she emphasizes individuality and creativity, encouraging other dancers and her students to embrace their unique voices and personal expression through the multi-faceted lens of street dance styles.
Tim McMahon |
Brand & Graphic Designer
Tim McMahon graduated from University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program in 2017, where he interned for several reputable design companies including Rockwell Group, Apple Inc., Selbert Perkins Design, and Kao Brands. After graduating, he worked for 1 Trick Pony, a small branding company based in Philadelphia, PA. After three years there, Tim became the Graphic Design Director for Marques Brownlee’s YouTube channels MKBHD and The Studio, as well as the Waveform Podcast and Waveform Podcast clips.
Tim aims to bring a level of craft, purpose, and attention to detail across all of his work. This comes from his deep interest and experience with tactile creative work including large-scale murals, screen-printing, and occasional book-making.
Together, he and Alex “Prototype” Malblanc created the branding for Shadow Puppetz in 2019 upon the crew’s founding, and Tim’s graphic designs can still be seen populating Shadow Puppetz social media platforms int he form of flyers, posters, and promotional materials. You can see more of his work on his website.
Honorary Members
These are dancers who have inspired and mentored us in our dance journeys.
