A dance-off held at Barrows Hall on Friday night to promote nonviolence turned into a chain-reaction fight that required UC Berkeley Police to evacuate the building.

Bones Entertainment, a non-profit organization founded by Richmond resident Raashida Manning, hosts “turf wars” where dance groups compete in “turfing,” a kind of dance that combines street dance, hip-hop, popping and mime.

The “Face Off” dance, which started at 6:30 p.m. on the 8th floor of Barrows Hall, had about 400 people in attendance according to police. By 8:30 p.m. it turned into a fight involving around 20 people, but no injuries were reported.

Manning said she started Bones Entertainment two years ago after her nephew was killed. She said she wants to promote nonviolence by giving young dancers a place to compete.

“These kids do this dancing, and there’s not really a place they can go to do this,” Manning said. “I’ve worked with all the dancers in the area and they do it to stay out of trouble.”

Manning said she had five security people at the event Friday. None of her previous four dance-offs turned into fights, she said.

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