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xxl street dance finals
‘Got to Dance’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, ‘Dancing on Ice’ – the list of mainstream UK television programmes focusing on dance talent is practically endless.
Despite its success on our screens, I found myself being utterly surprised by the scale of the Street Dance XXL UK Championships, and the superb abilities and passion of the young people participating especially.
Taking place on Sunday, 17 July 2011, at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall no less, the event centred on finding the best dance crews from a select shortlist of competitors in each of the 5 categories (split by age, ranging from 8 upwards). I was excited to see what the different dance crews had to offer, but wasn’t even remotely prepared for the amazing talent I was about to witness on the night.
Dubbed the UK’s original street dance competition, the UK Championships kicked off with the national anthem immediately followed by an incredibly exhilarating opening performance from non-competitors Twist and Pulse, no strangers to the limelight after featuring on national programmes like Britain’s Got Talent. Their routine seamlessly went from
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ballet to grime, Michael Jackson’s hits to dancehall, trance to calypso – my internal narrator was like a broken record going, “Wow! Wow! Wow!” on repeat!
The main part of the show then proceeded, with participants presenting their 1 to 2 minute long routines. The Royal Festival Hall was full not only with street dance enthusiasts, but also the very supportive friends and families of the various crews from around the country – it was great to see the unbiased encouragement for all the competitors.
Dubbed the UK’s original street dance competition, the UK Championships kicked off with the national anthem immediately followed by an incredibly exhilarating opening performance from non- competitors Twist and Pulse
As exciting as it was to watch a lot of the different performances, there were occasionally a few repetitive themes on the day, including several references to the King of Pop’s iconic moves, as well as the use of Busta Rhymes’ verse on hit song ‘Look At Me Now’ for many of the routines.
The four judges kept stating that what they were really looking for was a flawless combination of originality, entertainment and skill; after all, the winners were to go on and represent the UK at the next, international stage of the competition. Many of the groups performing delivered, such as Karizma Krew with their Union Jack-inspired routine, and Momentum with their futuristic performance paying homage to 2002 film ‘Equilibrium’.
But no crew came close to winners Peridot. The 10-man troupe from South-East London delivered a hugely entertaining routine completely full of dance precision and humour. As previous finalists on the BBC’s ‘Move like Michael Jackson’ as well as ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, the members of Peridot have come close to the finishing line several times. So it was great to see them finally get the recognition they deserved here.
Here’s hoping that they bring the trophy home later this year!
If you’ve missed the TV broadcasts, you can watch Channel 4’s coverage of the competition as part of its Street Summer season here until mid-September:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ streetdance.
Written by Rachel S
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