Red Bull Dance Your Style India 2023 finals on July 1 at Nodwin Gaming Arena in Chhatarpur, Delhi saw people from all walks of life gather and enjoy authentic street-style dance to some mainstream music. The concept behind choosing mainstream numbers was to ensure that the dance form reaches the masses, who often watch a distorted version of the authentic styles on television. From cyphers and underground battles to street dancers taking a more public platform and almost ruling it in the form of one-on-one battles, it is simply a method to revive the style, get the upcoming generations well-versed and give a major push to the dance form, which otherwise might become commercialised and rendered far-removed from the authentic one.
Sixteen participants — four qualifiers from East, West, North and South zones of our country — gathered to compete against each other for the World Finals to be held in Germany on November 4. Deepak Shahi aka Nepo, a hip-hop dancer from Haldwani, left the audience (who had the voting power) smitten with his moves and prowess on stage and emerged as the finalist who’ll represent our country in Germany later this year. The finals hosted in Delhi also saw an energetic bhangra performance by the Folking Desi dance crew and a hip-hop music act by Calcutta-based J Trix and Satyen.
Emcees Ayushi Amrute and Zerxes Wadia
Actress Faria Abdullah told t2 how dance has helped her emote and act. The street dance form is close to her heart and being at Red Bull Dance Your Style India 2023 finals made her realise how India has a wide scope for talented people. “I think these platforms are really great because, apni country me bauhat talent hai and it’s about time that we burst out to the world and show them what we’ve got,” she said.
DJ Spindoctor aka Sanjay Meriya belted out groovy tunes for the dancers to battle on
Folking Desi’s bhangra was brimming over with the flavours of Delhi!
Pictures: Red Bull India