Freestyle dancing got fast and furious at Salt Lake’s Five Mad Men on March 22 as Red Bull hosted the BC One Cypher East India round, involving 16 B-boys and 4 B-girls. The best performers at the city event progressed to the national phase, where they will be in contention for the international showdown in Paris later this year .
Zoopreme, a former world finalist of the Red Bull BC One, was the judge while Vally in the Alley set the mood as DJ and Funkey filled in as the host. “The growth is real, every year the interest in breaking (break dancing) seems to be bigger and bigger. The quality also keeps on improving and my job is made easier, as the crowd is already enthralled by all the amazing moves,” said Funkey, who has been a part of the breaking culture for 13 years.
Funky (left) with Vally in the Alley
Vally in The Alley, who has been DJ-ing for more than a decade, has seen it all in terms of India’s breaking events. He said: “Earlier, I’d take hours to set up my playlist for a battle event such as this. But, over time, I’ve learnt what the performers are looking for. It doesn’t take me more than 30 minutes these days to get ready because I know the beats the B-boys and B-girls are looking for.”
Zoopreme was on his first visit to Kolkata and India as part of the event
Zoopreme, originally from Denmark, visited Kolkata and India for the first time. “Kolkata is a beautiful place. My highlight was trying some phuchka, and I absolutely loved it! In terms of breaking, the talent here is unique and it was great to see genuine love and appreciation for them here today,” said Zoopreme.
Anjali Rai, 22, came out on top among the girls and acknowledged a group of B-boys practising near Rabindra Sarobar as her inspiration behind falling in love with breaking three years. “I used to bunk college to go watch breaking. From that to representing the city, and hopefully, the country soon, means a lot to me,” said Anjali.
(L-R): Zeus, Anjali, Loco and Shadow, the four winners of the Kolkata round
B-boy Loco, one of the three boys to make it to the national round, will be representing Shillong and the Northeast at the next leg in Mumbai. “Breaking is my stressbuster and makes me forget about a gruelling day. I usually practise at night after coming home from work,” said Loco.
B-boy Shadow Phoenix, whose real name is Samy Sewa, travelled all the way from Jaigaon, near the India-Bhutan border, to compete at the event in Kolkata. Just 19, Shadow received help from his friends to arrange the funds and believes that the breaking culture is just getting started in Jaigaon. “I began by watching videos on YouTube, when I was in the eighth standard. Initially, my parents were against it as I’d frequently injure myself. I’ve broken parts of my hands and shoulders several times. Now, I understand breaking much better. My technique is better, so I don’t injure myself. I’ll go home and tell my parents with a lot of pride that I’ve made it to the nationals,” said Shadow.
Some more incredible moves from the event
Loco and Shadow will be joined in Mumbai for the nationals by Suraj Kumar Pandey from Jamshedpur, who goes by the name B-boy Zeus. At 27, he already has eight years of experience and was a participant in earlier editions of the competition, making it to the finals for the first time this year. “I was here before, but I didn’t progress further. So, I started watching videos of international performers and started to train like them. Ultimately, the world stage is where I want to perform,” said Zeus.