After cyphering it out in Johannesburg, East London, Cape Town and Oudtsdhoorn, the top 20 breakers from across the country put their best foot forward, going toe-to-toe for a chance to represent South Africa at the 20th Red Bull BC One World Finals.
Also read: Video: Red Bull kitesurfer encounters whales in Cape Town
The Sun Exhibits at Grand West provided the setting for an intense evening of high-energy B-girl and B-boy battles between the country’s top 20, hosted by multi-faceted dancer Mel Rock.
In the end, it was Cape Town’s very own B-girl Keisha from Ocean View and B-boy Toufeeq from Mitchells Plain who came out on top with the 2023 title of SA’s best breakers and a life-changing opportunity.
The two breakers impressed not only the judges but had the crowd cheering for more as they danced their way to the world finals taking place at the iconic Stade Roland-Garros in Paris later this year.
Take a look:
With great and controlled power moves, B-girl Keisha won over the judges to clinch this year’s title:
‘I am very excited about my win. I came into [the] competition having trained a lot. I learned some new power moves and managed to control my breathing, which helped with my win,’ said 16-year-old Lakeisha Dick (aka B-girl Keisha) after claiming her victory.
‘I cannot wait for Paris and know that I will have to train even harder.’
The final B-boy battle was a repeat of last year’s national final, with B-boy Toufeeq going up against B-boy Curse and coming out victorious:
Regarding his win, 27-year-old Toufeeq Baadjies said, ‘I am really honoured and blessed to win this year’s Red Bull BC One. It took me four years to get this win, with last year being the closest when I lost in the final battles’.
‘I am excited about representing South Africa in Paris and I hope I can make it far and show the world what I can do,’ added Toufeeq.
The crowd was also treated to a line-up of performances that included international star Lil G and some of South Africa’s hottest talent, from DeeKoala and Ready D to Seruthe, Bravo and Chaise Williams.
Red Bull BC One is a prestigious global one-on-one breaking competition that sees over a thousand breakers from around the world compete in their respective countries for the chance to compete at the world finals.
The duo will be making their way to the world finals on 21 October 2023.
Also read:
Picture: Red Bull BC One / Facebook