The reverberating cheers that followed the UAE’s win at yesterday’s Braun Battle of the Year Middle East Championships in Dubai was proof that the country not only excelled in building mammoth-sized towers but it also honed talent that is par excellence.
The team of ‘Over Boys’, who lifted the trophy, on October 1 at the Star Atrium, Dubai Mall, will now jet off to Montpellier, France on November 19, for the world championship, which already sees the UAE as a hot contender.
Last evening’s event saw 11 dance crews from as far as Jordan, Oman and Kuwait battling for the only group ticket available to represent the region at the grand final of the Braun Battle of the Year 2011.
Of the teams, ‘Aladdin’ tried to work their magic on stage, just as the ‘Kings of Teheran’ and the ‘Middle Beasts’, but no one could beat the dynamic Over Boys.
In a tight battle against the ‘Breakestra’ crew from Bahrain, ‘Over Boys’ eventually earned the highest score from the three-strong judges panel.
“I want to thank all the boys for fighting so hard and investing so much of their time in the past months and weeks. Thanks to the judges for making us so happy and thanks to all the people who came here today”, said the team’s head b-boy in a statement, overwhelmed in the minutes after the official decision.
The winner of the MTV Show “America’s Best Dance Crew”, world-respected b-boy Ronnie Abaldonado, not only attended Friday’s special workshops to pass on his techniques and tricks, but was also part of the jury during the main event.
Besides him, Swift Rock from Germany and Neekoe from the UAE critiqued the break-dancers’ synchronicity, stage presence, choreography, as well presenting their own b-boying moves during their six-minute crew performances and the following head to head battles of the best four crews.
For those not in the know, b-boying or breakdancing, is a popular style of street dance that was created and developed as part of hip-hop culture among African Americans and Latino youths in New York City.