On Sunday 29th May we headed up many flights of stairs to Northern Quarter’s Studio Bee, located above what was once Kraak, to check out one of the hottest break dancing jams in the UK - and when we say hot we mean hot, on multiple levels!
Following its launch in 2015, Boom Baps and Breaks returned to Stevenson Square for a stellar follow up competition. Hosted by Flowrex with judges Spin, Doke and JayIsTheWay watching from the couch; the event had Bboys and Bgirls flocking to attend with people flying in from all over. The windows in the space barely opened and the dancers were wiping sweat off the floor, yet the atmosphere in the place was amazing.
The beats were kicking from the off. DJ\s DBO and P-Nuts span together for the competition and kept the music on point throughout the day. The event organisers are very choosy in who they chose to select the beats; placing a strong focus on the importance of music and it’s relationship to break dancing. Naturally hip-hop was the order of the day and the tunes played out for us like a personal playlist of favourites that just kept on coming.
Things kicked off around 2 o’clock with people warming up in cyphers before the battles got underway and things started getting seriously hype. First came the entrees followed by eight invites; all of whom brought their own flavour to the floor with a variety of skills and energies.
The dancing was live and the choice of beats kept everyone pushing things harder. As it got down to the final the crowd were on tenterhooks, with Ichiban Sam ultimately taking the win against Echo - who defended his title from last year all the way to the finals. Both left with great cash prizes and clothing from sportswear sponsor Mitoto, before everyone headed down to the closing party at The Blue Pig.
Unfortunately we had to shoot off to go back to work, but are definitely looking forward to the next! Boom Baps and Breaks returns the same weekend next year, 28th May 2017.
Photos : Chris Bergin