Dance
The D Soraki outclassed all to win 2022 Red Bull Dance Your Style
The D Soraki out-battled 15 of the world’s best dancers to win the planet's most prestigious all-styles solo street dance title.
After a year of National Finals across the globe and a week of pre-finals that whittled the field from 60 down to 16, the world witnessed an elevated energy movement at Montecasino in Johannesburg, South Africa. When the epic dance showcase was done the 19-year-old Japanese hip hop Dancer remained on the floor alone having beaten Nigerian Afro dancer King Davinci in a nail-biting tiebreaker in the final battle.
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WINNER
It's quite unreal. This hasn't sunk in yet and maybe tomorrow it will all sink in.
Red Bull Dance Your Style is a global all-styles street dance event series with a unique battle format. From hip hop to house, to locking to popping – dancers need to ‘wow’ the crowd and ultimately win their vote. Aside from impressing the crowd on the night, the dancers from around the world who made it to South Africa to compete in the World Final had each come a long way through multiple competition phases before making it to this phenomenal global dance stage.
Soraki
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
I wanted to put Africa on the map. I wanted to put Nigeria on the map. I wanted to show that you can't just do one thing but you can do everything. I wanted to open the way for Africans to see that its possible.
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ROAD TO THE TROPHY
The 2021 and 2022 National Winners went through two pre-finals in the week leading up to the World Final. The eight who advanced from the pre-finals into the main event were up against eight wildcards from around the world, with the World Final top 16 possessing a range of dance styles that highlighted the versatility of the street dance movement.
The D Soraki
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
Hamuzza
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
Showcase performance by Kinjaz
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
The Venue
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final
© Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool
The eclectic South African crowd came out in numbers to experience this spectacular showcase of street dance and rigorously voted for their favourite dancers throughout the one-on-one battles. This voting process became harder in each round as dancers held nothing back. After four hours of intense competition, the final battle between Soraki and King Davinci had the crowd chanting The D Soraki to victory.
As the second country to host the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final, ‘Mzansi’ pulled out all the stops. This spectacular showcase of dance was hosted by South African media personality and choreographer Bontle Modiselle, while Courtnaé Paul ensured that the stage had the most challenging variety of the best global music hits.
MORE ABOUT RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE
In addition to the pre-finals, the week building up to the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final in South Africa had various activities where dancers had the opportunity to experience workshops from top international dancers such as krumping by Outrage, hip hop by StalaMuerte, Kinjaz workshop with Anthony Lee, and a popping workshop with Dassy.