Two Cape Town breakdancers came out tops at the Red Bull BC One national finals on Saturday.
Champions B-girl Keisha Dirk from Ocean View and B-boy Toufeeq Baatjies from Mitchells Plain impressed not only the judges, but they also had the crowd begging for more as they danced their way to the world finals taking place in Paris later this year.
The annual breaking competition took place at GrandWest on Saturday, after cyphers in Johannesburg, East London, Cape Town and Oudtshoorn.
Red Bull BC One is a global one-on-one breaking competition that sees over a thousand breakers from around the world competing in their respective countries for the chance to compete at the world finals.
This year’s world finals, taking place in Paris, France, at the iconic Stade Roland-Garros, will celebrate two milestones: 20 years of Red Bull BC One World Finals, and the official inclusion of breaking at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Keisha says: “I am very excited about my win. I came into today’s competition having trained a lot.
“I learnt some new power moves and managed to control my breathing, which helped with my win. 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 final with The Curse going up against Toufeeq.
Toufeeq says winning the nationals is a dream come true.
“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 came in with an injured elbow but told myself that I will block out the pain and take each battle as it comes.
“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.”
Keisha and Toufeeq will be heading to the World Final taking place in Paris on October 21.