By Sanele Chadwick
Thousands of fans got to see 16 of the world's best breakdancers battling it out at Auckland’s Vector Arena last night.
They were all vying for a spot in the world final in December.
B-boying, or breaking, is a style of street dance that has been around since the late 1970s.
“It originated in New York City in the Bronx, so it's their dance,” says dancer B-Boy Swerve. “We've adapted to it. But it always goes back to them.”
Now, for the first time, the Red Bull Asia Pacific Breakdancing Championship has been held in New Zealand.
Each dancer competes in a one-on-one battle lasting several dance rounds.
Taunts and gestures are part of the show and the winner is chosen by a five-man judging panel, including Kiwi breaker B-Boy Swerve, who says the level of dancing is world-class.
“If you put this team together, these dancers, and took on any crew in the world, they'd beat them, hands down.”
Two of those dancers were Kiwis Grub-D and Akorn from Christchurch's Common Crew.
Unfortunately, both were eliminated in the first round, but that didn't stop the Auckland crowd from having a good time.
The crowd then turned their attention to the final between South Koreans Differ and Shorty Force. Many thought Differ had put in a winning performance, but Shorty begged to Differ.
Shorty's dance moves not only impressed the crowd, but the judges, who scored him the winner.
“For me to see the evolution of all the styles of dancing, and all the different types of moves is crazy,” says B-Boy Swerve. “I can't see it stopping. It's just going to keep evolving, getting better, and more crazy and kids will just be flying.”
Shorty hopes to take that evolution and craziness a step further at the world champs in Rio de Janeiro in December.
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