Dutch breakdancer Menno won the World DanceSport Federation's (WDSF) World Breaking Championships which ended in Nanjing in eastern China on Sunday night.
Invited as a battle guest, the veteran took home the golden trophy and 20,000 U.S. dollars. He was followed by Japan's Issei and Ukraine's Lussy Sky.
The championships are the highest level and the first street dance international class-A event held in China since breakdancing entered the 2018 Youth Olympic Games as a sport.
The top three B-boys at the WDSF World Breaking Championships in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, June 23, 2019. /Photo courtesy of the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships
"I definitely feel excited," said Menno, "It is the first (breaking championships) related with the Olympics. So it was very special for the breaking community."
He added that it is a rare opportunity to gather breakers around the world to take part in such a high-level event.
Under the same evaluation system as that of the Youth Olympic Games, the dancers were judged on several criteria, including creativity, personality, technique, variety, performance and musicality.
Ken Swift, the former vice president of the U.S. legendary breaking group Rock Steady Crew, sits on the judging panel at the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships in Nanjing, June 23, 2019. /Photo courtesy of the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships
Ken Swift, the former vice president of the U.S. legendary breaking group Rock Steady Crew, was on the judging panel. He said that he was impressed with music, energy and audience's passion in China, and hoped that B-boys and B-girls on the stage will encourage more young people to take up the activity.
The competition attracted more than 200 international dancers from 65 countries and regions.
B-girl Ami from Japan beat Sunny from the U.S in the final battle, and Ying Zi from China lost to Jilou from Germany to finish fourth.
Zeng Yingying (nicknamed Ying Zi) finished fourth at the World Breaking Championships in Nanjing, June 23, 2019. /Photo courtesy of the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships
"I'm very stressed today, as many dancers onsite are world champions," said Ying Zi, whose real name is Zeng Yingying, "This platform is great. It lets us show ourselves. After this competition, I will practice more and hope to win honors for our country one day."
"We organized the event for two reasons. One is to know the current situation of breakdancing in the world, and another is to give domestic dancers a chance to exchange and learn from foreign senior dancers," said Su Jie, secretary-general of China DanceSport Federation (CDSF), one of the organizers of the event.
Breakdancing is an urban-grown dance style that originated in the U.S. around the 1970s. The skillful street dance style incorporates elements of Capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art), gymnastics and Kung Fu, and therefore is both artistic and sports-oriented.
A street dance group performs at the 2019 CDSF Street Dance World Cup in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, June 21, 2019. /Photo courtesy of the 2019 CDSF Street Dance World Cup
Prior to the World Breaking Championships on Sunday, the 2019 CDSF Street Dance World Cup was held from June 20 to 22. The three-day event saw fierce competition in four categories of breaking, popping, locking and street dance group.
The street dance first caught Chinese people's eyes through America's first breakdancing film Breakin' in the mid-1980s. It developed and spread as a subculture until recent years when street dance associations and clubs were set up across the country.
From street to schools, from its debut in the National Center for Performing Arts to national-level dance performances, street dance has integrated into the mainstream and gained wider popularity, which is proved by hit reality shows "Street Dance of China" and "The Rap of China."
Video courtesy of the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championships
Top image designer: Zhang Xuecheng