I.D.A. take the Red Bull Beat Battle crown

Months of choreography, practicing and perfecting routines culminated in Red Bull Beat Battle where in the final against Clinch Crew, I.D.A took the crown ... 

8 of the country’s best dance crews 8-one-oh Meninas, Ace, Beauty and the Beasts, Brooklyn, Clinch, I.D.A, Via Volcano and defending champs Reptilez faced off in the ultimate dance battle in front of the 2500-strong crowd at Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto.

Having made it through the arduous qualification process that saw over 170 crews audition, the top 7 who joined the Reptilez in the final, come from various dance backgrounds and specialise in various styles from Sbhujwa, Breaking, and Pansula to Hip Hop and everything in between. 

The final bout came down to the wire – Clinch Crew went head-to-head with I.D.A and I.D.A. won the crowd and the judges over to be crowned the 2013 champions.

“This was such a surprise. I kept on telling the guys that we’d only get to the third round. I kept on telling the guys that we should be happy that if we got to the 3rd round,” said crew leader Katlego Mphahlele “From what God showed us today, we don’t know what he has in store for us. This win means the world to us – it was our first competition and our first title!” 

The judges had a tough time deciding won we finally take the title: Judge Vouks Nojokes was amped about the calibre of the performances on the night: “Every year the talent gets stronger and stronger and the crews really came out hard tonight dance is alive and well in Mzansi.”

Fikile ‘Fix’ Moeti and Thapelo Mokoena did a phenomenal job as hosts on the evening and DJ Switch held it down on the decks.

The night was topped off with a host of Mzansi’s best performers - house whizz kid Jullian Gomes, breakthrough MCs Okmalumkoolkat and Reason, Kwaito Legends Thebe and Dr Malinga all took the stage. Headline performances by Zakes Bantwini and Black Coffee rounded off the night as the crowd partied ‘til the early hours.

Be sure to look out for Red Bull Beat Battle, powered by Channel O, on your screens in June 2013.

Black Coffee joins explosive line up of performers at Red Bull Beat Battle

With just a few days until they take the stage in the Red Bull Beat Battle final, all eight crews are hard at work perfecting their routines. It’s been a long two month lead up to the event for the crews and they’re eager to put their practice to work on the stage ...

Not only will the crowd be treated to the country’s best crews but they’ll also enjoy a list of Mzansi’s best performers. Award-winning DJ Black Coffee joins DJ Dr. Malinga, Reason and Zakes Bantwini on the list of hotly-anticipated performers on the night.

Returning as judges are Somizi Mhlongo, Lorna Maseko and Bboy Gerald Witbooi aka Vouks while Red Bull Beat Battle alumnus Tumi Tladi joins the judging panel. Tumi was part of the 2011 Red Bull Beat Battle winning crew Artistic Intelligence and has since performed and choreographed for international acts both at home and abroad.

Each crew’s overall performance, technical execution, originality and group uniformity during their performance will be closely scrutinised by the judging panel.

Holding it down as the evening’s MCs are the sensational Fix Moeti and suave Thapelo Mokoena.

Red Bull Beat Battle takes place at Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto this Saturday, 1 June 2013. Tickets are R100 at Computicket.

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