DANCER IAN TICO CROWNED THE WINNER OF RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE

Dancer Ian Tico was crowned the winner of the 2021 Red Bull Dance Your Style Kenya National Championships. He earned the opportunity to represent Kenya  in the world finals which will be held in South Africa in December 2021.

The electric event featured 16 finalists battle for the chance to be the Kenyan National Dance champion, took place on Saturday 9th October at Alliance Francaise. The competition was launched in October 2020 at a colourful event in Westlands and featured over 100 dancers from all over the country.

“I am forever grateful for Red Bull who saw it fit for Kenya to be a part of this global championships, thank you to my fans and all who voted for me, I will do you proud,” Ian Tico said, adding that with God everything is possible, and that you should never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do.

“It is a great honor for the dance community in Kenya to be one among the 80 countries to take part in this global competition,” said Chiki Kuruka, a dance choreographer and judge in this competition. “I believe that the ultimate winner of the global competition will come from the +254,” she added.

Dance Your Style competition relies on a crowd voting system instead of judges to pick out the most talented dancers. The finals took a battle format where head to head challenges lasted 45 seconds each. The battles were tough and many rounds ended in ties with the final battle being held just minutes to 7:00pm. In a landslide vote from the audience, Ian Tiko was picked as the champion.

“For many months, I have watched Ian train. He has owned his training, and owned his game. He will not just represent Kenya, but he will bring this home for us,” said Ayomar, who is a seasoned dancer and a judge in this national competition. She added that this was not only a win for the dance community but for Kenya as a whole.

This is the first event of its kind in Kenya and the first one to focus exclusively on the dance community. Red Bull Dance Your Style competition is a battle concept that brings out the different personalities and characters of street dancers through challenges that include spontaneous change in music during performances.