UK Street Dance Championships 2014 Review

UK Street Dance Championships 2014

15 November 2014

www.ukstreetdancechampionships.com

Reviewed by Claire Humpidge

I run my own dance school, teaching street (amongst other subjects) to children, teens and young adults, so jumped at the chance to review the UK Street Dance Championships 2014.

The venue, Byron Hall, in Harrow, North London, was easily accessible, with lots of free parking. As I live in Birmingham, I drove to the venue (2 hours down the M40), and was met there by my close friend and dance teacher employee, who has recently moved to South London. Dani took the underground and overground, and was there within an hour, with just a 2 minute walk from the station.

On the whole, the facilities were good for spectators, with plenty of seating (1400 chairs) and no queues for refreshments or toilets, however an area for dancers to change in would have been helpful.

There was a big temporary stage area, which could be seen easily from all points within the large hall.

I was surprised that there wasn’t any competition branded merchandise, but there were 4 stalls selling street dance wear – I bought an adult and a kid’s t shirt, which at £10 each, I felt were very reasonably priced.

Hot and cold refreshments were served, and these too were very reasonably priced.

The judges credentials were impressive: all were high profile finalists on televised competitions (Got to Dance & Britain’s Got Talent).

The competition prizes included cash, medals, and sponsor, Step Up 5, merchandise (earlier DVDs & Step Up 5 t shirts).

With regards to the competition itself, unfortunately I felt the morning lacked atmosphere, although this was probably due to the fact that it was freestyler heats/finals for the entire time and this doesn’t pull as big a crowd or as much interest as the choreographed crew comps. Early afternoon though, a cypher circle kicked off during one of the breaks, and the atmosphere lifted somewhat, although it was still quite flat with lots of empty seats.

As the afternoon progressed though, and the crew heats commenced, the hall filled up a lot more and excitement built rapidly. I was really impressed with the standard of the crews: under 9s through to adults, even newbie competitors, all rose to the occasion. The talent just kept coming – really tight performances, fresh ideas, and loads of hard hitting tricks.

Now for the negatives: It was quite pricey for entry (£13.50/£17.50 for spectators, and £12.50/£15 for each competitors pass, plus £36 per crew to enter the competition) Also, I didn’t feel the compere engaged effectively with the audience so it wasn’t always clear what was next, and there therefore wasn’t any anticipation. It felt quite slow paced, and it also didn’t run to the schedule. Personally, I would’ve liked it if finalists were announced rather than just listed on the wall. I really think this would have added to the high quality dancing and made it an even better event.

Overall rating: 4/5

For more information visit www.ukstreetdancechampionships.com.