The Opening Ceremonies of the Gold Coast Sports Festival 2019 featured demonstrations of Standard, Latin and Breaking in front of many members of the Olympic Family and the former Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. The DanceSport demonstrations reflected the universal language of sports by transgressing the barriers of age, gender and culture.
The Gold Coast Sports Festival 2019, powered by GAISF, focused entirely on youth. The Opening Ceremonies of the “United Through Youth” -themed Festival at Sport Accord convention 2019 (Gold Coast, AUS) featured demonstrations in Standard, Latin, Breaking, Taekwondo, Lacrosse and 3×3 Basketball, as well as musical performances from a number of children and teenagers from the local area. The band and singers came from a local high school on the Gold Coast and all the dancers were from the local Gold Coast clubs.
The spirit of the DanceSport shows at the Festival demonstrated how everybody is capable of moving to music and how dance is part of the fabric of every society. As millions around the globe move to the rhythms of their choice, they perform one of the most universal sporting gestures too.
His Excellency Ban Ki-moon and GAISF Leader Dr Raffaele Chiulli together with many IOC members were among the distinguished guests in attendance at the event.
We would like to thank GAISF Vice-President Mr. Fox for great help and collaboration in helping us putting together the DanceSport demonstrations and shows during the festival. Thank you to our Australian NMB, DanceSport Australia, for organizing the performances and demonstrations. And thank you to all the children and youth who participated the festival!
Mr. Glenn Weiss (DEN), ordinary member of the Presidium, and an international, A-licenced WDSF and WDSF PD Adjudicator was appointed as the new Chair of the Adjudicators Commission. The appointment took place during the Presidium meeting in May after Mr. Cor van der Stroet (NED) had stepped down in his office.
In his acceptance speech Mr. Weiss said: ”It is a great honour. I consider this one of the most important aspects of our Federation. Our Adjudicators must be respected, educated, and given the tools to do the job that all competitors deserve; a fair, knowledgeable and unbiased assessment of their dancing.”
The title events in Kosice (SVK) will start the weekend as the 2019 WDSF European Championship Ten Dance, 2019 WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Standard and 2019 WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Latin take place at Spolocensky Pavilon on Friday.
28 couples have registered for the European Championship. None of the three medalist couples of 2018 are on the starting list, which means there will be new names on the podium.
The same will also occur with the PD World Championship Master Class I Standard as only two couples of the finalists from last year have registered for the competition. Total of 14 couples are on the preliminary starting list.
Fourteen couples have registered for the PD World Championship Master Class I Latin as well, and five of the six finalists of last year have returned to the title event, including the reigning Champions Antony Boris Coppola – Maria Grazia Patti (ITA).
The fourth title event in Kosice takes place on Saturday as WDSF World Championship Senior II Latin with 68 couples highlights the day. The reigning World Champions, Timo Lindfors – Ekaterina Krutovskaya-Kauppinen (FIN) have not registered which means the title is up for grabs.
The event in Kosice starts on Friday and ends on Sunday, and in addition to the title events there are WDSF International Open Standard and Latin, and WDSF Open competitions from Youth to Senior IV age groups during the weekend.
The second location with events this weekend is Faenza (ITA), which is also hosting a WDSF International Open Standard on Saturday and WDSF International Open Latin on Sunday.
From the administration point of view, the main event of the week is taking place in Budapest (HUN) as a rough number of 150 delegates and guests representing about 60 National Member Bodies (NMBs) are attending the Annual General Meeting weekend. The weekend begins with WDSF PD Annual General Meeting on Friday afternoon, followed by WDSF Continental Association Annual General Assemblies until Friday evening. Saturday is reserved for an Open Forum, followed by a WDSF Gala Dinner. On Sunday, the WDSF AGM will highlight the day, followed by a dinner and show on Sophie Cruise Ship hosted by the Hungarian DanceSport Association.
We will keep updating news of these events on our website and social media channels. Stay tuned!
The competitions begin at 14:10 with the first round of the European Championship Ten Dance, followed by the WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Standard at 14:40 and the WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Latin at 16:32. All times CET.
Eight persons were awarded due to their outstanding services for the WDSF during the WDSF Gala Dinner on Saturday evening in a beautiful Gundel restaurant ballroom.
Mr Wolfgang Eliasch (AUT), Mr Michael Eichert (GER), Mr Heinz Spaeker (GER), Mrs Ineke Crijns (NED), Mr Jim Fraser (CAN) and Mr Drago Sulek (SLO) were all awarded for their exceptionally long, devoted and committed work for the WDSF in different capacities and duties.
Mr Jean-Laurent Bourquin (SUI), the Senior Advisor for the WDSF, got his award from President Tay. In his speech to Mr Bourquin the President said, that Jean-Laurent Bourquin´s work for the WDSF has led us to success; the YOG, discussions about inclusion of Breaking into the Summer Olympics, the medal sport in the Urban Games, Breaking in the FISE, cooperation with FIBA and many more. Mr Tay continued, that one really needs a lot of dedication and devotion to achieve all these in a short time.
Mr Pedro Toro (ESP), the Communications commission member and TV and audiovisual content director was awarded by the WDSF Presidium for his extraordinary talent in creating DanceSport to moving images.
Full granting speeches to each awarded person will be uploaded later to our webpage.
WDSF congratulates all awarded outstanding community members one more time for the dedicated work to WDSF.
Mr Jeffrey van Meerkerk (NED) proposed a motion to approve the WDSF Presidium´s work for the past year. Mr Van Meerkerk reminded the delegates the following:
“Presidium transition was accelerated in Lausanne last year to administer our international federation in a new governance structure for an inclusive DanceSport community that expects a clear, correct effective sporting system that will operate every day, which is fair to the athletes and lets them take part in competitions with the same rules and the same standards in every country.
By the way, Ladies and Gentlemen, in my opinion it is that kind of work and that kind of sensible, clear transparent system that provides A TRUE “FREEDOM TO DANCE”!
We do not see them at work often, but we can tell that our Presidium has done this hard, time-consuming work to maintain and develop the WDSF sporting system around the world.
The Presidium changed as was promised last year in Lausanne, peacefully and cooperatively, and also met the other challenges of the past twelve months calmly, with courage and fairness toward all, according to the clear principles that the WDSF Annual General Meeting has approved many times.
This weekend has confirmed for me again that WDSF is strongly led by our Presidium with dedication to our sport and to each of our countries.”
The motion carried unanimously giving the full support of the National Member Bodies to the WDSF Presidium.
Mr Jim Fraser began his work in WDSF DanceSport more than 40 years ago in his own country and has continuously been a Member of the WDSF Presidium, since he was first elected in 1998.
Since then he has served as Chair of the WDSF Legal Commission, as Vice-President of Legal Affairs since that office was created, previously as the first Chair of the WDSF Internet Commission, first Chair of the WDSF Anti-doping Commission, First Vice-President 2016 – 2017, and Acting WDSF President during President Hinder’s absence in 2017.
He has served well and honorably, and he has provided exceptional leadership and sacrifices for the Presidium and for the whole WDSF. He will continue serving WDSF after his retirement from his position as Vice-President for Legal Affairs, by special assignment from time to time.
WDSF Presidium wants to express its sincere gratitude to Mr Fraser and congratulate him as a new Honorary Member.
Photo: WDSF Presidium witnessed Mr Jim Fraser signing his resignation during the Presidium meeting on Monday, 10th June 2019.
Daniil Ulanov – Kateryna Isakovych (CYP) were crowned as the new WDSF European Champions in Ten Dance in Kosice (SVK) on Saturday. Fourth place in the Europeans 2018 changed to a position on the top of the podium as the couple secured their win with their strong Standard dancing over the Russian couple, Semen Khrzhanovskiy – Elizaveta Lykhina, who were the strongest in scores in Latin. Earle Williamson – Veronika Myshko (UKR) ranked third and won the bronze medals. Ulanov - Isakovych have previously ranked second in the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 World Championship Ten Dance and now received their first title, the European Championship.
New Champions were also crowned in the 2019 WDSF World Championship Senior II Latin. Frantisek Beres – Miriam Beresova (SVK) made the home crowd cheer as they were announced as World Champions. It is their first title, and what could have been a better place to win it than an event in home country! Carlos Cirera – Eva Nieto (ESP) ranked second and Sergey Makarenko – Anna Makarenko (RUS) ranked third.
The 2019 WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Standard had also winners from the host country. The 2017 World Champions, David Schavel – Iryna Copp (SVK) (in photo) dominated the competition by winning all five dances in the final, and won the World Championship title. Francesco Laterrenia – Laura Caramia (ITA) ranked second in their first WDSF PD event, and Michal Mladek – Sarka Hesova (CZE) repeated their result from last year by winning the bronze medals.
The 2019 WDSF PD World Championship Master Class I Latin had also host country winners as Jiri Hein – Lucia Krncanova (SVK) took home the World Championship title. The couple won all five dances in the final. Antony Boris Coppola – Maria Grazia Patti (ITA) won the silver medals, and another Italian couple, Paolo Croce – Arianna Rossi won the bronze.
Many congratulations to the Champions, runners-up and the finalists of the Championships!
The WDSF National Member Bodies gathered in Budapest, Hungary, for the WDSF Annual General Meeting weekend on June 7-9, 2019. The event started on Friday with the Annual General Meeting of the WDSF Professional Division and Annual General Assembly of the WDSF Continental Association of Europe (DanceSport Europe). Many official and unofficial meetings were held on Friday, as the schedule allowed time for networking and discussions inside and outside meeting rooms.
The agenda of the Open Forum on Saturday had some current topics, for example the Sports Series, new structure of the competition rules, and Breaking and the Olympic Games project. There were also presentations by three NMBs (Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal), and the Chair of the Medical Commission, Dr. Patrizia Melchert (AUT). The discussions were positive, and especially towards the end they were really constructive and gave good input to the Presidium and the Commissions in their work.
We had a chat on Monday morning with the Canadians Patricia Goh and Phil Lee. Patricia commented on the Open Forum: ”The Open Forum was very informative and the atmosphere was very nice, people felt comfortable and at the same time people get a lot of information. I followed the interactive platform and I think it is the way to go, the social media way. It gives people an opportunity to participate in the discussion even though they might not want to go in front. It also saves time.”
Phil commented: ”The Open Forum this year was relaxed, it seemed to have an agenda, people felt they can talk and feel free to talk, and there was a good interaction between the Presidium and the people who were there. There was no time restraint like last year, so I think people felt they could be productive. The way interactive platform was used also helped the Presidium to answer the questions clearly.”
In general, about the AGM on Sunday, Patricia wanted to say that even though she was a guest and not a delegate at the meeting she noticed that people come from all around the world and this time there was time allocated for each of the topics. Phil continued with this thought by saying, that the members should handle the motions more efficiently and better. ”The motions from the USA were moved to the next AGM, that was done properly and I think people felt they were treated correctly.”
Four elections took place during the WDSF Annual General Meeting in Budapest (HUN) on Sunday, June 9th. Election of WDSF President to serve the balance of the term until the 2021 WDSF AGM was conducted. After becoming WDSF President in November 2018, Mr Shawn Tay (SGP) voluntarily undertook to stand for election to confirm his mandate as President of WDSF. Mr Erich Stäldi (SUI) chaired the election, and Mr Tay was elected as President with 127 votes in favour, 5 abstentions.
Mr Nenad Jeftic was elected to serve as the WDSF Vice President for Sports. The office had not been appointed since November 2018, after the previous 1st Vice-President and VP for Sports Mr Shawn Tay took the Presidency. Mr. Jeftic was elected with 118 votes in favour, 15 abstentions.
The current terms of the office of the members of the WDSF Disciplinary Council expired at the end of the 2019 WDSF Annual General meeting and the elections to the offices in the new WDSF Disciplinary Council for the term of four years (2019-2023) were held.
Mr. Erich Stäldi (SUI) was elected to Chair the Disciplinary Council. The elected two Vice-Presidents are Jens Grundei (GER) and Noel Laman (PHI), and the Members are Karina Geerts (BEL), Hermann Goetz (AUT), Antun Marki (CRO), Lars Wallin (SWE), Peter Loja (SVK) and Karen Pedersen (DEN).
The current terms of office for four members and the Chairperson of the WDSF Ethics Committee expired at the end of the 2019 WDSF AGM and the election of the new WDSF Ethics Committee was held. Due to the AGM decision of modifying the structure of the Ethics Committee prior to the election, a substitute member was also elected.
The WDSF Ethics Committee for the term of 2019-2023: Chairperson The Honorable Sandra Nori (AUS), members Tomas Eriksson (SWE), Poul-Eric Hoyer (DEN), Brian Nook (USA), Viktorija Tomic (SLO), and the substitute member Anatol Kotau (BLR).
Congratulations to all elected persons and thank you for all delegates and guests for attending the AGM weekend! Thank you for the Hungarian NMB for the arrangements and a special thank you goes to the Lausanne Office, Project Manager Guillaume Felli and his team for organizing the event in such a professional manner.
The WDSF Presidium, in accordance with the Statutes Article 13(ter) (6), appointed WDSF Vice-President for Finance, Mr. Tony Tilenni (AUS) to fill the vacant position of the office of the First Vice-President, and to hold that office for the balance of the Presidium’s four-year term.
The WDSF Presidium also appointed Mr. Guillaume Felli for the position of the WDSF General Secretary. The Annual General Meeting on Sunday carried the motion of ceasing the position of General Secretary to be an elected and honorary position in a volunteer administration, and becoming a Staff position.
The 2019 WDSF Annual General Meeting elected Mr. Shawn Tay (SGP) to serve as a WDSF President, and Mr. Nenad Jeftic (SRB) to serve as the Vice-President for Sports for the balance of the Presidium’s four-year term.
Want to watch the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championship but are unable to make it to Nanjing, China? Then tune into The Olympic Channel on 23 June, where you can watch the battles live from wherever you are around the world!
The Olympic Channel will stream the action starting from the Round Robin stage from 14:30 local time (08:30 CEST, 02:30 EDT). The semifinals are scheduled to begin at 19:45 local time (13:45 CEST, 07:45 EDT), with the finals set to begin one hour later.
In addition, all the battles from the Round Robin stage onward will be saved on the WDSF DanceSport YouTube Channel so make sure to subscribe so you will not miss a beat.
Over 150 b-boys and b-girls from 66 countries are set to compete at the World Championship, including some of the biggest names in Breaking. A list of all competitors can be found here.*
*Chinese entrants will be decided during national qualifiers on 22 June.
Tirana, Albania, hosts the 2019 WDSF World Championship Senior II Ten Dance and WDSF World Open Standard and Latin.
25 couples representing 11 countries have registered for the World Championship. The reigning World Champions, Tomasz Kucharczyk – Roza Kucharczyk (POL) have registered, and so have the runners-up Jordi Mayral Esteban – Eva Aguilera Llobera (ESP). For the past two years it has been very tight between these two couples and we can’t wait to see if they continue to stay on top, or if there will be other names on the podium this year! The Championship takes place on Saturday, just like the WDSF World Open Latin with 53 couples on the starting list. WDSF World Open Standard with 35 couples has been scheduled to highlight Sunday in Tirana.
The second WDSF World Open event of the weekend takes place in Vila do Conde, Portugal, on Saturday, as the WDSF World Open Latin with 53 couples highlights the event at Pavilhão dos Desportos de Vila Conde. In addition to WDSF Open categories, there will also be WDSF PD Open Latin, which will take place on Sunday.
Szeged, Hungary, hosts WDSF International Open and WDSF Open event at Szeged City Sports Hall. 19th anniversary of the event has 143 couples registered for the WDSF competitions, from Junior I to Senior IV age groups.
Berlin, Germany, hosts WDSF Open for Junior II and Youth age groups on Saturday and Sunday.
On the Asian soil, Hanoi, Vietnam, hosts WDSF Open for Adults on Saturday. Osaka, Japan, hosts WDSF PD Open Standard and Latin, and WDSF Open Standard and Latin on Sunday.
There is a lot to look forward to this weekend. All the best for all the couples on the dance floor!
It was an exciting day in Tirana (ALB) as 24 couples started the first round of the World Championship. A chore of four rounds, with ten dances on each round was waiting ahead for these wonderful and fit Senior II couples.
As it was predicted, the two couples who have been taking turns with the World Title for the past few years, were the strongest ones also on Saturday. Jordi Mayral Esteban – Eva Aguilera Llobera (ESP) returned to the top of the podium by winning all ten dances of the final. It was their third World Title in Senior II Ten Dance, as they have won the titles also in 2015 and 2017. The runners-up, Tomasz Kucharczyk – Rosa Kucharczyk (POL) had to settle for silver this year and hand over the reign to the Spanish couple. Johann Lavigne - Christelle Bruel (FRA) won the bronze.
The WDSF World Open Standard in Tirana was very tight and exciting as the couples improved their scores towards the end. After the last dance, Matteo Cicchitti – Simona Brecikova (SVK) were announced as winners. Marco Sirocchi – Dora Kilin (ROU) ranked second, and Kirill Pavlov – Kristina Shinkariuk (SVK) third. Aleksandru Miculescu Ionut – Andra Pacurar (ROU) won the WDSF World Open Latin. It was their second World Open title in a row. Andrea Bolzoni – Michelle Maritan (MNE) ranked second and Salvatore Bellavita – Milena Usanova (ALB) third.
Vila do Conde (POR) hosted WDSF World Open Latin and WDSF PD Open Latin. 51 couples started the World Open competition. The recent European Championship Ten Dance silver medalists, Semen Khrzhanovskiy – Elizaveta Lykhina (RUS) continued their excellent year as they won the World Open Latin before Mikhail Koptev – Alexandra Atamantseva (RUS) and Francesco Esposito – Svetlana Kostenko (ITA). The WDSF PD Open Latin had five couples on the starting list. Telmo Madeira – Vanessa Ferrao (POR) opened their season with a convincing win.
Szeged (HUN) hosted WDSF International Open Latin on Saturday. 32 couples started the competition and to the delight of the home crowd, Miha Zerjav – Laura Karcagi (HUN) were announced as winners. The WDSF International Open Standard took place on Sunday. 42 couples started the competition, and after four rounds Gabriele Cassai – Kristine Madsen (DEN) took their first win in WDSF International Open event.
Osaka (JPN) hosted WDSF PD Open Standard and Latin on Sunday. PD Open Standard had 30 couples on the starting list. Nikolay Darin – Natalia Seredina (MDA) have had a jump start to 2019, and they danced their way to the top of the podium. Alessandro Ilarioni – Aurora Sbardella (ITA) ranked second and Nikolaj Lund – Marta Kocik (DEN) third. WDSF PD Open Latin with 20 couples was dominated by Vincenzo Mariniello – Sara Casini (ITA) (in photo). Wang Jun – Jia Yiwen (CHN) ranked second and Alexey Birman – Uliana Pustovalova (RUS) third. There were also WDSF Open Standard and Latin organised in Osaka on Sunday. Andres Liiv – Kristin Vaha (EST) won the WDSF Open Standard and Vito Coppola – Oona Oinas (ITA) took home the brightest medals of the WDSF Open Latin.
Hanoi (VIE) hosted WDSF Open Standard and Latin, but so far there are no results available. Berlin (GER) hosted WDSF Open for Youth and Junior II. Egor Ionel – Rita Schumichin (GER) won the WDSF Youth Open Standard and Andrei Petcu – Nicole-Vanessa Barna (HUN) the WDSF Youth Open Latin. In Junior II, Tomasz Ruszkowski – Julia Mozdyniewicz (POL) won Standard and Oleg Kolesnikov – Alina Shadrina (RUS) won the Latin competition.
Congratulations to the World Champions, runners-up and the finalists! Many congratulations to the winners of the WDSF PD Open competitions, too, and also to the winners of the other WDSF events of the weekend!
Such a wonderful weekend it was, and there will be much more ahead this week! The 2019 WDSF PD European Championship Latin takes place in Karlsruhe (GER) on Saturday, and the 2019 WDSF World Championship Breaking takes place in Nanjing (CHN) on Sunday. In addition to these title events, Villafranca Veronese (ITA) hosts a WDSF International Open event with over 150 couples registered already for the International Open Standard and Latin. We are looking forward to all of it!
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) will celebrate Olympic Day in style this year with the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championship in Nanjing, China.
The goal of Olympic Day, celebrated around the world on 23 June to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on the same day back in 1894, is to promote participation in sport regardless of age, gender or athletic ability and to get as many people as possible active.
What better way to get inspired than to watch some of the world’s best Breakers – 150 b-boys and b-girls from 66 countries in total – compete for the title of World Champion, including eight Olympians who participated in the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires last year. A list of all b-boys and b-girls who will be in Nanjing can be found here.*
It’s the kind of talent pool that has b-girl Hurricane of France, who will be one of 10 judges in Nanjing, excited to be part of the event.
“It’s going to be a magic moment for the scene,” said Hurricane, who added that it will be an excellent opportunity to check out what’s happening in the global Breaking community all in one place. “It’s officially the first time that we can talk about a ‘World Championship’ with a real selection and qualifications, so it’s going to show our talent and give respect to our scene.”
To ensure universality targets are met, qualification for the World Championship not only allowed each WDSF National Federation (NF) to send up to four breakers (two b-boys and two b-girls) but also allowed for an additional 45 wild card spots and the possibility for countries without a National Federation to send athletes.
Most WDSF NFs organised national qualifiers in the first half of the year to identify the athletes to represent their countries at the World Championships.
One of three b-boys representing Venezuela is the seasoned pro Lil G, who says he is looking to feed off those who are at the top of their game in Nanjing.
“I’m looking to do my best in this battle, but the more important thing for me is to enjoy the moment,” said Lil G, who has competed in China on numerous occasions but never been to Nanjing. “I really want to battle people who will be on fire, because then I can push myself more.”
For those unable to make it to Nanjing, The Olympic Channel will livestream the action starting from the Round Robin stage from 13:30 local time (07:30 CEST, 01:30 EDT). The semifinals are scheduled to begin at 19:30 local time (13:30 CEST, 07:30 EDT), with the finals set to begin one hour later.
In addition, all the battles from the Round Robin stage onward will be saved on the DanceSport Total.
The Championship will double as a qualifying event for the first GAISF World Urban Games in Budapest, Hungary this September.
*Chinese entrants will be decided during national qualifiers on 22 June.
3TNMRvnzwtA|2019 World Championship Breaking Trailer
Over 150 b-boys and b-girls from 66 countries have arrived in Nanjing (CHN) and are ready to show their skills on the dance floor at the WDSF World Breaking Championship. B-boy Astro and b-girl Babyball, the winners of the Chinese qualification from today will join them tomorrow on the battlefield to compete for the World Champion title. Watch the live stream on June 23rd on Olympic Channel or find all the battles on DanceSportTotal YouTube Channel!
Olympic Day has been celebrated around the world on June 23rd to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on the same day back in 1894.
Over the last 20 years Olympic Day has been associated with Olympic Day Runs all over the world. Olympic Day is nowadays much more than just a run or a sports event. It has developed into the only annual worldwide celebration of the Olympic Movement and is a day to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
Based on the three pillars of "Move", "Learn", and "Discover", National Olympic Committees are organising sports, cultural and educational activities for all, regardless of age, gender, social background or sporting ability.
In the lead-up to and on 23 June, the IOC and the Olympic Movement at large also activate their global communication channels, both digital and social media, to promote Olympic Day activities and the importance of leading an active lifestyle.
Through the hashtag #OlympicDay, members of the public, Olympians, fans, volunteers, celebrities, coaches, international and national federations, National Olympic Committees and many other organisations all join the movement, sharing online how they are being physically active for Olympic Day or contributing to celebrations or events organised by National Federations and Olympic Committees.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) will celebrate Olympic Day in style this year with the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championship in Nanjing, China.
The line ups for the top 16 b-girls and the top 32 b-boys in the WDSF World Breaking Champion are looking strong! Live stream is now on on Olympic Channel starting with round Robin. Only four dancers from both categories will go through for the next round to battle for the World Champion title, so now it’s not the time to hold back!
The top 16 qualified b-girls are: Ramona (Finland) DR.C (China) Ami (Japan) Paulina (Poland) Madmax (Belgium) Fenqi (China) Vavi (Russia) Sunny (United States) Ayane (Japan) Ying Zi (China) Logistix (United States) Fresh Bella (Korea, Republic of (South Korea)) Jilou (Germany) Roxy (Great Britain) Queen Mary (Bulgaria) Lluvia (Colombia)
The top 32 qualified b-boys are: Astro (China) Dr. Hill (Mexico) Shigekix (Japan) Marius (Romania) HR (China) Jamal (Russia) Issei (Japan) Pocket (Korea, Republic of (South Korea)) Hotan (China) Klash (Egypt) Lil G (Venezuela) Lego Sam (Malaysia) Lazy (China) Cri6 (Morocco) Lussy Sky (Ukraine) Vero (Korea, Republic of (South Korea)) X-Rain (China) Tirock (Belgium) Bumblebee (Russia) Luan (Brazil) Oy (China) Hatsolo (Finland) Lagaet (France) El Nino (United States) Simy (Belgium) Daniel (Norway) Phil Wizard (Canada) Xak (Spain) Bullet From Space (Russia) Poter (Israel) Menno (Netherlands)
The result for top 4 b-girls and top 8 b-boys are out! B-girls Ami (Japan), Jilou (Germany), Ying Zi (China) and Sunny (United States) and b-boys Shigekix (Japan), Issei (Japan), Lil G (Venezuela), Lussy Sky (Ukraine), Bumblebee (Russia), El Nino (United States),Phil Wizard (Canada) and Menno (Netherlands) will show twelve different styles with high level techniques! But whose day is it going to be today? Who will be able to bring some presence and soul on the stage and execute their moves clean? Watch the semifinals and finals on Olympic Channel or DanceSportTotal YouTube channel to find out who will the World Champions 2019!
WDSF World Breaking Championship 2019 medalists are here!
Menno (Netherlands) and Issei (Japan) faced each other in the b-boy final. Two strong dancers with many big titles in their pockets, but today Menno was the one who was able to get the trophy home!
Ami (Japan) and Sunny (United States) battled each other in the b-girl final. Well done from both dancers! This time Ami took the win with more arsenal left after the long day.
B-girl Ami (JPN) and B-boy Menno (NED) outlasted a strong international pool of 150 breakers to win the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championship today in Nanjing, China, earning them the title of World Champions.
Dynamic styles and energetic flows punctuated the b-girl 1vs1 final at the Lishui Sports Park Gymnasium, where Ami sweep Sunny (USA) in four straight rounds.
Menno had a much tougher go of it against Issei (JPN) in the b-boy 1vs1 final. The two went toe to toe in a hard-fought battle that split the rounds 2-2. Menno was crowned champion thanks to a 17-11 overall vote count.
“I’m so happy because the odds were so big but I still won,” said Ami. “This was so different from normal Breaking jams. I feel like this was real competition so I tried to do many moves and I also tried to dance on a big stage.”
Menno, who said he was feeling agitated after struggling with jet lag in the preselection round, said: “I feel really happy because I trained really hard for it. It’s actually a really big relief because it takes a lot of sacrifice, all the time you put into this … Winning it is an amazing feeling for sure.”
Finishing third were B-girl Jilou (GER) and B-boy Lussy Sky (UKR), who defeated Ying Zi (CHN) and Lil G (VEN), respectively, in third-place playoffs.
Gold, silver and bronze medals were presented to the winning breakers by World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) President Shawn Tay.
YOG gold medallist B-boy Bumblebee (RUS) finished fifth in Nanjing, while bronze medallist Shigekix (JPN) came in seventh.
The World Championship was streamed live on The Olympic Channel. All the battles from the Round Robin stage onward can be viewed on DanceSport Total.
The Championship doubled as a qualifying event for the first GAISF World Urban Games in Budapest, Hungary this September. A list of the 12 b-boys and 12 b-girls that qualified will be announced shortly.
