The D Soraki has won the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2022. The D Soraki outclassed 15 of the world’s best dancers to win the planet’s most prestigious all-styles solo street dance title.
After a year of National Finals across the globe and a week of pre-finals that whittled the field from 60 down to 16, the world witnessed an elevated energy movement at Montecasino in Johannesburg, South Africa. When the epic dance showcase was done the Japanese dancer remained on the floor alone having beaten King DaVinci from Nigeria in the final battle.
Street dance culture
“I’m still in shock, it hasn’t sunk in yet that I have won. I think I still need to process everything that has happened but it was a phenomenal experience for me and I can’t wait to get back to my country and tell everyone about the unity of street dance culture that came through this amazing competition.” said 2022 Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final champ The D Soraki from Japan.
Red Bull Dance Your Style is a global all-styles street dance event series with a unique battle format. From hip hop to house, to locking to popping – dancers need to ‘wow’ the crowd and ultimately win their vote.
“Being a finalist in the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final means a lot to me, it means Africa is alive, deep and raw. It gave me a chance to show the world that we are a creative people. I feel like the world is not ready, this is the tip of the iceberg of what Africa has to offer. I just wanted to put Africa, Nigeria and Akungba on the map. I wanted to show the world how versatile we are.” said the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Finalist, King DaVinci from Nigeria.
The 2021 and 2022 National Winners went through two pre-finals in the week leading up to the World Final. The eight who advanced from the pre-finals into the main event were up against eight wildcards from around the world, with the World Final top 16 possessing a range of dance styles that highlighted the versatility of the street dance movement.
Dancers held nothing back
The eclectic South African crowd came out in numbers to experience this spectacular showcase of street dance and voted for their favourite dancers throughout the one-on-one battles. This voting process became harder in each round as dancers held nothing back.
After four hours of intense competition, the final battle between The D Soraki and King DaVinci had the crowd chanting for the Japanese wildcard, The D Soraki to victory.
As the second country to host the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final, ‘Mzansi’ pulled out all the stops. This spectacular showcase of dance was hosted by Candice Modiselle and dancer and DJ Kapela Marna, while Courtnaé Paul ensured that the stage had the most challenging variety of the best global music hits.
The night was topped off by Nasty C, local dancers, and American dance crew The Kinjaz also brought their formidable flavour to stage.
Don’t forget to also watch the Red Bull Dance Your Style series airing every Saturday at 2 pm on SABC 1.
South Africa also had various activities where dancers had the opportunity to experience workshops from top international dancers such as krumping by Outrage, hip hop by StalaMuerte, Kinjaz workshop with Anthony Lee, and a popping workshop with Dassy.
What: Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2022
WS
