Courtesy of Red Bull Media Service Team
The Dutch B-Boy and Russian B-Girl come out on top in Mumbai, India.
The 16th edition of
the world’s biggest and most prestigious one-on-one breaking
competition, Red Bull BC One, culminated in Mumbai, India, with
victories for B-Boy Menno of the Netherlands and B-Girl Kastet from Russia. Here is all you need to know:
–
The two champions triumphed over 70 breakers from over 30 regions
globally to earn the title of Red Bull BC One World Champion.
– For Menno, this is the third time he has been crowned World Champion, after winning Red Bull BC One in 2014 and 2017
–
After previous championships hosted in some of the biggest cities in
the world, including Paris, New York and Tokyo, the Red Bull BC One
World Final travelled to India for the first time.
– Menno
said: “This win means a lot to me. It’s the perfect closure for this
year, I’ve been working very hard for it. The battles weren’t easy, we
only battled three rounds, but my opponent, Killa Kolya, went all in.
I’m very happy to take this title back home – it’s dedicated to my next
kid.”
– Kastet added: “I didn’t think about the title. I
thought about growing in my understanding of dance and hip-hop culture.
But when I got the title, I was very happy and it’s great to take the
belt. Dance will grow when you put in the hard work and know more about
yourself.”
– The World Final was held at the National Sports
Club of India and was attended by thousands of spectators in one of the
fastest growing hip-hop scenes in the world. Side performances featured
some of the biggest names in India: Dhol Dhamaal, V Unbeatable and rap
legend DIVINE.
– From the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands,
Menno is a member of Hustle Kidz crew, the Red Bull BC One All Stars and
Def Dogz. He started breaking in 2001 at a time when it was extremely
popular amongst the youth in his hometown and he also had two older
cousins who were breakers.
– When it comes to competitions,
Menno has won almost every major solo battle there is, including the
2007 and 2013 UK B-Boy Championships solo competition, the 2013 and 2015
Battle Of The Year and Unbreakable solo competitions, the 2017 R16 Solo
competition, and the 2014 and 2017 Red Bull BC One World Finals. Menno
also won the first official WDSF 2019 World Breaking Championship.
–
From Krasnodar, Russia, Kastet, whose name means ‘brass knuckles’ in
English, is a member of 3:16 Crew and started breaking in 2010 at the
age of 12. Going from Latin dance to judo, before finally discovering
breaking, Kastet learned the dance from her crew, especially members
B-Boy Marvel and her husband, B-Boy Jerry Metal.
–
Inspired by breakers such as Kmel, Machine, Remind and Rockadile, when
Kastet dances she tries to use her whole body and believes that it’s
very important to allow soul to shine through her dance. Having won
competitions like the Combonathion 7 2v2 B-Girl battle, the Combonathion
9 1v1 B-Girl battle and the 2018 Russian Red Bull BC One B-Girl
qualifier, Kastet also studies as an artist at university and sees her
future in breaking and art.
Replay the Red Bull BC One World Final HERE