Dance
The best advice for street style dance that you will ever receive
The top-16 of Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals share the best advice they ever received and one piece of advice they want to pass on.
Red Bull Dance Your Style concluded its third edition in India with a national final in Delhi.
The top-16 street style dancers from the country competed at the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals, where Haldwani-based hip-hop dancer Nepo claimed his second India title.
With thousands of Indian dancers participating via online auditions, the top-16 spots were among the most coveted positions in Indian dance competitions. And the dancers at the national final proved that their talent and experience made them deserving candidates.
In candid conversations, they revealed that many of their learnings have come through good advice of their mentors, crew mates, and well-wishers.
Here they share the best advice that each has received which has helped them in their dance and careers, and pass on some learnings from their personal experiences for the next generation of Indian street style dancers.
Nepo
Nepo at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “Nowadays everything has become about movement, and everyone works on developing that. But dance is a feeling and something that comes from within. So work on expressing your emotions through dance; don’t just move,” as told to him by his mentor Negi.
His advice for dance beginners: “Believe in yourself and be consistent. If you’re consistent, you will be able to see growth in your dance. If you don’t believe in yourself, you might get demoralised and feel like giving up.”
Invoker
Invoker at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “An artist can’t expect to show up on stage and start winning. It’s a process; you need to train, work on yourself, and that’s how you make it,” learnt from multiple conversations with dancers and musicians across India.
His advice for dance beginners: “Understand that dance is a process. Don’t expect results too soon. What’s important is to keep learning and be consistent with your practice. And most importantly, don’t give up just because things don’t go your way.”
Majin Boo
Majin Boo at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “You have great flexibility from the yoga practice you used to do before you were a dancer. Use that flexibility in your dance,” as told to him by his mentor Amit Dadwal.
His advice for dance beginners: “There is nothing without knowledge. So put in efforts to learn about your dance style. Nowadays, we commonly see people learn dance from watching videos and immediately jumping into battles. I think it’s important to learn about foundation, elements, history, founding fathers, etc.”
Musa
Musa at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: NA
His advice for dance beginners: “Attend classes so you can learn the foundation of your dance style. Don’t look to jump into battles straightaway. Attend as many jams as you can, but in the beginning just observe the battles instead of getting down; that way you will understand the vibes. After a year or two, you can start getting down in battles.”
Mekhola
Mekhola at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice she has received: “Never think about winning or losing; only think about the current round. Smoke the person opposite you in this round and you will win. Take it round by round, and don’t think too much in the future,” as told to her by crew mate B-Boy Spirit.
Her advice for dance beginners: “Don’t forget to have fun because sometimes competitions can get quite taxing. It’s not easy being a street style dancer in India and making a career as a competitive dancer. So make sure you enjoy the process.”
Kakarot
Kakarot at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “I’m flattered that you like my style. But you shouldn’t try to be my shadow. You should have your own distinct style and character when you dance,” as told to him by reputed USA dancer Phillip Chbeeb, whose moves he used to copy previously.
His advice for dance beginners: “First learn everything you can from senior dancers. Then start working on your individual style and create your own character on the dancefloor.”
Smooth Boog
Smooth Boog at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “You are never done with the basics; keep working on your basics and foundations. When you’re in a cypher, don’t think too much, trust your hard work, enjoy the moment, and let the music make you move,” as he learnt from several conversations with dancers.
His advice for dance beginners: “Hard work, patience and consistency are the most important attributes for a dancer. Any dancer who lacks any one of these attributes will have a lot of problems in future. Also, never stop learning and respect the people who came before you.”
JRM
JRM at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “Your style is really good. Especially your ground moves are something unique that no one else does in India. You should focus more on these ground moves since they give you a unique style,” as told to him by popping dancers Rawshan and Boogie Reptile from Kolkata.
His advice for dance beginners: “Travel as much as possible. Try tolearn as much as you can from international dancers who come to India to judge events. A lot of first generation Indian dancers learnt from international judges. And this will happen for you if you travel across the country for dance events.”
Groovy
Groovy at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “Move with respect and spread love with your dance. Most importantly, be real, represent yourself, and represent your name well when you dance,” as learnt through watching a lot of dance videos online.
His advice for dance beginners: “Learn about dance properly before you get down in battles. Attend every battle that you can as an audience member. Work on yourself for at least two years, and only get down in battles after that. If you put in this work, I’m sure you will at least reach top-8 or top-4 of battles when you finally start competing.”
ZuBoo
ZuBoo at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “Always follow the music and go with it. Just express through dance what the music makes you feel. Whatever you have learnt about dance, express it with your emotions. Never try to replicate any moves exactly. Dance is freedom, so play around,” as learnt through multiple conversations with dancers.
His advice for dance beginners: “Attend as many workshops as you can. Everyone in the dance scene has worked hard, been through hardships, and they are still standing. So attend their workshops so you can learn something from them. And don’t be afraid to pay to learn. Because later when you charge for workshops, people will pay to learn from you as well. That is how the community will grow; you support today and you receive support tomorrow.”
Pradeep
Pradeep at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received:
“Do your own thing and don’t rush. Just stay with the flow of your dance,” as he learnt from B-Boy Lil Wiz. Who introduced him to street culture.
“Don’t put yourself into the box of any one particular style,” as he learnt from his college dance troupe choreographer and mentor Praveen Preface.
His advice for dance beginners: “Think of dance as a progressive medium. There is no start or end to it. And so there is no success or failure as such. Only focus on staying progressive with your dance, and that will come by continuing to practice, train and research. That is how I have always approached it; by being a progressive person in life. Every time I win a jam or finish a five-hour practice session, I always think, ‘I could do a little more.’ Think about that concept of doing little more every time so you always stay progressive.”
Nivesh
Nivesh at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: NA
His advice for dance beginners: “Dance is not just about battles and winning competitions. That is totally secondary. First and foremost, dance is about community. Dance is about culture. So don’t approach it with a solitary mindset of competing and winning. It’s good if you win, but it’s more important to develop the art and the community. Too much competition will spoil your art. So be conscious of that.”
Tee J
Tee J at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice she has received: “You are used to a fast-paced Mumbai life of constantly running, working, no rest, no sleep, no breaks. You need to take a break once in a while – not just as a dancer but as an artist. You need a chance to refresh your body and your mind, so you can give more to your art. So remember to take a break,” as she learnt from her body when she had a fractured ankle in June 2022.
Her advice for dance beginners: “Art is not asking you to do everything every day. It's social media that is asking you to do everything every day. Art needs time. Don’t do something if you aren’t feeling it just because of the money, the fame or the views. Take a break sometimes and let your mind refresh so you can produce your best art.”
Bleed
Bleed at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “There are people who will understand your art and there are people who will not understand your art. The people who will not understand will always point out that you are doing something wrong. The people who understand will value your art. Don’t live according to others’ perspectives,” as told to him by his crew mate Cannibal.
His advice for dance beginners: “If your will power is very strong, it’ll take you places. If your will power is not that strong, you will have to find additional motivation to give you the energy to succeed.”
Killa Choc
Killa Choc at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “You’ve been a breaker previously, so think about how you can use breaking smartly when you dance krump,” as told to him by his crew leader Abhishek Das when he started krumping in 2015.
His advice for dance beginners: “Pick your mentor correctly. Just because someone is winning a lot, it doesn’t mean they are a good teacher. Learn from someone who will help you grow and become a better dancer. Also, give importance to individuality; it will make you stand out. Even if you do a simple move, do it in your own way.”
Oggy
Oggy at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports
Best advice he has received: “Think of music when you think of the fundamentals of dance,” as he learnt from belonging to a musical family and being a musician himself.
His advice for dance beginners: “Learn to play a musical instrument because it will teach you the basics of dance and rhythm. Also, when learning a move, do it hundreds of times till it becomes almost effortless. That’s when it will start to look beautiful.”