Indian street dance events: Underground jams and battle

Red Bull Dance Your Style wrapped up a third edition in India with hip-hop dancer Nepo claiming the title for the second time.

The event was a celebration of street dance culture, bringing together the top-16 dancers from India to compete for the ultimate all-style crown.

While attending the event, the dancers discussed their favourite dance jams, cyphers and competitions around India. These range from events they like to attend just to experience the vibe, if they are planning on getting down in competition, or simply just because they want to support the scene and love being at the event.

For anyone just getting into India’s underground dance scene with little idea on what jams to attend, here’s a treasure trove of most recommended events by some of India’s best street style dancers.

Nepo

“For me, a must-attend, must-participate dance event in India is always going to be Red Bull Dance Your Style.”

Invoker

“My favourite jam in India’s dance calendar is Freeze, which is organized by Black Ice Crew in Bengaluru.

“I would also recommend people to attend Groovy Spot, a jam which I have been organizing in Delhi since 2018. It was one of the first events to help push the dance scene in North India.”

“For any young dancer looking for jams to attend, I would suggest looking up some local jams. For example, there are two-three events happening in Delhi every week. If you don’t know where to discover them, follow some social media pages like To The Culture because they keep posting about upcoming events.”

Majin Boo

“For krump artists, I would suggest attending Bring The Buck, which takes place in July in New Delhi. This year, the winner of Bring The Buck in India will also qualify for the international competition King of Buck, which happens in Japan. Indian Krump Festival organized by Hectik in Delhi is also a great jam to attend. There’s also a krump event I conduct in Delhi called Straight Buck. Last year I conducted Straight Buck with Indian judges, but I’m planning to organize the event in December 2023 with international judges.”

Musa

“One of my favourite events in India is called Community Jam. It will take place in July 2023 and I definitely will be attending. There are a lot of good Afro jams that happen in Mumbai on a regular basis.”

Mekhola

“My favourite all-style dance events in India are Freeze in Bengaluru and Blame it on the Boogie in Hyderabad. When it comes to waacking specifically, Retro Rally is a lit party in Bengaluru, but it hasn’t happened in a while. I would suggest people from across the country visit Pune and Mumbai for waacking jams, because they are conducted very frequently in those two cities.”

Kakarot

“My favourite jams across India are Hip-Hop Hustle in Mumbai, Groovy Spot in Delhi, Freeze in Bengaluru, and Blame it on the Boogie in Hyderabad.”

Smooth Boog

“My favourite dance event in India is Freeze. I would also recommend people who have just started practicing popping to attend Indian Popping Festival in Delhi.”

JRM

JRM at Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 India Finals
© Focus Sports

“My favourite dance event is Street Combat, which happens in Delhi. It’s organised by Poppin Ticko. This event has competitions in all categories. And it is an amazing experience, so I think it is one of the best jams to attend in India. I also think Bharat Jam is really good. For new dancers, I would suggest attend any jam where there are international judges, you will learn most from those jams.”

Groovy

“I love Red Bull Dance Your Style because it has a unique competition format where the audience votes to decide the winner. For anyone looking to get into the locking scene in India, I would suggest you attend Indian Premier Locking, which is organised by Raghavan in Chennai. The next edition is in August 2023. I would also suggest attending Delhi Locking Project.”

ZuBoo

My favourite dance events in India are High on Hip-Hop and Groovy Spot. Invoker organizes Groovy Spot in Delhi, and I think he does a great job in organizing it. I was actually a judge at High on Hip-Hop in 2010, but I want to get down in the competition because the vibes are amazing. Another event I would recommend any young dancer to attend is Battle Ya Skills, which takes place in Bengaluru. It is organized by one of my homies and I help him organize it. I think the vibes at that event are amazing too. Also Bangalore Hip-Hop Championship. And lastly, I would say Red Bull Dance Your Style is a must-attend because it is a dedicated dance crowd and you don’t get this kind of energy at any other event.”

Pradeep

“If you are a beginner to street dance in India, you have to attend Spunk Your Creek and Meltdown Freeze; both events take place in Bengaluru. It is only if you attend these two events that you will understand the energy around street dance and why it affects our lives so much. Around the country, I think the must important jams for anyone to attend are Blame it on the Boogie in Hyderabad, Bhumigat in Mumbai, Petta Rap in Chennai, and High on Hip-Hop, Groovy Spot, and Bharat Jam in Delhi.”

Nivesh

“My favourite dance events are Freeze and Hip-Hop Hustle. I also love Blame it on the Boogie.”

Tee J

“For anyone interested in attending waacking events, I would suggest Waack Jam. It is an event organized by Simi, Ayushi and myself, as part of our Waackers of India collective. We organize workshops, battles and conferences. It's a really beautiful and supportive space for waackers; there have been a lot of people who came out at the event after feeling the love.”

Bleed

“I would say Bring the Buck, which happens in Delhi, is one of the best krump events in India. It is the only krump event that I haven’t won yet.

“One of the oldest krump events in the country is Indian Krump Festival. Then there is Krumpact in Mumbai, the Indian qualifier for International Illest Battle in Kolkata, Eastreet Nations in Kolkata, The Essence in Mumbai, PODS Ranbhoomi in Mumbai, etc. These are events where you will find pure krumpers.”

Killa Choc

“Krumpact in Mumbai is a crazy event. It’s an event that really helps me grow as a krumper.”

Oggy

“One of my favourite events is Original Street Dance Championship in Pune; it was the first dance title I won. Some other favourites are Hip-Hop Hustle in Mumbai, Battle Ya Skills in Bengaluru, and Indian Hip-Hop Dance Championship in Mumbai. Red Bull Dance Your Style is also one of the best events on the Indian dance calendar.”

Discover the must-attend events of India’s underground street dance scene

Red Bull Dance Your Style India 2023

A competition where the best dancers across styles face off in epic 1-on-1 battles with the audience deciding the winner.