Dance
He who wears the crown: the remarkable rise of King DaVinci
Discover the story of African freestyler King DaVinci, who went from wowing crowds in Lagos to taking the world by storm at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2022.
David 'King DaVinci' Udoh lights up the crowd every time he touches the floor and the beat drops. He has a passion for his craft, positivity and a grin that's instantly infectious. When he represented Nigeria at the last Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final in South Africa, he became an instant favourite among fans as his charisma shone through.
Taking the world by storm with his showmanship battle after battle, he soared past some of the planet's top street dancers, easily switching from his unique Afrosoul style to many other African and street styles.
Eventually making it to the final round, he would have to settle for second place. However, just making it to the latter stages felt like a victory for King DaVinci. “I've been winning in my country and competitions locally for a while now, but I've never gone outside ever, like even travelled before,” he said. “So the fact that I made it to second in the world. Oh my god! That’s my biggest and proudest accomplishment, for now."
King DaVinci in the battle against Inxi
© Tyrone Bradley / Red Bull Content Pool
Heavy is the head that wears the crown
While King DaVinci is still beaming after the win, he's candid about expressing the tremendous pressure he's received from his newfound fame. "You know the industry is expecting big things from me, and it feels like a very big responsibility to put out dope stuff, drop content, and live up to this status," he says. "People are being like 'You're big now, you should be doing big things'. It's a lot of pressure now, but I'm doing my best to handle it."
"Everyone thinks I'm very rich! Many people in Nigeria think that because I went and battled at Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final, I must have moved to the expensive side of Lagos and I'm living large,” explains King Da Vinci, who chose his dance name thanks to his fascination with Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci and the fact his cultural name - Anietientabasi – means ‘who is like God’.
"I'm like, 'Bro! I'm still squatting with my friends. I'm still myself. Nothing changed'. Sure, my recognition is bigger now, and I'm known internationally, but I'm still the old me."
King DaVinci knows how to get the crowd hyped
© Muriel Florence Rieben / Red Bull Content Pool
The early days and the influence of the family
Long before finding fame as a dancer, King DaVinci was honing his skills from as early as he can remember. "My dad used to be a musician, mostly in church. He played the keyboard, guitar, drums and trumpet. He always had these sessions at home, and whenever he played, I'd try to dance along to the different styles of music," he explains. "He wasn't really in support of the fact that I was dancing because he thought dancing was a very unserious art form. He thought it would make me an unserious person, so I never danced outside the house when he was alive."
In 2011, when King DaVinci was 12 years old, his father passed away. Unable to show any emotion and cope with the grief, he began to train in dance more seriously. It helped him overcome the pain and became an outlet to release and express his deepest emotions. "It was crazy; dance became therapy for me," he says. "So whenever I dance, even now, I just put everything into it. If any issues are happening I let my feelings out."
Dance became therapy for me. So whenever I dance, even now, I just put everything into it
While his late father may not have approved of dance as a profession, his mother was more accepting. "My mom was a traditional dancer. She did Ndombolo, a dance from Congo, a bit of ragga and dancehall," says King DaVinci. "She is the person who's on my mind the most when I dance. Since my father passed away, she has been leading the whole family.
"The thing about African women is that they take pride in every achievement you get. In South Africa, when I was battling, it was like she was there with me. Then when I came second, she called me and said, ‘Don't even come home because when you land, everyone is going to come and try and get money from you. You are my international dancer now. Just stay wherever you are, and I'll come to meet you’.”
Despite the pressure, King DaVinci returned home and is more focused and hungry than ever to push his dance as far as possible. He's currently training for Seven to Smoke in Vietnam and is keen to expand his skills after vibing with so many dancers in South Africa, especially the newly crowned world champion, The D Soraki.
"Soraki is one of my inspirations now, for sure," reveals King DaVinci. "He was like the underdog in the competition. We hadn't seen him dance too much, and he just came out and took everyone by surprise. That was quite beautiful. I like calling him an eel because he dances like he has no bones and he's slimy. When I say slimy, I mean fast. He can go to the ground and then up in the air the next second. That's a huge inspiration for me to broaden my horizons and range of movement."
King DaVinci does one of his signature moves: the backflip cancel
© Muriel Florence Rieben / Red Bull Content Pool
Strength through versatility
While always looking to add moves to his arsenal, King DaVinci already possesses an enormous skillset that encompasses a variety of African genres. “I started by learning all the Nigerian street dances. Then I got introduced to all these pioneers like Non-Stop, Popping John, Glitch and Dragonhouse,” he says. “At that point, dubstep was a big thing, so they did a lot of animation and a bit of robotics. Then I think I watched the dance film You Got Served and fell in love with krumping, so I started krumping.
"Then I saw Honey one and two and began to like hip-hop, so I started dancing hip-hop. I'm someone who whenever I see something new, I want to learn it and there’s still plenty more to learn.”
He adds: "One of the things that gave me an advantage in Red Bull Dance Your Style was my versatility and being able to do different styles. Having an idea of everything and how to mix them together is what singled me out from every other person. When it comes to music, I listen to everything from classical and ballroom to jazz, country, EDM, African, Ghanaian, British and European. I even used to listen to ringtones. As long as it has a sound and a groove, I'm down."
As well as showing an interest in a variety of styles, King DaVinci has also been fortunate to learn from other dancers and has been a member of several different crews. “At first, when I started dancing, I always had to dance with someone. I was a partner freak. So I joined the Elite Crew. Then I created a crew called DDC - Destined Dance Crew. I even joined a national church crew called House of Virtuosity,” he says.
“When I joined my dance school in 2018, my best friends Charles and Jerry, and I, decided to join forces. We felt like we were strong forces individually, but together would be so dope. So we did, and that brought about 3plethreat , which is the crew I'm in now."
King DaVinci represents the crew 3plethreat
© Muriel Florence Rieben / Red Bull Content Pool
Future challenges and obstacles to overcome
So what’s next for King DaVinci? “What has always been on my mind is to teach and go out on tours where I can pass on my technique, choreography and style of dancing, which is Afrosoul. It’s an Afro-fusion of different African styles without the limitations of trying to be in a box. That is what I want to do."
But does that means he won’t be battling in the future? Of course not. "Battles will come in between because I also love to battle, and I feel like it's one of the main things that pushes me to grow and create new stuff on the spot. That helps me with my level of thinking and range of movement."
Away from the dancefloor, King DaVinci also loves to sing and is a natural in front of the camera. When pressed about a possible future as an actor, he says: "I'm a freak for expressions, characters and trying to mimic, so I could dive into that aspect of art somewhere down the line. But for now, I'm just going to stick to what I know how to do, which is dance."
"A lot of people see me, and they think I’m outspoken, but I'm actually pretty shy. Another thing people would not know about me is that even though I’m super talkative, I'm always in my head. I'm thinking of what to say and what to do. So if you get really close to me, you would realise that this guy doesn't talk much about the deep stuff. Instead, he dances."
King DaVinci in the final battle against The D Soraki
© Little Shao / Red Bull Content Pool
My advice is just to find what you want to do and do it
While dance remains his focus moving forward, King DaVinci knows that there could be challenges ahead, especially when it comes to performing in different countries. “I'm proud to be Nigerian. But also, being Nigerian can be a very, very big obstacle. We've been blacklisted in a lot of countries, so even if I want to pursue my career internationally, issues will come up,” he reveals.
“I had an opportunity to go to the US but could not get a visa because I was Nigerian. They can't give Nigerian's visas until 2024, so what I wanted to do has been cancelled. What if that was the only shot, or that opportunity doesn't come again? Sometimes I wish I had dual citizenship so I could take every opportunity in front of me. Sometimes when people see Nigerian, I'm labelled a fraudster or someone who causes trouble or is cunning and mischievous. That's not right."
While travel may be an issue, King DaVinci still hopes that he can inspire and ignite a passion in young dancers around the world. “If someone out there wants to be like me, well, the truth is, no one can be like anybody. You can only be the best of yourself. So my advice is just to find what you want to do and do it. Don't even think of how to do it. Just go. Don't put 50 percent, put in 100 percent. Go for it head-on."
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