A team in action during the competition at 1st Avenue Mall in Penang.
Dancers from across Asia converged on 1st Avenue Mall in George Town, Penang, for the fourth edition of Battle Mania, an international street dance showdown.
The competition brought a thrilling mix of world-class performers and hundreds of fans who packed the atrium and lined the balconies to cheer the high-octane dance battles.
“The energy here is different. Penang’s audience really feed the dancers,” said organiser Willy Tan.
He credited the collaboration between studios and the mall for keeping the dance festival thriving.
Street dance began as a movement that literally grew on the streets.
It is a raw mix of hip-hop, popping, locking, breaking, “krump” and whatever else dancers invent to respond to the beat of the music.
Spectators lining the balconies to cheer on the contestants coming from across Asia for the fourth edition of Battle Mania, an international street dance showdown.
It values rhythm over routine, thriving on individuality and improvisation.
Unlike formal dance styles taught in academies, street dance has no fixed rules and the moves are conceived spontaneously.
This year’s line-up was backed by an international cast of judges – Zurek from Poland and CK Animation from Vietnam – while DJ Bolo from Singapore maintained the relentless beats that fuelled the battles.
Local veterans joined them to preside over four categories: Hip-Hop 1-on-1, the crowd- pulling K-pop Open Age, a newly introduced K-pop Under 12 for young talents, and Open Style 2-on-2 (Trio Titan) which is a revived format that kept the crowd energised late into the evening.
The event, which has grown into one of Malaysia’s key platforms for urban dance culture, was co-organised by OWL Dance Studio and Hundred Percent Dance Studio with support from Penang Global Tourism, Zero Degrees, St Giles Hotel, Cititel Express, HDAV and JFE Production.
