For the second year in a row Sydney’s B-Boy Blond (aka Youngkwang Joung) took the crown at the Red Bull BC One Australian Cypher on Friday 17th July, cementing his place as Australia’s best breakdancer in the international series.
In front of a packed out audience of judges, dancers and fans, more than 100 B-Boys and B-Girls from around Australia competed for the coveted spot to battle with the region’s best at the next round – the Red Bull BC One Asia Pacific Finals in Seoul, South Korea on 17th October.
Representing four states, cyphers between over 100 B-Boys and B-Girls carried on well into the night with highlight displays from Fongo, Foxy and of course, Blond. The one-on-one battle format allowed B-Boys and B-Girls to showcase not only their mastery of classic breaking moves, such as the toprock, downrock, power moves and freeze, but also their overall style and individual expression.
After an hour of preliminary cyphers, the roving judges Bboy Kingso (Korea), Bmouth (Taiwan) and POE ONE (Adelaide/Puerto Rico/USA) selected the top 16 competitors who would go head-to-head in the next knock-out breaking battles.
In the finals, the top 16 showcased their unrivalled styles and techniques as they progressed according to their artistic skills, choreography, innovation and character. The final four were Blond (NSW), Bucho Benny (QLD), Fongo (QLD) and Foxy (VIC), outperforming their rivals with unique breaking styles and charisma. While in most battles breakers can easily lose stamina, Blond embraced the adrenalin and came out on top after four final battles and an exhilarating decider against Fongo.
“It was good to be back at Red Bull BC One. The competition was really great – the venue, vibe, floor, B-Boys and crowd; everything was fantastic,” said Blond.
“I am pretty sure it was the first time Australia has had more than 100 participants in a competition, I am very happy to see this happening.”
Blond was the first ever Australian representative to compete in the world finals last year, and fans are already backing him to make it a second time to compete in Rome this November. For now, Blond has his sights set on the Red Bull BC One Asia Pacific Finals in Seoul this October.
“I am really excited to dance in Seoul and am looking forward to competing against Asia’s best B-Boys. It is going to be a great event but I know I will have to prepare well,” said Blond.
Red Bull BC One was created in 2004 in Biel, Switzerland to find the world’s best B-Boy. It operates with a series of over 90 cyphers throughout the world, leading to six exciting final rounds and climaxing in the big one – the Red Bull BC One World Final in Rome on 14th November.
For more information on Red Bull BC One visit the website.