French winners in the International Breaking Battle by Samsung
The temperature rose to a crescendo this Thursday afternoon at FISE Montpellier, and so did the level on the Breaking stage for the final battles of the International Battle by Samsung. The atmosphere was set by DJ Tajmahal, one of the world's leading DJs, accompanied on the mike by the iconic, crowd-pleasing voices of MC Hassan and El Pistolero!
As for the youngsters, the locals win hands down, with a 100% Montpellier podium made in Submarin Crew, with B-Boy Moussa in first place, accompanied by B-Boy No and B-Boy Lucian.
Then came a change of format, with a 2vs2 crew battle that brought together the French-speaking world, with dancers from all over France, as well as Belgium and the Netherlands. With 8 crews competing at the start, the final pitted a quartet who know each other well: Belgian B-Boy Mighty Jimm and Dutch B-Boy Cis against the two French B-boy Yass and B-boy Killian. Victory went to the explosive duo of B-Boy Mighty Jimm and B-Boy Cis, celebrated in good spirits by the four finalist dancers.
The day ended on a high note with the finals of the B-Girls and B-Boys categories, which brought together some of the biggest names in European Breaking, faces we'll probably be seeing this summer on the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Originality, flow, attitude, technique... these were the criteria judged by the expert eye of the jury, made up of Yamsonite, San Andrea and Admir, world-renowned Breaking stars.
In the B-Girls category, a French final pitted B-Girl Carlota against B-Girl Kimie, with the latter winning the final battle thanks to her precise and powerful technique, both in her footwork and in her top rock, combining musicality, attitude and high-impact power moves. In third place, Italian B-Girl Alessandrina took the podium in the small final against B-Girl Sarah Bee.
For the B-Boys, the grand final of this first edition of the International Breaking Battle saw B-Boy Killian take on B-Boy Dany Dann, both members of the French Breaking team. In the end, it was B-Boy Dany Dann who prevailed thanks to a technical and musical performance as big as his smile! He's the only French athlete officially qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the moment. In third place it's B-Boy Mighty Jimm who takes the podium after a final battle against young Nantes-based B-Boy Ceebri.