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Arts & Entertainment

‘Twenty minutes of chaos’: Plano’s Red Bull Dance Your Style competition had its critics

More than a hundred street dancers had assembled at Legacy Hall for one competition in a series leading up to Red Bull’s Los Angeles world final this October.

“Twenty minutes of chaos,” said 29-year-old dancer Shena Pridgett, describing the preliminary rounds of Red Bull Dance Your Style’s open qualifiers in Plano on June 14.

More than a hundred street dancers — local and out-of-state talent — had assembled at the Lexus Box Garden at Legacy Hall for a chance to win a paid trip to Chicago.

The victors would be invited to battle in the Windy City, one in a series of competitions culminating in Red Bull’s Los Angeles world final this October.

After she finished registering, Pridgett, a Dallas native, observed dancers busting out pre-battle moves and little kids (not competing) bouncing around the outdoor venue. She thought the high spirits would continue, but after the preliminary round, “that whole energy shifted,” she said.

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Broderick Jones, 27, has danced for over 15 years and attended five past Red Bull dance events. This recent qualifier stood out to him for its disorganization.

Typically at these sorts of battles, during preliminaries, there is a large circle where a group of five or six dancers freestyle for around 30 seconds each, he said. Then, the next group swaps in.

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At last year’s Dallas Dance Your Style auditions, dancers got to participate in at least one of these groups, called cyphers, Pridgett said. “[If] you don’t make it, ‘Hey, that’s cool.’ You got to at least try,” she added.

This year, in contrast, not everyone — including those who traveled from afar — got to partake, according to Pridgett and Jones.

At Legacy Hall, there were three big circles with a judge assigned to each who could give out stickers, essentially stamps of approval for the next round, Jones said. To make it into the top 16, dancers had to present stickers from all three judges.

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According to Red Bull’s website, in the open qualifiers, judges select the top dancers based on rhythm, musicality and technicality, among other categories.

Trying to advance in the Plano qualifier became more about luck than skill, said Pridgett. At 5 feet tall and 94 pounds, she said she struggled to see through the crowd and to get into the cypher.

Due to the large size of the crowd, Jones said, those competing had to “run around” the venue. He compared the event to The Hunger Games, saying dancers were racing to get the stickers and turn them in on time.

“We had to basically fight our way to be in a cypher,” he said.

Taj-Micah Campbell, who was one of the winners for last year’s Red Bull Dance Your Style Dallas auditions, was attempting to enter one of the circles, when the top 16 were announced.

“I’m like ‘Well, dang.’ That was a waste of time. That was a waste of effort — [I] didn’t get to even be seen by all of the judges,” he said.

People were put in harm’s way, he said. He observed pushing, shoving and dancers running into each other, as they tried to compete.

On that Saturday, the temperature had climbed upward of 90 degrees with a heat index nearing 102. When Red Bull came to North Texas in January 2024, the event took place indoors at the Centre for Dance in Richardson.

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“I’ve been, like, tired from heat,” Pridgett said, “but I’ve never been close to passing out like that before.”

Jones posted a video to Instagram on June 15, the day after the event, outlining his grievances. Some dancers chimed in, expressing their agreement in his comment section.

“After watching for just a bit I made the call to throw my name tag in the trash,” one user commented. “This wasn’t a representation of street culture, this was a representation of a mosh pit.”

The Dallas Morning News did not immediately hear back over email from Red Bull regarding the dancers’ feedback.

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Red Bull Dance Your Style began in 2018. By 2023, the competition series had held over 160 events across 46 countries.

“A lot of dancers see Red Bull as an opportunity to get exposure and to get your name out,” Jones said.

Considering the recent disappointment that was the Plano event, Jones is focusing his energy on local dance spaces, like Cypher Dallas, that abide by cypher etiquette and contain a spirit of camaraderie.

Big-name competitions “shouldn’t be the only time you show out and dance,” he said. “It should be community sessions and events.”

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“Your community is where love is,” he said.

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