In February, a street dance competition called Battle Day was held at Peetri School near Tallinn, marking the first Estonian Street Dancers Union Championship stage of the year for both breaking and upright styles.
Throughout the day, both young dancers and adults put themselves to the test, and for the first time, representatives from a wide variety of countries were present.
The morning was dedicated to breakdancers, with competitors arriving from Latvia, Finland, Lithuania, and Turkey. This time, most of the victories went abroad, with the only win for Estonia achieved by Miron Saveljev (B-Boy Mir) in the Breaking Kids 1vs1 category.
The competitors were judged by B-Boy Jet Leg, B-Boy Genetics, and B-Girl Roxy, who, incidentally, holds two Guinness World Records and is one of the world’s top female breakdancers.
The latter half of the day focused on upright street dance styles such as hip-hop, krump, locking, popping, and house. Half of the victories went to neighboring countries, but among Estonians, the top performers were Janeli Kunnberg in the House 1vs1 category, Ksenija Iva in Krump 1vs1, and Evelina Laanemets in Hip-Hop Junior 1vs1.
These contests were closely judged by Arvid “Arvidos” Håkansson and Marcio from Sweden, along with Monika “Popping Kozo” Čibiraitė from Lithuania.
In total, more than a hundred dancers could be seen throughout the day at Peetri School. The event’s main organizer, Mari Venski, was pleased with the outcome.
“A new year has begun, and this year, we aim to further improve the quality of dance competitions and the judging system. It was great to see new faces, and the competitions were truly lively. The judges also noted that they enjoyed the fast-paced day with high energy. The most exciting categories were the children’s and adults’ divisions in breaking, as well as locking and popping in the upright styles,” said Mari Venski, board member of the Estonian Street Dancers Union.
Results of the breaking categories:
Breaking Kids 1vs1 -Miron Saveljev (B-Boy Mir, EST)
Breaking Junior 1vs1 – Artis Vanags (B-Boy A-Hawk, LAT)
B-Boy Adults 1vs1 – Ash Burak (B-Boy Ash, LAT)
B-Girl Adults 1vs1 – Anastasija Solovjova (B-Girl AirNastya, LAT)
Results of the upright street dance categories:
Locking 1vs1 – Felix Aimable (Dice, LV)
Popping 1vs1 – Felix Aimable (Dice, LV)
House 1vs1 – Janeli Kunnberg (EST)
Krump 1vs1 – Ksenija Iva (EST)
Hip-Hop Junior 1vs1 – Evelina Laanemets (EST)
Hip-Hop 15+ 1vs1 – Alise Sastamoinena (LAT
Lithuanian dancer Felix “Dice” Aimable, who triumphed in two categories, was tired but happy by the end of the day. “I really enjoyed the entire competition; it wasn’t easy at all but a great challenge to test myself here. I’m grateful that such events are organized and encourage all dancers from neighboring countries to seek them out,” he said.
Congratulations once again to all the winners, and see you soon back on the dance floor!
The Estonian Street Dancers Union has been organizing championship competitions since 2021 and also compiles rankings in both breaking and upright street dance styles in Estonia. The Estonian championship and national competitions are organized in collaboration with the Estonian Dance Sport Association.
You can find the first photos in the Estonian Street Dancers Union’s album HERE.