Rhythmic reality TV
The most important thing to know about street dance is that it's not just a dance, but a way of life.
All photos: Genevieve Vieira
Improvisational and social in nature, there are no limitations besides, perhaps, the structure of the human body. Watching dancing of this sort, which incorporates a variety of different styles, it becomes clear that dan-cers bend and distort themselves in ways the body doesn’t seem designed to handle.
Now in its third season, e.tv’s Step Up or Step Out dance reality show sets out once again in search of SA’s top dance crew. If you could pop, lock, krump, pantsula or breakdance, you were in with a chance. The simple goal was to choreograph a dance routine to amaze onlookers.
Last year the show ranked among0 South Africa’s top viewed talent search shows, with over 2.7 million viewers. Every Sunday night for the last 13 weeks, teams battled it out for the R70 000 cash prize with Themba “Euphonik” Nkosi joining Emile “YX” Jansen and Khabonina Qubeka on the judging panel.
Street dance allows space for spectator interaction and a whole lot of playful boasting – cause for audience to ooh and ahh. Many of the dancers that took part in this year’s competition added their own mix of African dance styles, making the show a uniquely South African production.
Three finalists – Dejavu, Cyber-Links and Snap, Crackle & Pop – put their best feet forward with a colourful array of outfits and dance styles. The incredible strength and agility needed to perform these moves is awe-inspiring.
Cyber-Links took home first prize with Snap, Crackle & Pop as the runners up. While the show is no match for some of the international televised dance searches, such as So You Think You Can Dance, Step Up or Step Out offers a uniquely South African element that doesn’t exist in any other parts of the world.
