Jamaican dancers to compete in South Africa in December | Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

In December, dancer ‘Joel Immortal’ Tennant will head to Johannesburg, South Africa, with Flexx Cautiion to represent Jamaica at the 2022 Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final.

After battling head-to-head with 15 other dancers on July 6, at the Jamaica’s National 2022 Red Bull Dance Your Style Final, Tennant was crowned the national champion. Dancer Flexx Cautiion in the 2021 champion.

“It’s a dream come true. Truly. I practised for this, trained for this, put in work for this and to see it come true, it’s just the best feeling for me,” Tennant said.

He said he is ready to make an impact on the global stage in a few months.

“My drive, determination, and the willpower I have inside me are what took me through. A competition like this is taxing on your body and in the first few rounds, I felt it for sure, but that love from the crowd and seeing everyone rooting for me really pushed me and helped bring out my best.

“From here I’m just proud to be able to represent Jamaica, dancehall and my culture on the world stage with Flexx. I’m ready to make an impact. Like I said, it really is a dream come true,” Tennant said.

On Wednesday, dancers wowed the audience inside Di Lot on Constant Spring Road with their talent, versatility, style, and personality through multiple battle rounds – competing to music of all different genres, including hip hop, R&B, and dancehall, which was added as an official genre this year – with the end goal of securing the most audience votes.

Members of the audience indicated their preference for each dancer by holding up a red or blue sign, signalling which dancer they thought won each round.

A less animated Joel Immortal Tennant with his trophy

Tennant, 25, took things up a notch in the final battle, which included jumping from scaffolding, to top off an epic overall performance for the night and make him the clear winner.

Speaking with the 2021 national champion, Shemar ‘Flexx Cautiion’ Brown, he shared that winning the title affirmed and validated his belief in himself.

“It shows me that not only do I believe in myself but that there are people both here at home and outside Jamaica that really think I have what it takes. It’s been a great honour,” he said.

He is also looking forward to having another Jamaican dancer heading to the finals with him.

“As a small country, Jamaica has one of the biggest impacts on the world, so knowing that we’ll be going out there to represent Jamaica in another big way internationally feels great.

“As a Jamaican dancer, I still think the hard work we put in is not recognised and valued as highly as it could be. I don’t think they see the true work behind it. So to get a stage like this to show that my hard work can pay off and to have other dancers have the same opportunity is really a great feeling… that as a dancer, yes, we have purpose and can go out and be something great and show the world that we are something great,” Brown said.

The competition has become a platform for street dancers of all styles to showcase their skills. More than 60 dancers from 30 countries will vie for the world champion title in a one-on-one competition that brings different styles together to battle with unpredictable music, crowd-voting and outgoing dance personalities.

Twenty-seven dancers have already earned their spot from their respective country finals that took place in 2021. Many other countries will have their national finals this year ahead of the World Final.

The first Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final was held in Paris, France in 2019. Dutch dancer Shinshan bested 39 dancers to become the first-ever World Champion.

The showdown set for South Africa on December 10 will be the second staging of the World Final.

NewsAmericasNow.com