AFRO POP BONE-BREAKING STREET DANCER DIDDY MAYANDA WINS THE RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE TOUR IN DURBAN

Diddy Mayanda grabs the top prize as the Durban champion at the world's biggest one-on-one street dance competition in South Africa, Red Bull Dance Your Style.

His distinctive bone break dance infused with afro pop street dance style won the crowds heart at the energy packed regional qualifier tour stop that took place at the Suncoast in Durban. The top street dancers of the city came in numbers to compete for a spot to represent Mzansi at the World Final taking place in December in South Africa.  

Hosted by Elly The Entertainer, the qualifier tour kicked off with workshops hosted by Sherwin, Malondy G, King, and Diddy Mayanda. This was followed by the qualifying one-on-one battle rounds which showcased various movement styles as dancers competed to an unpredictable music selection curated by DJ extraordinaire Tha Cutt.  

The ultimate battle saw Diddy Mayanda going head-to-head with the 17-year-old hip hop dancer Samantha Southwood who was thrilled to be part of this experience. “I had a lot of fun and more happy to have met new dancers, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to show off that girls can do any dance style they want to, just do you even when you are going up against big strong boys”.

“Sam was my biggest challenge. Last year I competed with Sam who knocked me out of the competition but today I came on top and I’m very happy about that. Shout out to Sam for holding it down again this year” said Mayanda. 

The Durban champion will join the Johannesburg qualifier winner Sne alongside the other five regional tour stop winners from Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Gqeberha, Cape Town and Pretoria where these top street dancers will battle it out for the national title of Red Bull Dance Your Style 2022 winner. 

When asked what people can expect from him at the national finals “I’ll be doing my own thing which is what I’m good at. People must not expect me to do the same thing - I’ll be doing everything from Afro pop, break dancing and hip hop. I’ll be dancing for the people because that’s what I love to do” said Mayanda. 

The remaining South African qualifying Red Bull Dance Your Style tour dates are as follows:

30th July: Bloemfontein Hoffman Square

6th August: Polokwane Mall of the North

13th August: Gqeberha Baywest Mall

20th August: Cape Town Amphitheatre V&A Waterfront

27th August: Pretoria The South Africa State theatre

22nd & 23rd October  - National final in Pretoria 

10th December - World Final in Montecasino, Johannesburg

The winner of the South African national final, taking place on 22nd & 23rd October, will represent South Africa at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final on 10th December in Johannesburg. 

For more information on the Red Bull Dance Your Style competition, visit www.redbulldanceyourstyle.com or join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #redbulldanceyourstyle

Red Bull Dance Your Style is in partnership with SABC Sport