High school dancers gather in Yokosuka City! – The first champion will be decided at the final competition on March 19th!
The "High School Street Dance Grand Prix 2023," a competition to determine the number one high school dance team, was held in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. This year marked the inaugural tournament, and on March 19th, 30 unique teams that had won through two preliminary rounds competed in the finals.
*Top image: "Additional 01: First Champion Nishogakusha University Affiliated High School Popping Team"
Before the tournament, the organizers sent a warm message to the participants, saying, "Please enjoy this stage to the fullest. And please feel joy in the fact that you have met these friends within the limited three years and are able to take on what may be called a difficult battle, and that you can find value in things other than winning."
The final competition on March 19th featured a diverse range of dance styles, including hip-hop, popping, and freestyle. Therefore, the judging was not based on scoring for each individual category, but rather on the judges watching the shows and making an overall judgment.
The popping team "Butterfly effect" from Nishogakusha University Affiliated High School brilliantly won the highly competitive tournament and became the first champions!
The other results are as follows:
2nd PLACE CIERA (FREESTYLE/Tokyo Metropolitan Komae High School)
3rd PLACE Superb (HIP HOP/Eimei High School)
4th PLACE CRASH (FREESTYLE/Chiba Prefectural Kashiwaryo High School)
5th PLACE Team Nisho (POPPING/Nisho Gakusha University Affiliated High School)
SPECIAL PRIZE “WARA” B-BOYZ mini (BREAKING/Bunan High School)
SPECIAL PRIZE Winner (FREESTYLE/Chiba Keiai High School)
*Event report from the organizer
Why was the competition held in Yokosuka City? "To create a sense of unity in the city through dance."
Kenchi Tachibana and EXILE TETSUYA of the popular dance and vocal group EXILE, who were appointed as "Yokosuka Revitalization Ambassadors" in October 2016, presented the city with an original Yokosuka dance. This memorable song was performed by energetic children in the city at the 42nd Yokosuka Mikoshi Parade held in October 2018, and has since been performed by dance clubs from junior and senior high schools in the city at large-scale events.
[Yokosuka City Official Channel] The 42nd Yokosuka Mikoshi Parade "Yokosuka Original Dance"
Furthermore, as part of creating a town where children can grow up with hope, we have turned our attention to "dance," which has become popular in recent years. Hoping to create an opportunity for both residents and visitors to enjoy themselves together, we have collaborated with Adhip Co., Ltd., which operates a large-scale high school dance competition in Osaka Prefecture. We have decided to hold the "High School Street Dance Grand Prix 2023," a street dance contest exclusively for high school dance clubs and societies.
Street dance, which is now increasingly practiced in dance studios, originated from dancing on the streets. In the exotic city of Yokosuka, freely moving your body to the music creates a new era of culture integrated with the urban. Dance, which is also an urban sport, will undoubtedly be the catalyst that leads Yokosuka to become an even more exciting city in the future.
The "High School Street Dance Grand Prix" is also scheduled to be held in the coming years.
While cheering on the passion of these high school dancers, let's also pay attention to Yokosuka City's new sporting culture: community development through dance.
High School Street Dance Grand Prix 2023
*The tournament has ended.
■First Preliminary Tournament: January 29, 2023, Yokosuka City Cultural Hall (Main Hall)
■Second Preliminary Tournament February 23, 2023 Yokosuka City Cultural Hall (Main Hall)
■Final Competition: March 19, 2023, Yokosuka Arts Theatre (Main Hall)
Organizer: Adhip Co., Ltd. https://www.dancedelight.net/corporate/
Co-sponsored by: Fulcrum Squad Co., Ltd., Yokosuka City, and Yokosuka Tourism Promotion and Attraction Committee
