The judges for the Jump Off Street Dance Battles at Fabric London were announced recently as Kenrick H2O Sandy of Boy Blue Entertainment, Marlon Swoosh Wallen of Flawless and Jonzi D of Breakin’ Convention.
- Both Kenrick Sandy and Marlon Wallen battled at The Jump Off prior to becoming established street dancers and choreographers.
- Jonzi D is the artistic director of Breakin’ Convention, the international festival of hip hop dance theatre at Sadler’s Wells, London.
Video: Prototype v Team Beast Mode Jump Off Dance Battle
They join judges on rotation Benny Scarrs (Island/Universal); Twin B (BBC 1xtra); Rob Littlejohn (BBC Radio1 & 1xtra); Claira Hermet (1xtra guest presenter / Grime Daily), Tony Tagoe (Artist Management), Cookie Pryce (AEG Live/O2), Dready (Producer for So Solid, Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Jeezy, The Game), Shortee Blitz (Kiss 100), Michael Lawrence (Coda Talent Booking Agency)
The confirmed crews for the first battle on Monday 9 January is Team Beast Mode and Prototype who have been selected ahead of Jump Off auditionees in order to allow them enough time to train.
15 battles will take place on a fortnightly basis every second and fourth Monday starting in January through to August 2012 where a grand final will take place.
A £1,000 prize is also on offer for any crew that wins five consecutive times in a row.
Tickets for The Jump Off battles are available to buy online now
Jump Off street dance battles formerly took place at Astoria, London, before the venue closed down for demolition in 2009. While their live events, which included battles and showcases for models, dance crews, unsigned artists, comedians, producers, MCs and booty shakers, was put on hiatus, the brand continued as an international online urban video website, JumpOff.tv
The Jump Off street dance battles are recognised as being the nesting ground where dance groups such as Diversity, Flawless, Boy Blue Entertainment, Plague and Animaineax battled individually and as crews before they found commercial fame on stage, in competitions and on television.
JumpOff’s return to battle nights will mark their track record for finding the next up and coming dance crews, MCs, producers and comedians.
JumpOff street dance battle rules (outline)
- Crews, which must consist of 5-8 members must battle for 10 minutes.
- The winner stays on; crews that win five events in a row will win £1,000 and become retired.
- The best two crews over the 15 weeks will battle in the Grand Finals in August 2012.
