BPM Dance Academy win big at Street Dance Championships

More than 350 youngsters from dance schools across the UK headed to Haywards Heath last week for a street dance competition.
BPM Dance AcademyBPM Dance Academy
BPM Dance Academy

The event was the second Street Dance Championships organised by BPM Dance Academy which holds classes across Mid Sussex.

They took part in solos, crews and duo dances at The Dolphin leisure centre.

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Director Kat Chase said: “We decided to launch our own street dance competition last year as there was nothing in the area where students could compete locally.

“We had professional judges from London and Leeds, along with our team made up from current and ex-students of our dance school who came back to help. It was a huge success and we hope local people now know a bit more about options in the arts in this area.”

Kat said she and fellow director, Luke Bohanna, wanted to create a fun, inclusive atmosphere for everyone, as well as ensuring the event ran as smoothly and professionally as possible.

She went on: “It really gave our students the opportunity to dance at an event in the local area as well as put street dance on the map in the south east. Currently we have to travel for more than an hour to get to our most local competition.”

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Four of BPM Dance Academy’s own crews were placed first against other crews that attended as well as countless other Academy students reaching the solos and duos finals.

Their successes included Neptune, under 10 Newcomer; Logic, under 14 Newcomer; Titan, under 14 Intermediate and Invicta, under 18 Intermediate.

Kate said: “Together with my team, we believe creative arts are so important to build the next generation of performers and it’s imperative they have opportunities to build their confidence, team work and transferable life skills as well as giving local students opportunities to showcase their talent.”

Would-be dancers can attend classes at several primary schools such as Bolnore and Harlands as well as Cuckfield Old School.

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Kat and Luke have worked professionally with the likes of JLS, Paloma Faith, Daniel Bedingfield, Harry Potter, The Brit Awards, Cartoon Network, X Factor Live Shows, Cirque Du Soleil, Yves Saint Laurent, and more.