Surf Cat

This year, the winning B-Boy and B-Girl from the Red Bull BC One E-Battle will not only win an all-expenses-paid trip to the next Red Bull BC One World Finals, but, for the first time, they’ll also be guaranteed a spot in the top 16 lineup.

As always, the winners of each battle will be picked by the three E-Battle judges, who this year are:

We asked the three judges about what things they’ll be judging on to pick the winners.

What are the top 3 things you’ll be looking for when judging the online E-battle?

Aslan: I’m going to be looking for creativity (innovations, variations), dynamics – no matter which style the breaker represents – and execution.

Lilou: The top things I’ll be looking for are the quality of movement from the dancers, their style and attitude, and their creativity.

AT: I’ll be paying a lot of attention to the quality of movement, as this should be smooth, clean and dynamic, with flow. Also, competitors technique should be on point. I also want to see some authenticity, hoping that breakers are truly being themselves and that nothing is forced or fake. I want to see that everything, from the breaker’s presence to their movement, is organic and natural. I really hope to see something refreshing and original that pops out of every competitor and catches my attention.

What are the top 3 things that, for you, could cause someone to lose this online battle?

Aslan: It can be hard to answer this question, because it depends on the moment. However, things such as crashes, biting full concepts from someone else, or messing around when dancing are all definite issues. When you enter big competitions, you have to be focused on yourself and put everything on the table.

Lilou: Repeating moves that you’ve already done in a previous round is one. Also, if you mess up and crash a lot and if you spend your rounds looking down at the floor instead of engaging with the camera.

AT: If the judges can’t see competitors dancing clearly in their videos this might be something that could make someone lose. Another two things that could lead to you not winning are if you do some serious biting of other breakers, or if you make some big crashes.

With this being an online competition, are there any other things you feel will be important factors to your judging?

Aslan: I would say that dancers need to realise that this is quite different from live competitions. No real crowd might mean it’s less stressful, but there’s also no connection between you and the people who’ll be watching, including the judges, so you must push yourself to the limit.

There are also things that will mostly come into play during the the live steam battles, like music delay, bad internet connection, or not enough light in the room where the competitor is dancing. These are important factors that they need to be aware of, as this will play an inevitable part in how your rounds are judged.

Lilou: It’s totally different to do an online battle. When you watch a competition live, the vibe and atmosphere is totally different than watching the same battle on your computer. As a judge, we won’t get to feel the vibe, atmosphere and tension when watching online, so these are important factors for each competitor to know, understand and adapt to if they want to be successful in the E-Battle.

AT: It’s important that the dancers articulate their movement really well, so that all the little details will be clear and well seen on the small screen.

Do you judge round-for-round (who won more rounds), or another way you can explain?

Aslan: I’ll be judging round-for-round, but I always look at the overall performance of the breakers throughout the competition.

Lilou: For me, it depends on the quality of the dancers. Generally, I judge round-for-round, but I don’t lock myself into only this kind of judging. I look at, and add in, the dancers battle mode, tactics and how they answer their opponent. I judge and watch the entire battle and also look at how a competitor is reacting to their opponent’s moves when they aren’t the ones dancing.

AT: Yes, I judge round-for-round when I am judging battles.

Do you believe in ties when judging an online battle?

Aslan: Anything can happen, but I hope we won’t have any ties. I think there’s always actually someone better than their rival and we, as the judges, have to decide that.

Lilou: Two great dancers can make a tie, because of the quality of both of their rounds, but in the case of an E-Battle, some of the usual things that exist in a live battle are now gone – things such as the live entertainment factor, reactions and eye contact between the two competitors, the live energy and expression of a dancer, and how they take the floor. I believe that anything can happened, but it’s not good to always have a tie and the judges need to make a decision.

AT: I don’t believe in ties and the judges are hired to make a decision, so that’s what we have to do. I believe there’s always something that makes the difference, even when it’s a really close battle.

Do you have any advice you’d like to give to the breakers looking to enter the 2020 Red Bull BC One E-Battle?

Aslan: I would say to think about the place where you chose to dance. Make sure there’s enough light, so we can see your skills and all the details, and try to place your camera at a good angle to shoot from.

Lilou: It’s going to be hard to reach the finals and win, because with online battles we’ll get a lot of entries from all over the world. So, you need to be different and blow my mind. Us judges will be watching a lot of videos, so bring energy and your best attitude to keep our attention.

AT: My advice for the competitors is very simple – be yourself, do your best and enjoy it.