Circle Industry Finals 2018 - Report

Two hours before the beginning of the great Circle Industry Showdown numerous fans -
b-boys and b-girls and other interested visitors - gathered in front and in the foyer of the newly opened Escobar, the former Republic Theater, in Salzburg. Greetings, hugs and presumptions of the favorites and the possible winners wandered through the individual groups.

At 5 p.m. the doors opened and accompanied by the beats of DJ Woo D the location filled up at a rapid pace. All dancers and spectators anxious to secure the best possible place around the circle - the center of the event.

Last mike-check for the hosts Mario Bee and Da Bürgermasta and then, finally, it went off. Crazy Legs was the first to take a seat in the judges chair, on the left supported by Poe One from Australia, on the right by B-Boy Pluto from Ukraine.

However, before the beginning of the Circle Industry final rounds, the qualification rounds for the Checkmate Battle, which couldn’t be finished the day before due to temporal reasons, had to be completed. Conspicuous in the preselection rounds was the fact, that many crews were not completely familiar with the rules of the Checkmate Battle which a few times led to confusions among the crews and the judges and thus to short interruptions in some battles.

The four crews, chosen by the judges to compete against the four invited crews - comprising Generation XII from Spain, Body Carnival from Japan, South Front from Ukraine and the Red Bull BC One Allstars - in the final rounds of the 5vs5 Checkmate Battle were Hasta la Muerte from Slovakia, Yugo Mob from Croatia, Freestyle Connect, consisting of different nationalities and The Tribe from Germany.

The musical framework for the individual battle categories - 5vs5 Checkmate, 2vs2 Circle Industry and the 1vs1 Qualification Battle for the Red Bull BC One Austria Cypher - was given by DJ Cosmic, DJ Scream, DJ Woo D and DJ Fusik. The dynamic remixes offered the dancers a lot of room for interpretation and the presentation of their skills.

A lot of cheers were given to the three b-girls - the only female representatives of the breakin’ scene in the male-dominated circle - Narumi and Ayumi from Body Carnival and AT from the Flow Mo Crew who all shined with strong self-confidence, limitless energy and phenomenal skills. Together with her partner Focus AT made it in to the semi-final of the 2vs2 battle, however, here the Finnish duo was outdone by Lil G and Mini Joe from Venezuela. Narumi and Ayumi as well were until the final of the Checkmate Battle in no way inferior to their male team members.

This year the Wildcard for the Red Bull BC One Austria Cypher found its owner in b-boy Valo who prevailed against 14 dancers and won also the last final battle against b-boy Mogli.

The 2vs2 final against Lil G and Mini Joe was not an easy game for the charismatic dancers Sunni and Spin from the Soul Mavericks, however, they could defend their previous-year title and take the victory a second year in a row home to Great Britain.

Great highlights of the 10th Circle Industry Anniversary were also all battles of the Red Bull BC One Allstars, which as a result of sovereign performance of Menno, Victor, Junior, Taisuke and Roxrite were carried out in a fairly short period of time. The five-person team convinced not only through spectacular physical skills but also through systematic capabilities. In all battles they specifically aimed to eliminate the `queen´ of the opposing team in the first two rounds which in most cases was not a big deal for them.

In the end the spectators followed with excitement the Checkmate Final between Body Carnival and the All Stars, which brought a clear victory for the Red Bull b-boys.

For Roxrite this victory was of particular importance. Until February 2018 the Mexico-born dancer turning 35 in April managed to pile up a total of 99 battle victories on his winning account. For 100th victory Roxrite was honored with a big cup and many cheers by the audience.

Also in 2018 the organizer Mike Siller and his team successfully presented a great and a multifaceted event entirely characterized by the Hip Hop culture. Thus everybody can already look forward to the 11th edition of Circle Industry in 2019.