Breakdancers compete for national title at Northumbria University

The dance crews – each made up of between five and eight members – were representing 12 universities including Northumbria, Newcastle, Kings College London, Birmingham, Reading, Edinburgh, Swansea, Warwick and Sheffield.

Breakdance – a street dance style – evolved as part of the hip-hop movement in America during the early 1970s but is now a global competitive phenomenon, not least here at Northumbria.

The event was jointly organised by members of the Breakdancing Societies at Northumbria and Newcastle universities and Raw-B, a member of Bad Taste Cru, who regularly runs classes for the society.

Northumbria Architecture student Fabian Danker, 21, is the current president of Northumbria’s Breakdancing Society and was one of the main organisers.  He said: “This is the first time the competition has been held at Northumbria University and it has drawn a big crowd.  Our crew is made up of seven members, including myself and we are relatively new to it.  We were up against some very experienced crews and although we didn’t win we learnt lots from watching the other competitors and it was great to be able to host the event and take part too.”

Quantity Surveying student Sarah Hudson, 23, has been a member of Northumbria’s breakdance society for a year.  She said: “I’ve always wanted to do breakdance.  I used to do tap, ballet and jazz when I was younger but this is very different.  I really enjoy it.”

The student organisers funded the UK Championships competition with help in the form of grants from society funds, sponsorship from retailers and a grant from the Northumbria University Alumni Fund.

The Breakdancing Society applied for a grant from the Enhancing the Student Experience fund and the  idea behind this branch of the fund is to offer extra funding to students to maximise participation in their chosen extra curricular interest.  Societies and sports teams are invited to apply for grant for their chosen activity and their requests are assessed on a case by case basis as to the funding they are eligible for.  Their successful bid allowed them to provide a DJ for the full event along with other live music which really contributed to the success of the day.

The Alumni Fund, which is administered by the Alumni Association, relies entirely on donations from Northumbria graduates.  The Fund supports a number of student scholarships, improvements in learning and teaching resources and helps sports clubs and societies wanting to maximise participation.  

If you would like to make a donation to the Alumni Fund please contact Natalie Heath on 0191 227 4839 or via email at natalie.heath@northumbria.ac.uk