Hosted by Takao Baba
The Circle Session, with a special version, is part of THE JAMMM Vol. 2! The format has been bringing the urban dance scenes together for more than 20 years. It is a place where dance culture and history, freestyle and battle skills are passed on – where young generations learn from those with experience. Whether it is hip-hop, house, popping, locking, or Krump: All styles are welcome at the Circle Session. Let’s go!
3 categories:
2 vs. 2 routine battle (open style) with previously released tracks
1 vs. 1 junior battle (open style) on hip-hop beats
1 vs. 1 open style battle
Admission: from 12:00 p.m.
Preselection: from 1:00 p.m.
Main battles: from 3:00 p.m.
Judges: Bana, Nadéeya, Swift Rock
DJ: F-Zee
Duration: approx. 5 hours
Registration for dancers:
2 vs. 2 routine battle (open style)
1 vs. 1 junior battle (open style)
1 vs. 1 open style battle
Beat2Bank: A total prize pool of €600 will be distributed among the participants. It’s not just the category winner who receives prize money; all participants who reach the semifinals will be rewarded.
Bana
Bana Tsegai from Frankfurt am Main. She began dancing about twenty years ago, taking several All Style classes. Since 2010/ 2011, her interest in locking has steadily grown. To expand this style, she travelled to attend workshops and to participate in battles in various countries. She is a member of the all-style female crew Déjà Vu and mix-style crew Fusion Art.
Bana participated in national and international competitions (among them JD, KOD, HipHop Week, SDK). In November 2018, she had the opportunity to talk about her personal dance biography at a TED event.
DJ F-ZEE
F-ZEE is a DJ from Düsseldorf and also no stranger, he has already DJed for e.g. Snipes and RedBull. He was also on tour with the famous German rapper KC Rebell. Currently he is on the road with the Ruff Comedy. F-ZEE is strongly represented in the urban battle dance scene and works in this context also regularly at tanzhaus nrw. His music style is crossover from HipHop, RnB and Dancehall to House.
Nadéeya GK
Multidisciplinary dancer and choreographic artist, Nadéeya GK develops a physical language at the crossroads of cultures and heritages. Her work is rooted in House Dance and traditional African dances, and is nourished by a research-driven approach to the body as a living archive. Shaped by her Cameroonian origins and international journey, she builds a singular movement language where ritual, memory, and musicality intertwine. Her universe affirms a plural African identity, sensitive and engaged, where movement becomes a space for transmission and transformation, reconnecting history, spirituality, and presence.
Swift Rock
Boris “Swift Rock” Leptin is a German B-Boy from the legendary crew Battle Squad and one of the pioneers of European breaking. Active since 1983, he danced during a time when there were hardly any B-Boys/Girls left and, together with his crew, helped to revive the global breaking scene. With Battle Squad, Swift Rock won the Battle of the Year International in 1991 and 1992 — a historic moment, as in 1992 he and his partner Storm competed as a two-man team and defeated an eight-member All-Star crew in the final.
Takao Baba
Takao Baba was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1974, grew up in Germany, and lives in Düsseldorf. The roots of his work lie in urban dance, which he combines with contemporary dance. Takao Baba works as a choreographer on various projects and stages dance theater pieces at the theater. Most recently, he staged the piece “Game Time” at Theater Oberhausen. In addition to his artistic activities, he has been organizing battles since 2004, including Funkin'Stylez and Dance Delight Germany. Takao has a long-standing and continuous collaboration with tanzhaus nrw. He currently directs the youth company of tanzhaus nrw together with Nora Pfahl.
