On Wednesday March 23rd, The Knockturnal got an exclusive invite to a secret party taking place in Down Town Los Angeles. This secret party which included cocktails, food, performances and more was held by Red Bull for their “Red Bull Dance Your Style” campaign. The long awaited premiere one-on-one street dance competition Red Bull Dance Your Style returns for its 2022 season. Red Bull Dance Your Style is a competition which challenges the best dancers and entertainers around the globe in epic 1-on-1 battles and Red Bull Dance Your Style brings improvisation to a new level. Red Bull Dance Your Style is a global all-styles street dance event series with a unique battle format. From hip hop to house, to locking to popping. The onsite and incredible DJ provides the dancers and audience with unpredictable tunes from mainstream hits to timeless classics and fire up the dance floor, allowing dancers to showcase their skills and wow the crowd! Because this competition incorporates the world of street dance the catch is that the crowd are the judges! The dancers participating in Red Bull Dance Your Style need to ‘wow’ the crowd and ultimately win their vote. We got to experience the Red Bull Dance Your Style first hand and were not disappointed at all.
When I was told we would be attending a “secret event” I had no idea what to expect at all. After confirming our attendance through email I was sent a phone number I had to message through which I would receive the address within 24-hours of the event. This definitely added to the “secret” aspect of the whole event and help build up our excitement of what was to follow. After receiving our text and heading over to Los Angeles, we had to walk through an alley in Down Town to get to the party and were almost sure we had gotten lost until we could finally feel the ground vibrating with a heavy bass and saw staff outside of the party. After we checked in with staff and got our wrist bands, immediately we were transported to another world. The neon lights all around the venue set the mood for the night and also offered some amazing sets to snap some pictures for social media. We were greeted by a group of dancers already beginning to tease their skills on the dance floor while a crowd slowly began to build around them. We grabbed some drinks, complimentary of Red Bull Dance Your Style, and started exploring the venue.
In this building, split in three parts, there were so many things to see. First we walked through the main room with DJ and dance floor to the back room where there was a giant neon sign wall and photo booth. We couldn’t help ourselves and had to snap a couple of photos before the major crowd arrived. Through that same room there was an upper level were you could be a spectator and get a birds eye view of the dance battle. We headed back downstairs and walked into another room not knowing what to expect and there was a red and blue lit hall of mirrors. We took some photos and headed back out to the main room just in time to see some of the battles start. After more dancers and spectators arrived the battle began. There were two teams consisting of four dancers in total who all took turns individually showing off their unique moves and showing the crowd why they deserved to win. I had never witnessed something like this before and the energy was absolutely unmatched. The crowd was so expressive and completely feeding off the dancers in a symbiotic excitement. After the dancers finished they exchanged some hugs and laughs in the name of sportsmanship, and the winner was crowned. After that, the real party began with the dance floor opening up to everyone.
Immediately as the hypnotic music began to play, everyone began to slowly get into the music and found their rhythm, and eventually the swaying turned into actual dancing. After completely exhausting ourselves while trying to keep up with the real professional dancers we headed out for some cold night air to cool off and were immediately greeted to the heavenly smell of tacos. We headed over to the taco truck, complimentary of Red Bull Dance Your Style, and quickly refueled before heading back in to continue the dance party. The energy of the whole night was absolutely electrifying and it was so amazing being in such a creative and expressive space like that.
Red Bull Dance Your Style is actually an event that takes place all over the United States between January 1st and May 31st 2022. By visiting https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/dance-your-style you can some of the top dancers from around the world in your city while they connect and celebrate the diverse dance community. For its 2022 season, Red Bull Dance Your Style will amplify dance scenes from all corners of the country, traveling to Tampa, Chicago, Washington D.C., Oakland, Atlanta and New Orleans to determine who will go on to represent the country at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final.
Check out our Tik Tok on the event for some behind the scenes of the Red Bull Dance Your Style event and let us know what you think!
Photo credits: @joshaikin
