The Red Bull BC One World Finals went down this past weekend in Amsterdam, Netherlands. We watched the full livestream from home, in Florida. The production quality was at a high professional level. There was some confusion with the “Live Event (raw without commentary)” channel being cut off by the start of the “Live TV Show (with commentary)” channel during the Top 16. However, I was able to fix it with a few clicks to continue watching the battles.
As we see and hear every year, there was a huge discontent with the judges’ decisions. Feedback such as people getting robbed, and the judges being rigged or not qualified was being voiced. If these are not qualified judges, then who is? AT, Intact, Niek, Crazy Legs, and Hong 10 are all more than qualified that have an extensive body of work to prove it. No one is bribing them to make certain calls. If our culture has gotten down to that level, we would have all quit a long time ago.
It seems no matter who wins, this will always happen. The art of judging is not an easy thing. Being in the judge’s’ chair on stage versus being in the comfort of your home casually watching is not the same experience. This issue is something that will continue as long as we are using our artform in a competitive nature. Even with judging systems in place, these problems will still exist because it will be always be one person’s opinion over another person’s art.
I wanted to share some words from one of the judges and a competitor that was actually there on the stage.
Bboy Intact: “You will never understand how much energy, time and work those guys invested to be there! The level of pressure at the event like this will make some of u go crazy and out of control, I’m telling u, this is hard, u will shake! Sitting at your comfortable chairs in front of monitors and drinking tea with sweets or eating sandwiches while watching battles YOU EVEN CANT REALIZE IT!”
Thesis: “Overall the calls from the judges were good. There were about 2 or 3, I’d call, absolutely blind decisions… but that’s bound to happen with such a high caliber competition. The pressure is understandable but we all wish it wasn’t an issue, especially with so much on the line. As competitors, we all must remind ourselves that every competition is just another battle and we have to keep pushing to reach higher goals for our future.”
Red Bull BC One is a high level and high production competition. They do an amazing job of putting some of the best dancers on one stage and making it a great spectacle. It has its place in our scene but it does not define our culture. The stage does bring opportunities to whoever takes the title, but if you are consistent, your skills will take you to these opportunities sooner or later. I feel that we should enjoy it for what it is and look within ourselves for the true future of our dance. Congratulations to Menno for winning his 2nd BC One Title! What do you think about the judging at BC One?
What can we do for the future of judging in competitions? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Incase you missed it watch the full event here: Red Bull BC One World Finals 2017
The Final Battle: Wing vs Menno
Battles with close calls
The Final Bracket
