Pictures & recap from Red Bull Dance Your Style Sweden final

It was the contemporary and locking dancer Mpululu who managed to come out on top in the final battle against African style and Dancehall dancer Amelis. Her prize? Representing Sweden in the World Final in Mumbai, India later this autumn.

For a third year in a row, the global street dance competition touches down in Sweden. It’s an all-styles dance battle where dancers go head to head and, unlike most dance battles, it’s the audience who decides the winner by voting on their favourite each round.

This year the national final was hosted at Nalen in Stockholm, a historic dance venue from the early 1900s. Sold-out tickets meant the place was packed to the brim with a buzzing energy from the get-go. DJ Cheza and the hosts MC Hackey and Bishat had the crowd going as they kicked off the battles up on stage.

“I’ve loved all the battles tonight. To see the other dancers going for it and giving it their all, you get such an exchange from each and every one. I also really enjoyed communicating with the audience”, a happy Mpululu said after the event. She can’t yet believe that she is actually going to the World Final in India: “It hasn’t sunk in yet, it just feels surreal. I’ve always wanted to go to India and now I get to do so whilst representing Sweden. It feels wonderful!”

Amelis secured a worthy second place. She had been charming the audience all night with her big energy moves, her style very much inspired by dance styles from the African continent as well as the Jamaican style Dancehall. Amelis had one of the most memorable battles of the evening when she met Younes in the semifinals. When their second tune dropped and the dancers went off against each other, the audience went absolutely bonkers with excitement levels reaching new heights.

During the battles, the dancers have no idea what song is going to come on. It’s the DJ who decides and everything from mainstream hits to old-school bangers is blasted out. DJ Cheza definitely gave the contestants a run for the money playing a huge mix, from classic tunes such as Chic’s Freak Out and ABBA’s Gimme Gimme Gimme to recent hits by Kendrick Lamar, Greekazo and Zara Larsson.

The biggest surprise of the evening came during the semifinals between Mpululu and Sean Ge when the heavy beats were suddenly replaced by a beautiful string orchestra playing Beethoven’s classical piece Symphony No 5 in C minor. Not easily rattled, the two dancers took on the challenge and brought street vibes to the classical tune with both elegance and big moves.