SANQUHAR TEENAGER WINS WORLD DANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Written by author on September 8, 2015
A TEENAGER from Sanquhar has been crowned Under-16 B-boy World Champion at the 10th UDO World Street Dance Championships at Glasgow’s SECC.
Robert McColl (15) fought off international competition to reach the finals on Saturday 28 August, before clinching victory in a battle.
The accolade tops off a winning six months during which Robert – who dances with Coatbridge-based MAD Studios – has picked up the British and Scottish Under-16 titles.
He also collected the sixth place trophy in the Under-18 Advanced category at the global street dance event with the rest of his team, Killaz.
To pursue his street dance passion, Robert makes the 96 mile round-trip from Sanquhar to train in Coatbridge more than three times a week – with extra sessions in the run up to the Worlds.
He says: “I can’t believe I’ve actually won! The competition was really tough as the standard was so high this year, especially in the final battle. And to place with the rest of the Killaz in our team final was an extra bonus.
“I trained really hard with the rest of the crew, travelling through to Coatbridge up to six times a week right before the competition. It’s tiring, but it’s absolutely been worth it.”
Robert’s coach, Michelle Connelly of MAD Studios, said: “I’m over the moon for Robert, and so proud to have an individual World Champion in the crew. All of the dancers put in a lot of hours to make sure they’re ready for competition, and Robert obviously puts in the extra miles to travel to his training sessions. It’s definitely paid off.
“We had a great weekend, with Killaz placing in their category; younger team, New Kidz, taking first place in the Under 14 Novice finals; two of our tiny street dancers winning the Under-6 Duos; and Lily Kilcoyne taking the title in the Under-16 House battles. Robert’s victory was the icing on the cake.”
Next year, Robert will face a new challenge, competing in the Over-16 B-boy category.
Around 6,000 dancers from 30 countries, including Europe, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the US, travelled to Glasgow to compete in the weekend dance extravaganza.
Alongside the championships, Glasgow once again hosted UDO’s Dance Show LIVE!, which featured a packed programme of workshops, industry master-classes and celebrity performances across a variety of dance genres.
Stars including former JLS singer Aston Merrygold, dance crew Flawless, Britain’s Got Talent stars Boyband and X-Factor finalist Jake Quickenden entertained the crowds with their performances.
