24 b-boys and b-girls rhythmically contorted their bodies, spun on their heads, backs, and hands, and jived to funky beats under red and blue lights as the crowd hollered Saturday night during what the competitors call “the Super Bowl of breaking.”
“This event has been around for over 20 years and it’s the most prestigious one-versus-one breaking competition in the world,” judge b-boy Ronnie said. “It’s important for any practitioner that is a part of this culture.”
The 2025 Red Bull BC One breaking competition was held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Royalston Square, 501 Royalston Ave., Minneapolis. The event is Red Bull’s fifth time hosting the prestigious breaking competition in Minnesota, according to host Jake Riley. Its competitors hail from all over the globe, including Guam, Hawaii, Ukraine, Chicago and yes, Minnesota. They each battled to compete in this year’s National Cypher in Denver, and eventually the World Final in Tokyo.
“Basically, you win this event, and then you head to nationals and get recognition from breakers around U.S., and once you go to the world finals, that’s when you have the world looking at you,” judge b-boy Victor said.
How they were judged
The dancers competed in a bracket-style battle until two were crowned the 2025 Minneapolis Red Bull BC One champions.
Judges said breakers would be judged on character, originality, musicality, execution and style.
To break it down, they’d be judged on the fundamentals of breaking: toprock, the starting moves; “go down,” how the dancers move their bodies to the ground; “footwork,” self explanatory, but not your classic two-step; and what got the crowd cheering the loudest, “power moves,” the kind of movement that makes a person question if dancers are actually human.
There really should be a “don’t try this at home” disclaimer for these moves. One breaker who exemplified power moves was 16-year-old b-boy Denver, from Ukraine — a competitor judge Victor said he was excited to watch.
B-boy Ronnie, who was born in Gwan, now lives in Las Vegas and runs the dance studio District Arts in his home state, judged the b-girl battles on Saturday. He is a legend in the breaking community, according to Red Bull and breakers worldwide.
“Every year, we look forward to seeing the new faces that will hopefully represent our country,” Ronnie said.
The 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medalist, b-boy Victor, judged the men’s competition throughout the night and said that not only does watching new dancers inspire him to improve his skills and try new moves, but it also makes him want to battle.
“Nowadays, most breakers look the same, so I’m trying to look for someone that has a different flavor, different style and originality,” Victor said.
The vibe of the night
Throughout the night, heads bobbed and people couldn’t help but dance to the beats played by DJ Los Boogie. Host Riley of House of Dance Twin Cities, hyped the crowd by ...
