Prior
to the finals, ‘WATCH IT’, ‘MARKSMEN’, ‘SONS OF LIBERTY’ and ‘SOULJA
GUYS’ got eliminated while ‘X-FELLAZ’, ‘FLAMES INSPIRED’, ‘LEGACY’, and
‘EYES6ONE’ made it to the final.
A
distinctive feature of this year’s MGSDA was that all eight crews drawn
from the four regions were put in a booth camp where they were groomed
by professional dance trainers as well as given different tasks and
challenges to perform as the competition progressed.
The
National Final was formatted in such a way that two rounds were
organized for all four dance crews. The first round saw dance crews
performing with music entertainers, while the second round saw the
dance crews performing their regular routines. The scores from both
rounds were added up to determine the Champion of the MGSDA III, who
must have amassed more points than others.
The
stage was set for the long awaited finals as the trio judges of FRANK,
KAFFY and the Chief judge WALE RUBBER were ushered in by the MC
impresario, Deji Falope, who wished to further bolster the judges
decisions, and went on to introduce “MAY 7” a Nigerian UK based
female dancer and dance instructor who happened to be the only female
dancer in a dance group of twenty.
The
Final showdown kicked off with “EYE6ONE” performing with “MO CHEDDAH”,
using the sound track “KOMA ROLL” as they thrilled the audience,
exuding energy that synchronized very well with their expression.
However, their performance was faulted on the ground of poor ‘popping’
that was seen to be too draggy, which showed some technical flaws.
“Generally it was a good performance even though there were some rough
edges” May 7 said.
Next
to perform on stage after “EYE6ONE was “FLAMES INSPIRED” performing
with “DJ ZEEZ” with the popular hit track “FOKA SIBE”. It was a mind
blowing performance as the introduction of “DJ ZEEZ” on stage was too
apt and thrilling, the audience could not but scream with a great deal
of ecstasy. “You guys are very fast and smart because you paid
attention to the co-ordination of the synergy between the dance and the
music” Kaffy said. The performance of “FLAMES INSPIRED” could be felt
by all as they succeeded in using “DJ ZEEZ” to the sheer satisfaction
of the judges as their performance was described by the judges as
awesome, brilliant and adjudged to be simply flawless.
The
bar was obviously raised during the performance of “FLAMES INSPIRED”
but whether this could be surpassed was the question in the minds of
the audience as “X-FELLAZ” stormed the stage to perform with “KLEVER
JAY” a.k.a “KONI KONI MASTER” as they performed to his popular hit
track “IGBORO TI DARU”.
They
however did not disappoint their fans as they succeeded in raising the
bar even higher than expected. This they did by displaying a high level
of technical dexterity, coupled with a well formed pyramid from the
stage floor to the roof of the venue, it was indeed awesome. After they
performed, May 7 was forced to say that she was speechless and that she
was blown away by their performance.
“LEGACY”
was last to perform in the first round as they performed with the “
ROOF TOP MC’S” thrilling with the popular “LAGIMO” track amongst
others which saw their performance having too much in just one piece.
It was in this same light that Kaffy harped on saying “I feel the
transition you created did not really jell for us to see the life in
your performance.
The
second round commenced with “EYE6ONE” performing. They performed to the
best of their ability as opined by one of the judges but were faulted
on flat beginning that went through till the end of their performance.
“Never toil with the soul of the music because it is the vessel your
dance rides on”. This was the comment Kaffy made by telling “EYE6ONE”
that they had dangerous stunts but the music was not carrying that kind
of performance they exhibited.
A
Major contender of the MGSDA III diadem, “FLAMES INSPIRED” came on
stage again to surpass their previous performance and this they did
using the basket ball as their major crump as they dunked and slammed
the judges of their feet with exceeding mind wowing performance.
“X-FELLAZ”
had the last chance to create an impression on the minds of the judges
that they deserve to be crowned champions of the MGDSA III as they came
on stage for the last time to perform. They performed with precision,
straight to the point and entertained in all aspects. It was a great
performance laced with zeal of wanting to win. After they finished,
Wale said “this is a street dance performance”.
Lastly
for the second round performance “LEGACY”, who were very daring in all
aspects, raised the bar in their performance by challenging themselves
one more time.They were so systematic in the way they finished each
move that led them straight to the next one without actually faulting
it. This, FRANK could not contain but to say “UNA TOO GBASKY”.
After
the crews were done with their last performances and were awaiting the
results, the MGSDA Season II Champions, “STREETHOOD” came and presented
before the crowd an exit performance, while the judges were busy with
the task of determining who the winner would be.
At
the end of the exit performance by “STREETHOOD”, the Chief Judge of the
MGSDA Season III, WALE RUBBER presented the result of this years’ MGDSA
III Winner to Deji Falope.
After
a heart thumping wait for the results, “ X-FELLAZ” two times runner up
of the Malta Guinness Street Dance Africa Competition emerged champions
of this years’ competition while “FLAMES INSPIRED”, “LEGACY”, and “
EYE6ONE” came behind in that order.
To this end, “X-FELLAZ” as Dance Champions of Nigeria will be representing Nigeria in the Pan Africa Dance final that will be coming up in Ghana later in the year.
The
grand finale was a spectacle to behold as lots of creativity, thrills
and fun fare were exhibited by the crews who put up extreme ‘Top of the
World’ performance which made the Malta Guinness Street Dance Africa
III Competition an event full of fun and goodness for every one.
Malta Guinness Street Dance Africa III ……. It’s 3much!