Level Up: Ireland’s Youth Dance Revolution

‘Level Up’ is an exciting event designed to introduce young people to the culture, creativity, and energy behind battle dance.

It is a welcoming entry point into competitive dance where newcomers can learn, grow, and share the stage with some of Ireland’s finest dancers.

Across the weekend of July 4 and 5, expect an immersive experience filled with movement, music, and community.

From high-energy workshops led by international dance artists to cyphers, battles, and a laid-back afterparty, this is where the next generation of dancers begins their journey.

Saturday, July 4, will see workshops with each of the three judges, Jean Baptiste, BGirl Menta, and Sapien Brui5er X, followed by a Q&A and then concluding with an ‘All Styles Cypher’ workshop.

Sunday, July 5, will see an ‘All Style Beginners’ Battle’, a ‘Freestyle Cypher’, a ‘Judges Showcase’, a 2v2 ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ battle, and music by DJ Jack Foster and Damo McCarthy, as well as live drums by Tetiana De La Blanca.

The day will conclude with an afterparty between 5:00pm and 7:30pm.

This week, The Echo sat down with curator Mateusz Szczerek to discuss the programme which runs from July 4 to 5 in the Civic; booking details are available on the website.

What can you tell us about ‘Level Up Street Dance Battle’?

‘Level Up’ is a new initiative created in collaboration with Civic Theatre in Tallaght.

The idea was to create a platform for young and up-and-coming dancers to have a way of getting familiar with street dance battle culture.

We have programmed a weekend full of activities for dancers. Battles, workshops with judges, jams, questions and answers with the panel and more.

The 4th and 5th of July will be buzzing at The Civic.

What inspired you to found this initiative?

What inspires me to create initiatives such as ‘Level Up’ is the sense of building a strong community, which is about socialising surrounded by like-minded people.

The weekend is also an opportunity to gain new tools for battle dance from very experienced international guests / judges.

We have three amazing facilitators from the UK, Spain and Norway who teach styles like breaking, krump and contemporary.

They will be teaching on Saturday, July 4, from 11 to 3:15pm.

It’s a great way of getting insight into how to look differently at your practice and prepare for the battles on Sunday.

There will also be a great prize of 800 euro for winners of the 2v2 battle.

What would be your highlight when it comes to curating workshops such as these and why?

I suppose the highlight would be testing new format of the battles, adding some
interesting concepts to explore. In this edition we went for an experimental battle called ‘Bonnie and Clyde’.

Where one female and one male dancer will couple up to create a team.

Then they will dance to the music of a piano player, drummer and DJ.

It will be really great to see everyone improvising together and witnessing how many beautiful moments can be created through improvisation.

What would typically be some of the challenges involved, and how do you navigate them?

Usually the challenge is multitasking between bringing the invited judges to the venue, logistics of a setup for musicians and making sure everyone is feeling looked after.

It’s not a burden at all; to be honest, I love this process, and it brings a great sense of achievement.

Plus, I’m working closely with an incredible team from Civic!!

It’s my 8th year organising dance events, so at this point we are all used to the beautiful chaos.

What would you be expecting from anybody who wishes to sign up?

Just give it a go; we have a category for beginner dancers aged 7 till 13 years old with less than 3 years of battle experience.

It’s a perfect opportunity to try something new and become a member of a very inviting street dance community.

I promise you, when you engage in this type of dance, it gives a great rush and satisfaction, so come and try it out.

And if you don’t think you can, come to watch; it’s all about having fun and supporting each other’s creativity.

Can we expect more workshops in the future?

Yes, for sure, we are aiming for making it an annual event at the Civic Theatre.

Create a vibrant event that will expand every year. There are a lot of ideas we have already for next year, but let it be a surprise that will be revealed soon.

Who would you like to thank for helping the programme become as well-known as it is today?

There are many people who contributed to my journey as a dance facilitator and organiser.

For sure, the entire team of Civic Theatre for always supporting my journey.

To Cathy Coughlan and Kath Gorman for helping me so much with the production aspect of things and incredibly valuable mentoring in order to understand how to grow and make my ideas realise themselves.

All of this also wouldn’t be possible without our dance community that’s very strong and supportive.

The hunger for growth in Ireland is astonishing, and I love to provide spaces for those talents to flourish. Thank you all!!