Celebrating 10 years of dance, energy, and community!
We’re celebrating a decade of incredible battles, unforgettable moments, and a thriving dance community. Up North Battle 2025 is your chance to be part of the action, whether you’re a skilled competitor or a passionate supporter. From intense 1-on-1 battles to epic showcases, there’s room for everyone—all styles and stories.
This year, we’re pulling out all the stops to give you a truly unforgettable experience! So, what are you waiting for? Reserve your spot and get ready for a weekend of dance, energy, and community. Come for the battle, stay for the memories! Let’s make this anniversary one to remember.
Need a place to stay?
We offer competing dancers accommodations at a local hostel in shared rooms, on a first-come, first-served basis! Sign up through the registration form.
Battle categories
Open Style Pro – 1 vs. 1
Open Style Rookie – 1-on-1
Showcase Competition – Crew
Breaking Rookie – 1-on-1
Breaking Seven to Smoke
We are excited to welcome MC Ingrid Mugalu as host of Up North Battle!
DJs
, Cheza – Saturday (Open Style)
, R88Sthlm – Sunday (Breaking)
,
Open Style Jury
, Joanna Skywalker
, Raphael Moussa Hillebrand
, Georgina Philp aka Leo Saint Laurent
Jury: Breaking
Killa Kim
Mucize (aka Mumtaz)
Raphael Moussa Hillebrand
Cash prizes!
Open Style Pro
1 item 3,500 SEK
2nd 1,500 SEK
3rd–4th: 500 SEK
Open Style Rookie
1st prize: 1,000 SEK
Showcase Competition
1st prize 4000 SEK
Breaking Seven to Smoke
1 item 3,500 SEK
2nd– 8th500 SEK
Breaking Rookie
1st prize: 1,000 SEK
What is Showcase Competition?
Showcase Competition is the perfect opportunity for you and your crew to compete with your own choreography. You choose your own moves with your own choice of music. Minimum 2 crew members, maximum 5 minute long routine. The jury will judge choreography, musicality, technique, composition and overall charisma. Let the best crew win!
How does an Open Style Battle work?
Just as the title says, all styles are welcome! You’ll battle using your strongest style or styles, but you might end up facing someone with a completely different style. The DJ can either play music that suits you or challenges you. All in all, it’s a recipe for a fun and diverse battle where anything could happen!
The Open Style Battle is divided into two categories: ROOKIE and PRO. ROOKIE is a great choice if you’re new to the battle scene—it could even be your first time! If you’re experienced on the battle floor, PRO is the way to go. You cannot compete in both ROOKIE and PRO.
The competition will begin with a preliminary round. Each dancer will have 1 minute to perform for the judges. The judges will select the best dancers from each category to advance to the next round. The number of dancers selected depends on the number of dancers competing in the preliminary round. Dancers will then face off one-on-one, performing two solos each, in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals until we have a single winner!
Breaking Rookie 1-on-1
Calling all up-and-coming breakers! This battle is for everyone new to the battle scene. Take your chance to shine and bring your own flair, your own style, and your own story to the floor. It’s not just about pulling off the most impressive power moves (although those definitely help!). The judges? They’re not just looking for technical skill (though that’s important too)—they want to see your passion, your creativity, and how you connect with the music. But here’s the thing: win or lose, this battle is about growth, about pushing yourself to new limits, and sharing the dance floor with a community of dancers who’ve got your back. Preselection will be determined through battles.
Breaking Seven to Smoke
Every round is a test of creativity, technique, and endurance, with each dancer trying to outdo the other with their best moves and most explosive energy. It’s all about who can smoke the others out and be the last winner standing.
Eight breakers qualify from a preliminary round to compete in the “Seven to Smoke” (depending on the number of competing dancers). They line up, and the first two breakers in line battle for one round each. The winner earns one point and stays to battle the next person in line, again in a single-round battle. The loser must go to the back of the line and wait for their turn to battle again. The ultimate way to win a Seven to Smoke is to defeat all the other competitors in a single run, earning seven points without losing a single battle. If someone accomplishes this, the battle ends, and that person is declared the winner. If someone reaches seven points at any time during the battle—even if they’ve lost a round in between—they win.
Registration is now open!
SIGN UP!Up North Battle 2025 is part of the Attitudes project
Attitudes is a three-year capacity-building and co-creation project in the field of hip-hop dance that will result in six co-productions for the stage and alternative venues, bringing audiences together at twenty-five different tour locations in six countries. Attitudes is organized by CCNRB (FR), Dansekapellet (DK), HOP Festival (ES), Kampnagel (DE), Norrlandsoperan (SE), and Summer Dance Forever (NL).
attitudeshiphopdance.eu
Attitudes is a Creative Europe project and is co-funded by the European Union
Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent the official position of the European Union or the European Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA assumes any responsibility for them.
