Ireland’s hopes rest on the shoulders of Keelan Reynolds from Ballymun, who will be representing Ireland at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Finals in India this week.
Already a hit in the US and beyond, the high-energy battles bring outrageously talented dancers from around the globe to showcase an impressive range of street styles including hip-hop, popping, locking, house and more.
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Last year, Irish hip-hop dancer Jessie Thompson made it to the world finals of the global street dance competition, where she battled it out among 44 other countries in Frankfurt, Germany.
This year, all eyes will be on Dublin’s Keelan Reynolds as he takes to the World Stage in Mumbai.
“It’s such an honour,” Keelan tells RTÉ Lifestyle. “To grow up in such an amazing country and repping it throughout the few years I’ve been dancing. Now it’s just myself, it’s such a big honour. Knowing I’ve got my whole country behind me, it truly is an honour.”
“This is probably the furthest I’ve ever been away from home,” he adds. “I’ve been finding it quite hard to keep up with jet lag, especially with the time difference being ahead, it’s tough keeping your energy up but it’s just about really being able to push yourself to the limits.”
Reynolds reigned supreme at the Irish National Finals in Dublin earlier this year, coming out on top against 16 of Ireland’s best dancers with his distinct style of performing.
“A lot of my dancing is based off of hip-hop and locking,” he explains. “Locking is a style that was all about disco back in the days – it’s all smiles and all fun – whereas hip hop is more bouncy and a bit of a showing off.”
With semi-finals taking place today, and with dancers from 48 different countries taking part overall, there will be quite a few hurdles for the Ballymun man to face ahead of the World Final on Saturday.
“It’s been extraordinary meeting people from every side of the globe and witnessing their culture, witnessing their style of dance, and being able to feed off their energy,” says Keelan. “Really being able to mingle with everyone, it’s such a good chance to really get the vibe of what it’s like to dance – it’s good to meet other people who have as much passion for it as I do.”
In Red Bull Dance Your Style, the dancer who wins the crowd, wins the battle. Keelan wowed the crowds at the Irish National Finals in Wood Quay in July, and will need to do so once more in Mumbai.
Tonight, he will take part in the pre-final where he will be up against Chilean popper Sebita Kurt. With a strong travelling contingent (Keelan’s girlfriend and six friends flew to Mumbai to support him), the Irish will be making their voice heard as Keelan takes to the stage.
The Red Bull Dance Your Style World Finals will take part on Saturday on Red Bull Dance’s YouTube channel, live from 3.30pm Irish time.