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Red Bull Beat Battle heating up

Eight of SA's best dance crews are preparing to 'fight' it out for Red Bull Beat Battle Title.

Through an intense qualification process with over 100 crews auditioning in six cities across South Africa, the crews were hand-picked to take part in this year's Red Bull Beat Battle.

As a judge and well-respected Bboy Gerald Witbooi, aka Vouks Nojokes, was impressed with the talent they encountered on their search to find the best crews across a multitude of dance genres.

He remarked: "I was most impressed by the Pretoria crews. We expected some amazing crews to come out of Jo'burg but Pretoria really stepped up to the plate and made deciding who should go through tough for us. That said, the talent in Bloemfontein surprised me most. In a year or two crews from there will be a force to reckon with."

2011's winners Artistic Intelligence are all set to defend their title. The crew's Tumi Tladi remarked: "We're excited to be competing again this year and go up against such talented crews because the experience helps us grow as a crew. The best part of Red Bull Beat Battle is the crowd's energy and that's what we're really looking forward to."

Battling it out in the ultimate dance off at Bassline, Johannesburg on 26 May are: Artistic Intelligence  (Hip-Hop), Hlaks (Pantsula), Ninja Turtles (Breaking), Phly Nation (Hip-Hop), Real Actions Junior (Pantsula) , Reptilez (Hip-Hop), Soulistic Fusion (Sbhujwa), and V.I.N.T.AG.E. (Freestyle).

Their varying dance styles, techniques and personalities will make for another thrilling edition of the competition and the crew with the crowd on their side will definitely have the upper hand.

In the final they'll be judged on their style, creativity and overall crowd reaction. The crew with the best score will be crowned the 2012 Red Bull Beat Battle champions.

As champions they'll have the opportunity to travel the country, perform at various events, host workshops and get the chance to defend their title in 2013.