Nero The Professor Dances ‘Bruk Up’ to Sister Nancy’s ‘Bam Bam’ At Red Bull Dance Finals
This past weekend in Washington, D.C., Red Bull held the finals for the USA leg of their Dance Your Style competition, with the winners headed to South Africa in December for the global finals. It’s no secret that Jamaica is the origin of countless styles around the world from wining and ticking to bogle and bruk up, so it was a pleasure to see dancehall make its appearance when dancers D’Andre Nero and Marie Poppins went head to head (and toe to toe) to one of the genre’s most timeless tracks – Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam.
The competitors don’t get to choose their music in the battle round, so it’s always interesting to see how they adapt different styles to unexpected genres. Nero The Professor, born D’Andre Young in Chicago, rocked the classic tune with ease and went viral on social media with his signature style combining elements of stance and bruk up. Bruk up is derived directly from Jamaican dancehall and popular up in dance culture. The Kangz Kastle founder and top boy took a few moments to share his dancehall inspirations with us. Our conversation, lightly edited for clarity, can be found below.
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So what was going through your head when you first heard Sister Nancy come on during the competition?
So hearing that song, it’s funny, that’s in my [dance] playlist. I dance to a lot of different music. There’s so much you can do to these [Dancehall] songs. When that song came on, I felt the sauce come through, I felt the swag. The bruk up come through, you know what I’m saying? The iso(lation)s. I was like, you just gotta float. You gotta float to the beat. You gotta bring the music to life. That’s the most important thing. When you’re dancing to those type of songs, it brings out a different beast in you. You either wanna attack the music or you wanna be the music. In that moment, I chose to be the music.
When I heard the song, I wasn’t even scared. I’m like okay, just give me a chance to play. I’mma bring them into my world. Let me show them what my playground looks like. People go into these battles thinking they need to be someone else, but I want to be myself at all times, regardless.
What role does Dancehall play in your overall dance lifestyle?
Flex culture, man. As far as like, flexing and stuff like that. People think because I bone break, I’m a flexer. But I’m definitely not. Bruk up is derived from Jamaica. That’s a party dance. Most people don’t know that. Bruk up is a party dance. When you’re popping your shoulder, that’s in essence, like bussing your gun in a celebration. When you see people do that hard arm pop, just know that’s the party flavor right there. People really getting into that bag. Dancehall is just crazy, bro! When you hear that music, you’re going to either want to grind on somebody or get up and dance. But either way, you’re dancing regardless.
What is Kangz Kastle and what does that movement mean to you?
Kangz Kastle is a non-profit organization. It was derived from the Future Kangz, a group I was part of.People would always ask “Who’s in the Kastle?” or we would say “Come to the Kastle” and it just became a thing. I just wanted to build something with my friends and my girlfriend, for myself, for the dance community and really empower the youth and push Black culture in a new direction. It’s going to be the next big thing.
Another Red Bull dancer, , said to me the other day: “People are not going to understand who you are or what you do until you push it down their throat.” So I’ll tell you this: I’m going to be a legend. I stand by that. There’s nothing that God said “you can’t do this”, I’m His child. He’s put me on this earth to do great things and one of those things is going to be to put the culture of dance back in the right hands and really just empower the youth. There’s so much untapped potential in the youth. You can make a living off dance. We’re giving these rappers, these artists, entire careers just off Tik-Tok dances. Dancers are like the new deejays.
Do you see yourself coming to Jamaica? You know it’s home of some of the best dancers in the world.
I want to! Definitely, for sure! That shit would be fire (laughs). I’m so down to go.
Red Bull Dance Your Style footage via Stance Elements / MC & Saatchi