‘Skitta Star’ is Red Bull dance champ

Shakeem 'Skitta Star' Thomas was on Saturday crowned the Red Bull Dance Your Style national champion following an exciting battle at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew.

Skitta Star will now represent Jamaica on the global stage at the 2023 Red Bull Dance Your Style World final, set for Frankfurt, Germany, on November 4.

"With this win, mi feel like a king," said Skitta Star.

"Fire inna mi eyes! Especially because I entered last year and was eliminated. For this year, I put in a lot of practice, research, and effort to perfect my moves and give it my all," the champion added.

Competing to music of all different genres -- from hip-hop to jazz, to R&B to dancehall -- dancers wowed the audience with their talent, versatility, style and personality through multiple battle rounds, with the end goal of securing the most audience votes. The field of contestants, which began with 16 dancers, saw Dancehall Wazzi (DH Wazzi) and Skitta Star competing in the final round. The eventual champion, Skitta Star, said getting the opportunity to represent Jamaica internationally is a great honour.

"For the November World Final in Germany, I will definitely ensure that I practice, research and study how they battle, track my moves, combine them, and guh with full force and faith," he said.