India Sardjoe and Lee-Lou Demierre were crowned the new Dutch champions Breaking on Saturday night in Amsterdam’s impressive Central Market Hall. Seventeen-year-old Sardjoe thus takes her second Dutch title as the best B-Girl in this new Olympic sport. Amsterdam native Demierre (22) may also call himself the best B-Boy in the Netherlands for the second time in front of his home crowd.
Dutch Breakers at the Olympic Games
India Sardjoe has already qualified for the Paris 2024 Games and there is a good chance that Lee-Lou Demierre will also qualify. These top Dutch breakers are among the favorites for a medal at the Paris Games. The just 17-year-old Sardjoe became world champion in New York in 2022 and won gold at this year’s European Games. Lee-Lou Demierre won silver at the 2022 World Championships in New York.
Market halls perfect ambiance
In Amsterdam’s Central Market Hall, a special stadium had been built for this championship with a cypher in the middle of the stadium as a battleground for intense Breaking battles.
The Markthal also provided enough space for side events such as the Voetjes van de vloer dance festival, where young and old enjoyed a unique combination of sports and culture of the highest order. And with this first edition of Amsterdam Breaking Championships, presented by Odido & Samsung, Amsterdam confirms its reputation as Urban Sport Capital.
Finals in a real Olympic Breaking stadium
The ultimate battle for the official Dutch Breaking Championships of the Nederlandse Algemene Danssportbond (NADB) was watched live in the evening by just under a thousand spectators. Those finals could also be followed live online by the fast-growing Breaking community worldwide. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric despite the winter temperatures. The dancers challenged each other, cheered on by the enthusiastic fans in fascinating battles.
Lee-Lou Demierre did what everyone expected of him with an impressive performance. “I knew I had a chance to win here. But yes, you shouldn’t think about that too much, it goes into your head differently. But it worked out, I’m super happy with that,” Demierre explained.
“It feels great, especially for my friends and family. They haven’t seen much of me this year. So for them to see me win in my hometown is definitely special. I did it for them, too. We just got back from Japan. I’m getting ready for the Olympic qualifiers, going back to the lab, practicing a lot and coming back stronger. The Olympics is definitely a dream, I worked so hard this year. Fought a lot, trained a lot and I think next year will be a good year for me, I also have a great team around me,” concluded the new Dutch men’s champion.
India Sardjoe was also a favorite for the final victory in the women’s event and convincingly won the final with rock-solid battles. But she also took victory in the crew battles. Sardjoe was super happy with both victories. “I trained hard and then a double win. It’s so cool to do the Dutch championships, but it’s even better to win with the crew. The crew is super important to me, they always hype me up and inspire me when needed. I’m super excited about the Olympics. I keep going, I always keep going, even if I’m not ready yet!
Crewbattles
So there were International Crew Battles as well. Breakers, as the participants are called, compete in crews of five dancers and compete against each other with their moves. A total of 25 crews from 10 countries took part and the convincing winner was the crew of ‘Hustle Kidz’. This largely Dutch team with India Sardjoe and Menno van Gorp, former world champion and nestor of the Dutch Breaking scene, won from a strong French Crew in the finals.
