The Upgrade Dance Experience 2026 and the Soulwave battles were epic, dope and super crazy the second weekend of October 2026. I’m still buzzing with inspiration from meeting and connecting with so many interesting and talented dancers from all over Australia and New Zealand, and the judges, who included no other that the OG Mr Wiggles.

Saturday: Junior Crew and Junior Solo

On Saturday I competed in both the junior crew with my team Kudos and the junior solo divisions representing Kinetic Moves. A massive thank you to Taneikah Wescombe for all the huge effort organising and putting together this event. What an experience!

Shout out to Rhys Hume and the Kinetic fam, for the choreo for kudos and my solo, the support, the energy. 

Thanks also to the MC for the vibe and energy, and to three world class judges Akanen, Adrian Vendiola and Mr. Wiggles for your feedback and scores. They push me to keep improving.

How I went in the junior solos

This year I finished 7th out of 15. 

Two years ago I placed 22nd out of 27 dancers. That’s a big improvement, very happy with the result, and I made the finals, which was my goal for this comp. Mission accomplished!

Sunday: Workshops, IDCO show and Soulwave battles

The workshops

The Upgrade Dance Experience 2026 came with amazing workshops from the star judges: Akanen, Mr Wiggles and Adrian Vendiola. Three workshops of one and a hours each. Nearly five hours of burning training, filled with energy, passion and shared experience. There was something for everyone:

• Akanen: Her style is hard-hitting and full of attitude, and learning from her in the workshop was so inspiring and gave me so much to take back to the studio.
• Mr Wiggles: A true pioneer of hip hop and popping culture, and a member of the legendary Rock Steady Crew. Learning from someone who helped build this culture, and getting to dance in front of him, is something I’ll never forget. You can check out my YouTube channel to listen to the Q&A session after his master class.
• Adrian is a choreographer and director of world-renowned crews Brotherhood and Northside, who have won big competitions like Hip Hop International, World of Dance, Body Rock and Vibe multiple times. His energy, passion were inspiring for me.

Check out my social channels to watch some of the videos of the training.

IDCO show

What’s not to like about perfectly coordinated dancers with a revolutionary style that take advantage of each little thing they have on stage. From the use of headwear for choreography to the selection of fluorescent colours and creepy masks, this show kept me and the rest of the audience at the edge of our seats, anticipating what was going to come next that we could all cheer and get excited about.

Soulwave battles

Then came the battles, and OMG, they were crazy. DJ Nadiahnfuzion’s music and MC Chris Cielo’s hosting took the vibe to another level. The judges Geny NVZ, Oxy, Kez, Mr Wiggles, and Israel Adensaya. What a line up! too much inspiration. The room was packed, and what a feeling! I entered the battles to have fun and learn from the other, nearly 100, dancers:

• Prelims round was a literal battle. They split us in two groups of 50, each group was then split again in two cyphers were we had 30 minutes to dance and impress the judges. This was really hard for me, being one of the youngest and having to find some room to get in the cypher. My adrenaline was through the roof. And… I made it, I went through to the top 32!
• Top 32: absolutely crazy, I was called to the stage for the second battle. Had to manage my nerves and keep them under control; In my head I was going through other battles I have been in, what has worked and what hasn’t. Came out with a bang and won the round! This felt insane!
• Top 16: When I entered the battles I never thought I would go this far, to me this was a win already. To get to the next round I woudl have to beat Flood, one of the inspirations of Brisbane’s street dance community. I’ll be honest, I felt the nerves and was probably a bit intimidated. He got me this time!

I’m very happy with my top 16 finish. In the end, Flood won the first ever SoulWave & Upgrade Dance Experience battles, and took home the highest metallic prize ever awarded to a dancer in Brisbane. Well done, Flood, a well-deserved win!

Big thanks to everyone who made the weekend happen. See you on the floor!

Benji