Street dance championships to be judged by a South African
The 2012 Dance World Championships, scheduled to take place in Bochum, Germany from 3-7 October, will see Africa's only accredited street dance adjudicator and judge, Craig Bullock, take centre stage.
Bullock, founder and owner of DanceWeb can officially claim to be the only African who has been awarded the esteemed status of being an international adjudicator for street dance. Bullock will not be the only South African representing his country, as more than 200 other local dancers will be strutting their stuff, all with the common goal of bringing as many medals back home.
The International Dance Organisation (IDO) - a world dance and dance sport federation with a membership of over 90 nations, representing more than 250 000 dancers from six continents - bestowed the honour on Bullock after he not only passed his regional, national and international exams, but he also received nearly perfect scores for all three.
Studio produced outstanding dancers
This means that he is the only South African and African who is qualified to judge and adjudicate a number of prestigious events, including the World Championship and World Cup, the Dance Grand Prix, the IDO's European Championship and all other IDO dance competitions.
Bullock, along with his wife Mandy, established the leading Johannesburg dance studio DanceWeb, in 2001 and it has consistently produced world-class dancers and revered choreographers who have headlined various World Dancing Championships.
Bullock built on this firm foundation and his relentless work ethic saw him being nominated as South African Hip Hop Coach and managing the national team when they represented the country in Germany 2003. He also emerged victorious when he was awarded gold at last year's IDO World Street Dance Championship held in Austria, for Hip Hop Formation Choreography.
Dancers with special needs
"I've always been passionate about teaching dance to the youth, but above that, I have been blessed to be able to work with dancers with special needs," he says. "I'm proud to state that DanceWeb is taking six of these dancers through to Germany for the World Championships, and they are going to show the rest of the world their mettle, despite their less than ideal circumstances."
Bullock is a director on the board of the South African Dance Teachers' Association (SADTA) and was recently appointed as a national examiner and international adjudicator. He also manages to be an active director of the South African Circle of Dance Association.
