2023 has been an amazing year for Clean North. The whole crew is looking stronger than ever, and we have a new team member in our sight. Thank God our bboys & bgirls are all fit and healthy, we have been consistently training, pushing ourselves and taking the time to chill each week. We represented at the Outdoor Arts UK conference, promoting our latest performance piece and we participated in a special workshop with the world renowned Bboy Freeze from Sweden.

All this has created a strong vibe and momentum in the crew, but to top it off this month we hit our first international jam as a crew in 3 years. It felt great to be back on the road again, so many great memories were made, and we have brought a fresh energy back with us from Bordeaux, France. 5 of our members set out from Bradford in the early hours on the 24th of February, including myself (Tranquil), Labyrinth, Bboy Jonah One, Spider, Bgirl Ammo. It would have been great to take the whole crew. but the rest were with us in spirit.

Labyrinth/Jonah One and Spider/Ammo entered the 2v2 battles and I entered the footwork battle. Everyone trained hard to up their level of breakin in preparation for this event, Onzième édition du tROCKé Dance Battle. We all represented ourselves, the crew and our city really well and made a strong presence at the jam. It was great to hear and see people appreciate the Bradford Style of dance and we know that now we have started travelling again it won’t be long until our next international breaking event. There was lots to take away from this event and hopefully this will give us the boost we need to reach new heights. I have to give a massive shoutout to Bboy Stylez for his help with training for this battle, I managed to qualify in the top 16, which felt great, and I had a dope battle against Bboy Portenio from Argentina.

What can be said about Bordeaux? When it comes to the food, it was incredible! The quality of food was so high and the effects of this could be seen in the local people but especially the dancers, who were evidently very healthy and strong. There where many parts of Bordeaux that reminded me of Bradford or Birmingham, the concrete and brutalist style buildings, definitely a place where hip hop and breakin culture is found. There is a strange mix of architecture in the city and buildings of all styles are found next to each other from beautiful classic styles to really modern structures and everything in between. It doesn’t seem to have any particular order at all but it makes interesting walks and there is lots to see. We stayed at the Moxy Hotel near Les Halles Bacalan food market, the market was amazing and so was the Hotel, Labyrinth did an amazing job organising many aspects of the trip including accommodation and travel.

At the event we met the renowned local crew, Immigrandz and were invited to their bar, The Walky Bar, which was owned by some of their crew members. This was one of the best after parties we have been to, the Bordeaux breakers really know how to party and there was such a positive culture and scene from what we experienced. This is an event we would definitely like to visit again and hopefully get the whole squad their next time. We visited many famous sites in Bordeaux including the Wine Muesum – La Cité du Vin, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Cathedral, Place de la Bourse a historic landmark and Rue Saint James, one of the most beautiful streets in Bordeaux.

There was so much laughter, new sights, new sounds and fun we had as a crew and I feel truly blessed that I could experience this trip. I always thank God for my breakin journey, and it is great to see the next generation coming through strong.

Something important I have noticed and experienced from travelling is the general physicality of dancers outside the UK is superior, whether it be in other European countries, USA or Asia. Of course, there are always exceptions, but this just shows how important the difference food quality makes to a dancers diet. It is important for dancers within Bradford and certain parts of the UK who can’t access better quality food, whether that be due to funds or availability. We all must eat as healthy as we are able to and take every advantage you can get, whether it be knowledge and techniques or improved methods of training to make up for any lack caused by lower quality food. There is a fantastic book by Dr Jenny Goodman – Staying Alive in Toxic Times which I recommend to anyone who wants to improve their health.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip and a time that will stick with me forever. Here is a short compilation featuring some of our breakin from the trip and we have over 100 photos, which can all be viewed on Facebook. Please don’t forget to like, follow and subscribe to Tranquil Productions YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.