Dancers from Reykjanesbær crowned World Champions

The dance group Danskompaní from Reykjanesbær recently secured a world championship title in dance. The group competed in the “showstopper” dance category and has been sweeping up awards at the event, winning silver in the commercial dance category yesterday and bronze today in song and dance , where participants both sing and dance on stage.

Helga Ásta Ólafsdóttir, principal of Danskompaní, spoke with mbl.is during the competition, while waiting for one of her students to perform.

“We actually have a performance going on stage in just 5–10 minutes in the song and dance category. That student won a judges’ award in the preliminaries back home and received a scholarship abroad, so it’ll be fun to see how they do,” she said.

The competition features top disciplines in performing arts dance, including jazz ballet, showstopper, street dance, song and dance, commercial, and lyrical categories.

A major event

Around 120,000 dancers participate in preliminaries worldwide, and about 8,000 dancers are now competing at the world championship currently taking place in Borgos, Spain.

Danskompaní has 56 dancers participating in the event, and Ólafsdóttir estimates that the total number of Icelandic dancers there is between 150 and 200.

The competition spans ten days, and only three have passed so far.

“We’re performing about 3–5 routines each day,” said Helga. “It’s hectic, but it’s so much fun,” she added.

Underrated dance genre

She described the atmosphere at the competition as vibrant and exciting. “It’s full of energy and really wonderful to be a part of,” she said.

Danskompaní has participated in the championship since 2019 and has won 21 world titles since 2022.

Ólafsdóttir expressed regret that this type of dance receives little attention. “It’s unfortunate how little coverage this style gets, especially considering how strong Iceland is in this competition,” she concluded.