20 years of moving the culture.
BATTLE BAD was born from one conviction: hip-hop deserves a festival worthy of its cultural influence. Neither lukewarm nor generic — raw, demanding, popular.
Since 2006, we have brought together every year the artists writing the history of French-speaking and international dance, alongside the DJs, MCs and photographers who make this culture so rich.
Our mission: give legends a stage, emerging talent a springboard, and a whole community a playground.
The 3 Categories.
Popping
A discipline with a unique style, descended from the funk styles. Built on attitude and refined technique, Popping is a dance meant to impress, through its movements and its exceptional quality.
Hip-hop Freestyle
Mastery of flow and body rhetoric in a hip-hop context. The youngest of the three categories, set to modern music, it pushes dancers toward a different kind of creativity and interpretation.
Breakdance
Also called breaking, break, b-boying or b-girling, it is a dance style developed in New York in the 1970s, defined by its floorwork and its spectacular figures: freezes and power moves.
Our journey.
Edition zero
At Les Vignes Blanches in Sarcelles, a legend begins.
Official launch
The festival takes off and becomes an annual fixture.
The era of change
The final moves to a new venue and welcomes international talent.
The Battle era
The festival becomes an unmissable date for hip-hop dance fans from all over the world.
Going international
First European and international qualifiers.
A new chapter
The festival opens up across three stages.
The 20-year edition
1,000 participants expected, and as many spectators.
"Hip-hop is not just music, it is a culture and a way of life."
— The Battle Bad team