SLAYER CROWNED CHAMPION OF RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE UK 2026, BOOKING PLACE AT WORLD FINAL IN ZURICH - HERE’S WHAT WENT DOWN
.James Airey (Slayer) won this year’s Red Bull Dance Your Style National Final UK, the one-on-one freestyle dance battle to unpredictable tracks spanning genres and eras, winning over the audience to come out on top. Held at the iconic Central Hall Westminster in London, the sixth edition of the Red Bull Dance Your Style UK National Final saw Slayer crowned champion after being voted the crowd favourite in a thrilling final battle against Gaz.
Spectators were treated to a high-energy showcase of freestyle street dance, with competitors drawing on styles including hip-hop and house as they battled for the national title. Following his victory, Slayer will go on to represent the UK at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final in Zurich, Switzerland, on 24 October 2026.
“I feel like I’ve been wanting this for a long, long time, so I’m so grateful that I’ve got these memories to look back on. Both of my lungs partially collapsed, and this feels like the end of a really hard time. I’ve come back and conquered what I wasn’t able to do last year.”
Looking ahead to the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final in Zurich this October, Slayer shared his excitement about representing the UK on the global stage.
James Airey – the 19-year-old from Chesterfield who suffered a partially collapsed lung in 2025, defied expectations with a rapid recovery, returning to competition within weeks and securing major battle wins. Performing under the name ‘Slayer’, he brings not only technical excellence but a powerful story of perseverance, using his platform to advocate for mental health awareness and resilience among young people.
What Went Down
Earlier in the afternoon, there were a series of dance workshops and styling sessions held at Central Hall Westminster – including a Style Your Dance session with On x Zendaya collection product, ‘Your House is Waack’ Voguing workshop, Street Dance foundations class, Battle Skills workshop, Main Character workshop with Kloe Dean and an Own The Camera talk with Stance. On the night, there was a special half-time show from RnB group Say Now. The London-based trio –Ysabelle Angeli, Maddie Haynes and Amelia Onuorah – performed with two new members on the night, off the back of their recent dance club competition. They performed some of their recent hit singles including ‘Millions’ and ‘Supermarket’, which the crowd went wild for.
Photographer Credit: James North (Northy), Jake Turney / Red Bull Content Pool I Co-host dynamic duo Priscilla Anyabu and Dwayne Nosworthy kept the vibes high all night throughout the finals, drumming up the crowd energy for the freestyle battles and musical performances alike.
To learn more about the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Finals happening in Zurich, Switzerland later this year, visit https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/events/red-bull-dance-your-style-world-final-2026-zurich.
