TruSkool focuses on three main dance styles: Breakdance (correctly known as bboying or bgirling), Popping & Locking. Within the competition, each crew should use the movements from these styles (click here for definitions).


TruSkool offers positive education through current and popular trends. Participants not only benefit from the physical activity but also through exploring creative ideas, working as a team and learning about hip hop culture and its historical roots both in music and dance. Breakdance encourages the participation of both boys and girls without having the anti-boy stigma associated with other dance styles. TruSkool provides a focused goal for a group or ‘crew’ to work towards and, with its association with the official UK B-Boy Championships, provides a base for further development of group and individual skills.


It’s not compulsory that you undertake one of our training sessions in order to enter TruSkool - but it makes sense to have as much professional help as you can to be properly prepared. In collaboration with Pro-Create, who manage some of the world’s best breakdancers, ArtsPool will be offering a selection of workshop packages for competing schools. These workshops vary from single sessions through to week long residencies. This year, we will also be offering lecture demo and presentation days for both students and teachers to gain a better insight into the amazing culture that is breakdance.

Option 1: One-off half day session
This session lasts 3 hours and covers foundation skills in breakdance, which will give your crew a basic understanding of the style. The school’s dance teacher will then be required to train the crew further for competition.

Option 2: One-off full day session
This full day session allows your crew the opportunity to experience a wider variety of skills and gain a deeper understanding of the breakdance style. This session also covers the differences between showcasing and dance battle so that your crew has a basic preparation for competition. The school’s dance teacher will then be required to train the crew further for competition.

Option 3: Full Day Breakdance Activity Day
This option can be delivered to the whole school or to a year group, and is an excellent opportunity for schools with limited studio space, for an Arts Festival day or a day where curriculum is suspended. Within TruSkool, it is perfect for those schools who wish to reach as many students as possible before selecting their crew for competition. We send 3 of our top dancers into your school, who will deliver two 2 hour sessions: one in the morning and an identical session in the afternoon for a different student group. The session includes a talk on the history of breakdance within street dance culture, a live show/demonstration, video and breakout question & answer sessions.

Option 4: Breakdance Residency
This is a week long residency led by a member of the UK BBoy Championships Show Squad. The week can be broken down in a variety of ways: you could choose to have the luxury of a whole week with your chosen crew in order to give them some intense training and an excellent head start on their showcase and dance battle strategies, or alternatively could choose to have a different student group experiencing the style each day from which you select your crew for competition. The residency ends with a student showcase performance.

Option 5: 10 week Breakdance Mentoring Programme  
This is the ultimate TruSkool training package, designed to take your crew from skills training, to choreographing the showcase, to training in some crucial battle skills, to competition. This option brings consistency to your crew, giving them a weekly 2 hour session for the 10 weeks leading up to the qualifiers, keeping them motivated and on track, and building their individual and team skills as well as their dedication and determination to win.