From streets to stardom: Mumbai hip-hop crew wows Jennifer Lopez, wins NBC’s ‘World of Dance’

With its electric moves to Bollywood-inspired beats, Mumbai-based hip-hop dance group Kings United emerges victorious at worldwide dance competition, and bags $1 million.

Thursday May 09, 2019 , 3 min Read

There’s nothing like a success story to bring hope into our lives, especially when the journey is marked by years of hard work, determination, and perseverance. Kings United’s story is no different; working their way up from the streets of Nalasopara, Mumbai, the hip-hop dance crew is the first Indian team to win NBC’s World of Dance competition.

The global dance competition, in its third season now, is hosted by actor Scott Evans, and judges include choreographer Derek Hough, actor and singer Jennifer Lopez, and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. With their consistently top scoring performances, Kings United battled four other finalists from across the world to win $1 million.

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10 years of struggle, hard work, pain, sleepless nights, fear, sacrifices has been paid off finally! Yesterday’s hard work resulted in today’s victory!!!! With no time in hand, we had to make decision whether to participate or not and with just 10 days before the travel date, we cleared our travel documents and proceeded with our participation in WOD3 . Who knew that a group from India would reach the finals and emerge with the title of WORLD CHAMPIONS. But, we did it and converted our dream into reality with hard work and determination. It seems so surreal for us today and we are still unable to convince ourself that yes , We made it. We are so overwhelmed with the response We received through out the show . This makes us work even more harder for our future dreams. Special Thanks to our Choreogrpher @suresh_kingsunited 🙏🏻👑⚔️🛡🦁 The Team 👇 @karthik_thekings @ritesh_the_kings @shijin_thekings @chandanacharya @mohanpandey @sunnychatterjeey @pavankingsunited @prem_thekings @hardik.rawat @charles_thekings @pratik_thekings @rajadas_thekings @akshay_thekings @naidu_thekings @hritikkingsunited . . . . . #Thekings #Wod #WorldChampions #Wod3 #Worldofdance #Worldofdance3 #KingsUnited #thekingswod

A post shared by The Kings (@kings_united_india) on May 5, 2019 at 8:33pm PDT

Formerly known as Fictitious Dance Group, the 14-member crew was founded by choreographers Vernon Monteiro and Suresh Mukund in 2008. Initially, the group rehearsed on the roads or at beaches for lack of a studio, reports The Hindu. Despite the myriad challenges they faced, they stuck together for over 10 years and participated in local competitions to win just Rs 500, according to News18. They then went on to perform at a number of prestigious competitions and events, including India’s Got Talent, and the inaugural ceremony of the IPL in 2016. Their entry into the finals of the World Hip-Hop Championships in 2012 was the inspiration behind ABCD2, a film directed by actor and choreographer Remo D’Souza.

Also read: Madhuri Dixit starts an online dance academy - 'Dance With Madhuri'

The crew’s performance at the World of Dance finale incorporated Bollywood elements with Spartan-inspired moves, reports India Today.

“We did a Baahubali act in India two years ago that went viral, so I knew the concept of cinematic feel and slow motion would work for sure,” said Suresh in a telephonic interview with IANS.

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#WorldChampions - #thekings @kings_united_india It was such a great pleasure to showcase Bollywood 🇮🇳 form worldwide. We stood different from others keeping in mind the competition, the judges and the opponents. We were skeptical if these guys could understand our forms and at the same time, we had to be very unique to qualify but the kind of response we received from the judges was amazing. We hope u guys loved each and everything that our team brought to the stage of @nbcworldofdance 🤗 Thank you for all your lovely support. We shall work even more harder to keep you all entertained. #gokingsgoindia #thisiswod #kingsunited ##worldofdance #worldofdance #worldofdance3 #wod #wod3

A post shared by The Kings (@kings_united_india) on May 6, 2019 at 5:58am PDT

The 31-year-old choreographer also revealed that after this win, the team would not participate in dance contests in the future. “We have already achieved the world's best dance group title,” Suresh explained.

“My team is pretty settled right now and is doing shows worldwide.” Plans for a world tour are now under way, and the crew may soon travel to Australia and the US for dance workshops.

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