O2 Street Dance Crew: The moves that made a dance group go viral
From being turned away from practice spaces to dancing in the rain for millions to see, O2 Street Dance Crew’s journey is one of resilience, uplifting hip-hop in Chattogram’s dance scene
When Iftisham Ul Hadid, one of the founders of O2 Street Dance Crew, posted a video of the group dancing to the song 'Beggin' by Måneskin in the pouring rain, they knew it would be a hit – but they did not quite anticipate the extent of it.
The video was reshared by a social media page, racking up over one million views on Instagram in just a few days.
Little do people know that the video was a full circle moment for the Chattogram-based dance group.
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In 2014, when the group found its footing for the first time, it had been turned away from many spaces. They hunted far and wide to find a place to practice hip-hop dance, a dance form that was still new for the locals of Chattogram. Many landlords refused to rent out spaces to them.
"For a while, we practiced in a corner of Shilpakala under a tree. A lot of people would go there to practice dancing, and they would watch us as well. However, as the authorities felt like we were distracting the others, they made us leave," shared Iftisham.
However, the video that went viral was taken at that same spot, and Iftisham could not help but feel a little nostalgic.
Just as people cannot live without oxygen, similarly, we cannot live without dancing. That's why 'O2' felt like the perfect name. We also didn't start from much – we began with street dance, and we created our platform ourselves, so it had to be in the name
His journey began in a park at CRB Hill, where Iftisham and a group of friends would gather to practice their moves. Within just six months, they were teaching others the very moves they had once learned together.
When deciding on a name, the word "O2" felt like the perfect word for Iftisham to describe his love for dance.
"Just as people cannot live without oxygen, similarly, we cannot live without dancing. That's why 'O2' felt like the perfect name. We also didn't start from much – we began with street dance, and we created our platform ourselves, so it [the word street] had to be in the name," commented Iftisham.
Now, about 11 years later, their classes have expanded to two locations, and they have steadily built a solid following on social media.
The founders, including Hasnat Hasib and Emon Ahamed, as well as co-founders Nasefur Rahman, Nazmul Siddiki, Shahnewaz Akash, and Ahnaf Aziz Tonmoy, faced their fair share of challenges through the years. As they were turned away from different spaces to practice dance, O2 then ended up settling for CRB, where they would dance regularly.
While some people were in awe after seeing their skills, the concept of hip-hop was still foreign to most.
"We faced a difficult time back then; a lot of people would think we were doing it for money, some people would even jokingly throw coins at us."
In just a few years, after we were able to establish our platform, the invitations to events started pouring in, and Chattogram became more familiar with hip-hop.
When asked about how the dance scene changed over the years, Iftisham could not help but feel a little proud at how hip-hop's scene had changed so much right in front of his eyes. He recalled how back then, O2 received a lot of criticism as hip-hop is not a traditional dance form.
Just like any art form, one of O2's biggest struggles was acquiring sufficient funds through sponsorships.
"When we first started O2, everyone from the group would deposit Tk50 to create a fund for dance projects. Many of these projects had to be executed with funds from our savings."
Despite getting many offers from international dance competitions and events, they could not attend them due to a lack of funds.
However, O2 is no stranger to going viral – their dance videos have spent time under the spotlight before. And these videos played a key role in the group's trajectory. Soon after some of their first videos gained traction – with views in the millions – their inboxes began to fill up with offers to perform at corporate events.
"When our videos get attention, it helps popularise hip-hop as a dance form in our country. Other than that, as artists, it helps us financially as our student base and scope for opportunities grow."
Now, Iftisham and his peers look at the comments and messages they are receiving after their impromptu video went viral, and are filled with an immense amount of joy and pride, and the lingering hope that O2 Street Dance Crew, as well as hip-hop, will continue to grow in Bangladesh.
