Vancouver Street Dance Festival

The biggest event of its kind in Canada, the Vancouver Street Dance Festival is a multi-day event that culminates with hours of high-level dance battles.

Vancouver Street Dance Festival in the Summer

The Vancouver Street Dance Festival celebrated its 12th anniversary in 2024. The main day of the festival was August 5th, but there were events that took place from August 2nd to the 5th. The festival prides itself on being the biggest outdoor street dance festival anywhere in the country.

The Vancouver Street Dance Festival is built around dance battles where local talent competes in various categories. The champions are all crowned on the main festival day. There are also some workshops open to the public that teach all kinds of hip hop and contemporary dance.

Where and When

The 2024 festival took place from August 2nd to 5th. The dance battles on the main day (August 5th) were all outside in Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. The Robson Square event ran from 10:30 am until around 5:30 pm.

In addition, the preliminary rounds were held on August 3rd and 4th at the BMO Theatre Centre at 162 West 1st Avenue. The main event was free for spectators but the preliminary rounds were not. Early bird pricing was $38 for a one-day pass and $58 for a two-day pass. The price went up about $10 when bought close to the event. Youth under the age of 18 had free entre.

The public workshops that took place on August 3rd and 4th were also not free. All classes cost $38 this year.

The 2024 Street Dance Festival

The Vancouver Street Dance Festival is built around competition with dancers battling it out in various categories. There are six different styles of dance that have their own battles: popping, breaking, locking, hip hop and waacking. There is also a youth all-styles competition for younger participants.

The preliminary rounds narrow down the field of entrants. Those dancers all compete in semifinals and finals on the main festival day at Robson Square. In between, there are also performances from various local dance crews.

August 5th (2024) Main Day Schedule

10:30 am – Music and Cypher
11:00 am – Official Welcome & Live Performance (TBD)
11:30 am – Youth & Kids Semifinals
12:15 pm – Breaking, Hip House & House Semifinals
1:15 pm – Live Performance (TBD)
1:45 pm – Exhibition Battle
2:00 pm – Popping, Locking & Waacking Semifinals
3:00 pm – Live Performance (TBD)
4:00 pm – Finals

Dance Festival Workshops

Before the main festival there are usually public workshops that anyone can sign up for. Each of the classes cost $38. Below was what the schedule looked like for 2024. All workshops took place at the BMO Theatre Centre.