Vancouver Street Dance Festival

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

Vancouver Street Dance Festival in the Summer

The Vancouver Street Dance Festival celebrated its 12th and final 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 prided itself on being the biggest outdoor street dance festival anywhere in the country.

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

Where and When

The 2024 festival took place from August 2nd to 5th. This was the event’s final year. 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 entry.

The public workshops that took place on August 3rd and 4th in 2024 were not free. All classes cost $38.

The 2024 Street Dance Festival

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

The preliminary rounds narrowed down the field of entrants. Those dancers all competed in semi-finals and finals on the main festival day at Robson Square. In between, there were 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 Semi-finals
1:15 pm – Live Performance (TBD)
1:45 pm – Exhibition Battle
2:00 pm – Popping, Locking & Waacking Semi-finals
3:00 pm – Live Performance (TBD)
4:00 pm – Finals

Dance Festival Workshops

Before the main festival there were usually public workshops that anyone could 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.