More than a dozen dancers from across the Western U.S. competed in a hip-hop dance battle earlier this month.
Dancers from Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and other cities competed in Phoenix for the chance to move on to the national competition in San Francisco later this year.
Two of the top dancers were from Phoenix. And they happened to know each other well prior to the competition.
Andrea Pentecostes goes by RaeRae when she’s dancing — which is most days. She and her wife, Leah Roman, have run the Jukebox Dance Studio in Mesa for the last 15 years.
“The Jukebox, we pride ourselves in being an all street style dance studio. We don’t do jazz, ballet type. It’s all hip hop, centered on hip hop. So we do popping, Campbellocking, vogue, waacking, krump, breaking, all of that,” Pentecostes said.
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— Atmosphere
The Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
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— Participants
Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
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— RaeRae
Andrea Pentecostes — aka RaeRae — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
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— Atmosphere
The Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
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— JREAMZ
Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
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— RaeRae
Andrea Pentecostes — aka RaeRae — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
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— JREAMZ
Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
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— JREAMZ
Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Dash McDonald/Red Bull Content Pool / www.redbullmediahouse.com
On a recent Saturday night, Pentecostes joined 15 other dancers at the Van Buren in downtown Phoenix for a street dance battle competition — the Red Bbull Dance Your Style qualifiers for the Western region of the country.
The winner went on to nationals in San Francisco, and potentially earn a spot in the world finals in LA later this year.
It’s a high-profile event. Clips from these battles have attracted hundreds of millions of views online. The competition mostly features a variety of street styles, though each dancer presents a distinct blend in their movements.
“We’re sourcing from the ground. It’s from black and brown people in the U.S., right? So it came from Africa, it came from New York. So it’s very centered on the ground and the earth,” Pentecostes said.
“For me personally, I take from my upbringing, coming from the Philippines. … In Filipino culture, we have this dance called Pandanggo sa llaw, where you have candles on your hands, and then you have to dance with it while holding it, without it falling. So I feel like that’s kind of where I get that poise when I, when I do some of my popping,” Pentecostes said.
Pentecostes knows some of her competitors from previous battles, but there’s one she’s most anxious to see.
“I’m also gonna be battling with one of my students, which is what I’m really, really excited about,” Pentecostes said.
Pentecostes has been a teacher and mentor to Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — for years, so she says it’s tricky to balance her pride as an educator with the competitive energy of the battle.
“I battle with my wife all the time and when it comes down to it, you’re going for anyone’s heads, but I feel like when I see her battle, I’m going to just wanna be in her corner, honestly,” Pentecostes said.
“‘Cause we’ve been training her since she was, like 9, 10 years old, and she’s 17 now. So it’s really, really exciting to see her grow up into this and like battle and like. … Especially with Red Bull, this is one of her dreams. So, yeah, watch out for her. Her name is JREAMZ, actually.”
This battle doesn’t have official judges — the audience gets to decide who advances in the competition.
The venue starts to fill up for the sold-out show. And the dancers in the audience know what they’re looking for.
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Andrea Pentecostes — aka RaeRae — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
“ My name is Tristan aka Trizz aka Lil Skillz,” one of the dancers said. “So things like: waacking, popping, locking, breaking, krump, house, Chicago footwork. … Anything under the sun really, you know, something that speaks true to the culture.”
“ My name is Abi,” said another dancer. “I came out here ’cause I’ve always wanted to do this. It’s on my bucket list and I fit more in here than anywhere else … even though I’m terrible at it. My feet work is more like left, left, left, left. It’s not even left-right.”
More than 1,000 people filed into the Van Buren, which was set up like an arena, with a small stage in the middle of the room surrounded by spectators in bleachers and on the floor just a couple of feet away from the stage.
“Are we ready?” the host said to a screaming crowd.
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Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Two dancers stand on opposite sides of the stage, and each improvises to one minute of the same song.
Members of the crowd hold up cards to vote for either the blue side, or the red side to win the battle. It’s bracket style, so once you’re out — you’re out.
“Look at the footwork, look at the footwork!” the host said.
But until then, the energy from the crowd is buzzing as dancers glide across the floor and pop to the beat.
As soon as Sanaphav, who is from north Phoenix, takes to the floor in the third battle of the evening, the crowd is pumped.
Sanaphav is dancing in the krump style, with a bend in her knees and her arms like hammers pounding down on the air in front of her to the beat. Pentecostes and Sanaphav say the style is about displaying explosive energy.
“I’ve studied krump for seven years now, and it’s very raw and unapologetic and it kind of like shows your ugly, and making it kind of beautiful in a way,” Pentecostes said.
“Krump, I love how raw it is. it’s such an expressive dance where you can put everything into it and … Krump is, some people think it’s aggressive, but that’s a way to express yourself,” Sanaphav said.
Sanaphav is moving so quickly that when she freezes, it leaves you holding your breath until the tension is released in time with the music. Offstage, she is a sweet, smiley 17-year-old. But here, her face matches her movements. She contorts her face absentmindedly within a sort of permanent and expressive grimace.
“So if I’m battling, sometimes I look mean, I’m not mean, but sometimes I look mean or sometimes I look smiley. It just depends on the moment in the song. That’s how I’m feeling in that moment,” Sanaphav said.
She twists on her toes to turn her knees inward and drops to the floor. She tucks and rolls, pushing her hands against the floor and flipping back onto her feet.
Sanaphav moves on to the next round.
“And in the blue corner, representing Chandler, we’ve got RaeRae!” the host said.
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Andrea Pentecostes — aka RaeRae — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
When Pentecostes steps on stage for her first battle, it’s clear she’s a hometown favorite.
Like Sanaphav, Pentecostes is krumping. But she’s more selective in her movements. She mixes in hand tutting — where different shapes and angles are made with the hands and arms — and isolates movement in different parts of her body while the rest of her stays still.
“I was like, it’s just me, the music, my hometown. I’m home,” Pentecostes said.
Her long braid swings behind her and as she notices its momentum, she grabs hold of it and manipulates it in time with her moves.
Both make it to the semi-finals. They might even battle each other for the win. It looks even more likely when Sanaphav moves on to the finals.
But Pentecostes does not move past the semis. Even still, she can’t stop smiling.
Sanaphav is in the finals against Jabari Gooding, a dancer from Las Vegas.
Before they even tally the crowd’s votes, there’s a clear winner. Looking around the room at all of the crowd’s red cards, she breaks into a sob.
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Jossette Sanaphav — aka JREAMZ — competes in the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifiers in Phoenix in August 2025.
Sanaphav, in her first year of the competition, has won the chance to compete at the national finals.
“I’ve never experienced something like that… I mean, I’ve been dancing for a long time, since I was really little, and… I’ve watched these battles on YouTube as a little girl and now I’m actually battling people that I would’ve never imagined,” Sanaphav said.
“And when I saw my parents, oh my goodness, like that was so … Something I can’t even explain. To see them proud of me, too, that everything that they’ve supported me in is really worth it, you know?”
Her coach and mentor — and fellow competitor — Pentecostes says she couldn’t be more proud.
“I couldn’t contain myself. I was bawling. Right when everyone put their red cards out, I’m like, ah! And I saw her face, she was already crying, “Pentecostes said. “As a teacher, as a mentor, I want her to level up far beyond what, what I’ve ever been, you know what I mean? And she’s exceeded that. And for people to see it, you know, dancers and non-dancers alike, it’s like, undeniable what she brings.”
The national finals will be livestreamed on YouTube from San Francisco on Saturday.