Beat Battle is this dance crew's road towards a studio in PE

SIX young men from Schauderville in Port Elizabeth's northern areas are dancing their way to the top for their community.

Dance crew Psyko Souljahz' big dream is to build a dance studio for children in the northern areas.

They hope their participation in the Red Bull Beat Battle in Johannesburg this weekend will bring this one step closer. The Golden City's Walter Sisulu Square will host the top eight hip-hop dance crews from all around the country, who will compete for the first prize, to be announced at the weekend.

Psyko Souljahz' Emile Jooste, 25, said they were proud to be the only hip-hop crew from Port Elizabeth to have made it to the finals.

"Our crew consists of a brotherhood of six who have been dancing together since primary school. Then we used to meet at the Moore Dyke sports field in Schauderville and shared our dance moves and skills with one another.

"Twelve years later we have travelled all over Europe and South Africa, doing what we do best – dancing," he said.

For Jooste, the group's handstand expert, dancing is his life.

"Without the music and the beats I would have fallen into the pits of gangsterism and other evils," he said.

"We often get kids asking us to train them, and parents wanting us to train their kids, but we unfortunately don't have the facilities for this.

"But each performance and competition gets us one step closer to our goal – to teach every kid in the northern areas the art of dancing."

The Psyko Souljahz are also the Port Elizabeth All Stars' two-time champions.

Among other achievements they brag about are the African hip-hop Indaba trophy and taking second place in the e.tv show, Step Up, in 2011. - Alvené du Plessis