Tyrone Bradley brilliantly captures Pantsula dance crews ahead of Red Bull Beat Battle

Date
9 May 2012

If east London’s missing one thing, it’s beat battles. Unless I’m just going to the wrong places, it’s all too rare to stumble across two crews squaring up to each other ready for a rhythmic rumble. Not so in South Africa though where there’s an official beat battle coming at the end of the month organised by Red Bull and ahead of the event, photographer Tyrone Bradley spent two days in the Orange Farm township near Johannesburg documenting days-in-the-life of two Pantsula dance crews, the Hlaks and Real Actions Jnr.

The resulting series is a compelling capturing of a culture many may not be familiar with, beautifully shot with a crackling energy running throughout.

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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Tyrone Bradley: Pantsula series

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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