Bognor Regis street dancer bags silver medal at world championships in Blackpool

It’s an amazing achievement for Nathan Koakan, who has been dancing since he was just three years old and regularly competes at an international level.

He’s one of the top talents at Streetfunk – an award winning dance school based in Brighton – and, at this year’s world championships in Blackpool, he proved that yet again, winning a silver medal in the Under 18 intermedia solo category. It’s a big improvement on the already-impressive bronze medal he won last year and Nathan says it’s all down to the hard work of his teachers and trainers at Streetfunk.

"I think my style has changed a lot in the last year and I’ve had a lot of coaching from various teachers. So I just felt like a new person when I stepped onto the stage this time around, and I think that’s why I did better.”

He said Streetfunk coach Munya Muchati had a particularly big impact on his development: “Munya really helped me; he guided me and changed my style. Without him, I don’t think I’d be the dancer I am. I’m really lucky to have him as a teacher.”

Nathan has his sights set on a career in the dance industry, and a silver medal at a prestigious competition like this should see him well on his way to the kind of international recognition he deserves. For now, though, he says he’s still trying to wrap his head around his success: “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m mostly just proud of everyone in the crew – they all worked so hard.”

Nathan performs as part of Streetfunk’s mega crew K.O.D, which consists of 23 talented performers aged 10 to 23, and which also took home the U18 world championship title, despite placing fifth in the qualifiers.

Choreographer Munya Muchati said: “I rarely get emotional when it comes to competitions but the way they performed showed a champions’ mindset. I was totally choked in their final performance as I could see how much they really wanted it. It was a performance full of passion, energy and the desire to win.”