About DERT: Dancing England Rapper Tournament

Five dancers, five swords, tumbles, spins, gnarly figures and bostin’ music. Come and enjoy the thrills of Rapper Sword Dancing as we share our DERT Spotlight Event with you.
DERT is the national competition of Rapper Sword Dancing. Every year, teams from across Britain, and indeed the world, congregate to display their well-honed dancing and sword-handling skills as they compete to be declared the best team in the country.

During the day, 20 teams (including 2 teams from North America) will perform in front of our expert judges. They will be judged on their sword handling, dance technique, stepping, music and buzz factor. The more excited the audience, the bigger the buzz factor. At the end of the day, the highest-scoring team will be crowned the Spotlight Champion.

DERT started in Derby in 1984, when there was only one dance per team. Now, teams will be rotating around 5 other venues, located in the city centre, where their judged performances will count towards the main DERT competition. There will also be 4 youth teams competing in their own youth competition: the DERTy Championship.

Rapper Sword Dancing
This traditional English folk dance from the nineteenth century, originates in the coal mining villages of Northumberland and Durham. At the end of a hard day down the pits, miners would travel from pub to pub and perform to earn beer money.

As the Calling on Song draws your attention to the stage, you’ll notice five dancers, dressed in characteristic hoggers, socks and sashes; connected by five flexible steel Rapper Swords. The musician strikes up a fast tempo jig, and then the dancers’ feet begin the Tap-pit-ty tap, Tap-pit-ty tap - the distinctive Rapper Shuffle. The swords go up, and the dancers begin to weave about each other at a tremendous pace, NEVER letting go of the swords. You’ll be wowed by intricate figure after intricate figure, with spins and tumbles thrown in for good measure. Watch out for the LOCK; the Tommy will make sure you don’t miss it.

Come and enjoy the Buzz!!

Further Details

DERT

DERT brings rapper sword dancing back to the pubs where it belongs. Every year, teams travel from across England to compete in a weekend-long tournament. Five dancers connected by flexible steel swords perform fast, intricate routines while judges watch.

The competition started in Derby in 1984. Back then, it was one dance per team. Now teams perform in five different pubs over the weekend, with judges scoring each performance. Between rounds, you’ll find dancers and spectators mixing in the pubs, talking about figures they’ve just seen or deep in discussions about technique.

Rapper dancing originated in the coal-mining villages of Northumberland and Durham. Miners would perform to earn beer money, travelling from pub to pub. That tradition continues at DERT. The tournament moves to a different city each year, always keeping the pub-based format that makes rapper what it is.

Teams compete in Premier, Championship, Open, and Traditional divisions. There’s also DERTy for dancers under 18. Winners take home trophies for overall performance, music, stepping, buzz factor, and character work. But most teams come for the dancing itself and the chance to catch up and see what everyone else is working on.

If you’ve never seen rapper dancing, DERT is the place to start. Fast footwork, flexible swords weaving patterns overhead, and the occasional spectacular mistake that somehow gets recovered. All performed in rooms barely large enough to contain it.