Respect! Aggro Santos bigs up Ballymena’s ‘Irish Jump Style’

The 18-member IJS crew travelled to Belfast on Thursday to put on a show for the Brazilian born English rapper which was set up by promoter Chris Hughes. Aggro, who was in Belfast last week to perform at the Odyssey, said afterwards he was “blown away” by the professionalism and quality of the dance routine. And he should know. Aggro toured with dance troupe Diversity, winners of the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, on their 27-date nationwide tour. He later tweeted to his fans: “Just had a private show from an upcoming dance troupe Irish Jump Style…. Amazing!”. After the show the kids got a chance to have a quick chat with the star and thanked him for his time. Their manager, Ballymena woman, Angela Brown, told The Ballymena Times, “He even suggested the crew audition for the hit TV show “Got to Dance” and praised them for their determination”. She added: “This is the latest installment for Irish Jump Style in their short and successful career. Angela, whose son Dean (16) is a founder member of IJS, also revealed details of an expansion to the crew, in Dublin. Auditions are to start shortly. She said: “Due to the popularity of Irish Jump Style and its appeal to kids of all ages we have decided to go further afield”. “On a recent trip to Dublin with the crew the interest was so overwhelming that we decided to put a sister team together. Hopefully this will give the local kids in Dublin something to focus on and give them an aim in life”. The crew, made up of 17 boys and one girl - aged from 11-17 years, has also set a goal of making the Guinness Book of Records in July by putting on the biggest Jumpstyle routine in history. Closer to home, IJS are also putting on Dance Workshops in Ballee Community Centre for the next six weeks every Tuesday and Thursday night following an inaugural disco and meet-and-greet evening in the Centre tonight, Tuesday, February 22, from 7-10pm. And they can be seen in action at a Dance Concert in the Braid Arts Centre on March 26. For more information go to www.jumpis.co.uk or search for “irish jumpstyle ijs” on Facebook.