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The Kings is an Indian hip-hop dance group from Vasai, a city in Maharashtra. They won NBC'S World of Dance and came third at World Hip Hop Dance Championship. Emmy awards nominee Suresh Mukund, is the choreographer and director of the group.

Kings United

In 2015, they became the first Indian group to win a medal at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship held in San Diego, California. They gained worldwide fame after they won Season 3 of NBC's World of Dance in 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

History

In 2009, Suresh Mukund and Vernon Monterio formed a hip hop dance group by the name of 'Fictitious Dance Group' which participated in various Indian dance shows and competitions.

In 2009, the group won the popular dance show Boogie Woogie. The group went on to win Entertainment Ke liye Kuch Bhi Karega in 2010 and later the same year they were ranked third in Season 2 of India's Got Talent.

Choosing to re-enter the competition the following year, the group changed its name to the SNV Group named after members Suresh Mukund and Vernon Monteiro and this time won Season 3 of India's Got Talent in 2011.

In 2012, the SNV Group travelled to Las Vegas and entered the World Hip Hop Dance Championship where they made it to the finals and finished in 8th place, a first for an Indian group. Their hardships in funding their trip and their remarkable achievement in the competition were documented in the 2015 Bollywood film ABCD 2 which was directed by choreographer Remo D'Souza and starred prominent actors like Varun Dhawan, Prabhu Deva and Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles. Suresh is played by Varun Dhawan and Vernon is played by Sushant Pujari.

After the release of the film, Mukund and Vernon parted ways due to creative differences and the group split with Vernon starting his own dance crew called "V Company" who subsequently won Season-1 of Dance Plus.

Mukund then founded "Kings United India" with some of his old team members and a few new additions.

2015: World Hip Hop Dance Championship

In 2015, Mukund made a last minute decision to put together a dance crew to re-enter the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in San Diego. Actor Varun Dhawan arranged for Pond's to partially fund the group and pitched in with his own money to help out. Kings United came in third and won the Bronze medal.

2016: Dance Academy

On January 3, 2016, they opened their own dance academy, "Kings United: Kingdom Of Art" in Vasai, Mumbai. The academy was inaugurated by choreographer Remo D'Souza and actor Varun Dhawan.

In 2017, Kings United competed in the Indian dance reality show Dance Champions aired on Star Plus.

2019: World of Dance & Upcoming Projects

On May 6, 2019, Kings United won the American dance reality show World of Dance Season 3 with a perfect score of 100 in the grand finale, where they danced Vishal Dadlani's Malhari from the 2015 Indian Historical Musical Bajirao Mastani, thus winning a prize money of US$1 million. In a recent interview with a YouTube channel, Mukund said that 80% of the winnings would be shared among the team members. Mukund has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Program category for the Kings' performances.

The crew is planning a world tour and conducting international dance workshops. After their win, Mukund also mentioned that the Kings United would no longer participate in competitions. There have been reports of a possible show with Jennifer Lopez.

Mukund and his team will be judging India's first online dance competition by imd1. The competition is called Dance Is Life - DIL2019.

Achievements & Appearances

External links

• Official Website
• Kings United on YouTube
• Kings United on Instagram

References

1. Fazal, Imran (August 11, 2015). "Nalasopara dance group creates history, stands 3rd in World Hip Hop Championship". DNA India.
2. "ABCD 2 in Real Life: Mumbai Team Wins at World Hip Hop Competition". The Quint. August 19, 2015.
3. ^ Fazal, Imran (2015-08-11). "Nalasopara dance group creates history, stands 3rd in World Hip Hop Championship". DNA India. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
4. "Indian Bolly-hop dance crew The Kings win World of Dance reality show, take home Rs 6.9 crore prize". Hindustan Times. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
5. "FICTITIOUS WIN S.I.E.S. BATTLE".
6. "Nalasopara Dancing". Mumbai Mirror.
7. "Suresh and Vernon Group wins India's Got Talent 3". Hindustan Times. 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
8. "These desi B-boys will make some noise". Mid-day. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
9. "Mumbai boys at World Hip-hop Championship - Times of India". The Times of India.
10. Jaisingh, Shreshta (2012-06-14). "What happens in Vegas". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
11. "Varun Dhawan's character in ABCD2 based on the life of India's Got Talent winner Suresh Mukund - Times of India". The Times of India.
12. Suhani Singh (June 16, 2015). "ABCD 2: The dance group that inspired Varun Dhawan-Shraddha Kapoor's film". India Today. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
13. Suhani Singh (June 22, 2015). "ABCD 2 review: A true story turned into a humdrum affair". India Today.
14. "Choreographer Vernon to organise a dance league championship - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
15. "How Kings United won Bronze at the World Hip Hop Championships". DailyO.
16. ^ "How Kings United conquered the 'World of Dance'". The Week. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
17. "GRAND OPENING - Kings United Kingdom of Art". allevents.in.
18. BylineDanceserve (2019-02-21). "Seven Facts About Kings United That Will Blow Your Mind". Danceserve. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
19. "'Jiyo Re Baahubali' act on 'Dance Champion' is breaking the internet- Watch". Zee News. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
20. "Suresh Mukund: The journey of Kings United has been full of struggles". The Indian Express. 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
21. "Suresh Mukund on The Kings win at World of Dance: We wanted India to shine through our performances". The Indian Express. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
22. "Man Behind THE KINGS - Suresh Mukund - World Of Dance Champion 2019 - Exclusive Interview" – via www.youtube.com.
23. "Mumbai Choreographer Suresh Mukund Nominated For an Emmy -". Rolling Stone India. 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
24. "Hollywood Calling for Emmy-Nominated Choreographer Suresh Mukund". The Quint. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
25. "Indian crew The Kings to stop competing after World of Dance win". India Today. Ist. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
26. "Likely JLo tour, Emmys and finding homes: The Kings' dreams after 'World of Dance' win". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
27. "imd1 (I Am The 1), launches India's biggest dance competition on a digital platform, 'Dance Is Life, 2019' (DIL2019) in collaboration with the World of Dance winner 'Kings United'". Indian Showbiz.

• 2009 establishments in Maharashtra
• Indian dance groups