THE power of breakdancing and hip hop is being used to get teens off the couch and on to the dance floor.

Teenagers are being guided by Marcus Smith, of Oxford breakdancing act Flaw R Tists and Nickely Burke, of group Biserk, for two weeks of classes at The Regal in Cowley Road.

The courses are being funded by a £2,000 grant from Oxford City Council, reducing the cost for each two hour session to £2.50, to make the classes affordable and accessible for hard-up families.

Mr Smith, 21, from Greater Leys, who is running the breakdancing classes, said: “In Flaw R Tists, I’ve got a couple of kids who would have been expelled from school, but because they started getting involved in breakdancing, they kept them on.”

When Mr Smith started breakdancing at college he said he had poor GCSE grades, was living at home where things were tough and had few prospects.

He said: “I used to get up to a lot of naughty stuff. I used to smoke a lot of marijuana because I had nothing to do but breakdancing has got me out of it.

“The kids sometimes tell me they’ve been up to no good, and I tell them it’s not what they should be doing. Because I’ve been there they listen and they become really focused, it’s fantastic to see.”

He said the 14 youngsters signed up to the course were learning fast and working hard.

He added: “Without the council funding, it would probably not be accessible to a lot of people.”

It is the first time the city council has funded summer courses in urban dancing.

Dance officer Claire Thompson said: “It‘s brilliant for getting boys involved in dance because it’s something they see as quite cool.

“Most of the youngsters are aged 12 to 16 and it is this age group where it’s really important to have something for them to do, rather than getting up to no good – and as well as fitness, this teaches the kids teamwork and the chance to be creative as well.”

Jaih Betote Dipito Akwa, 11, from Headington, had not tried break- dancing before but had done some hip-hop, street and Capoeira.

He said: “I like the music and the moves.

“If I wasn’t doing this I would probably just be playing video games, and it’s really good that it’s so cheap too.”

Sam Smith, 11, from Woodstock, started dancing after watching Street Stage perform at Cornbury Festival last year.

He said: “It’s so exciting, because you can just dance and I have learned so much since I started.

“This week has been tiring, but it’s really good.”

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk