Head to the West Midlands for a weekend full of great pubs based around Birmingham city centre hosted by the wonderful Birmingham Rapper.

There will be a Welcome Social on Friday evening at the Old Library at the Custard Factory in Digbeth. A chance for all teams to register, meet and start to relax after a long week at work/school. It’s also when teams can collect information packs, tickets and pre-ordered merchandise.

The competition itself will be held on Saturday daytime. Following a practice spot, the competition ensues as you rotate around the competition pubs/locations. Pubs are located in the centre of Birmingham City.

The Showcase event will be held on Saturday evening at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

On Sunday morning, there may be a workshop and farewell social, although this is yet to be confirmed.

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.