When Suleman Malik was surprised by his brother and friends with a dance at his wedding, they chose to film it and post it on Instagram. After just one week, the video had been seen by 40 million. The video became an international viral hit, and the dance of the suit-clad guys came in all possible variations on TikTok. Quick Style went viral with this dance video. – The numbers change every day. Last time I checked, the video had been viewed by half a billion in total. It became our “macarena” in a way, says Quick Style dancer Nasir Sirikhan. Nasir has created the dance group Quick Style together with his friends and twin brothers Suleman and Bilal Malik. The trio tells of their youth, which became a struggle between dance, school grades and family. Suleman, Bilal and Nasir have worked hard to get where they are today. On Friday, Quick Style was a guest at Lindmo. Nasir talks about his childhood. – We forgot everything because the dance was the most important thing. Without talking to each other, we had a close relationship with dance, says Bilal. Fainted by my big brother’s threat – I remember we went to my house during recess, because I lived 200 meters from the school. Then we used to watch music videos of Michael Jackson and admired his greatness, recalls Nasir. Dancing became the most important thing for Sirkihan and the Malik brothers – and they dreamed big. In the same way that the boys they grew up with knew everything about football players, this group of boys knew everything about dancing. They followed what was happening in both Korea and the United States. – I remember we saw some Korean dancers online, and it lit a fire in me. I remember thinking that we want to be on that stage one day, says Suleman. The guys in Quick Style distinguished themselves early on as talented dancers. But in the 8th grade, when it was time to show the grade cards to their parents, the boys received a difficult message. – The dance was so important that we dropped out a little at school. The grade cards didn’t look good and we got scolded by my parents and our older brother, says Suleman. Big brother threatened that if they didn’t take school seriously, they were going to take the dance away from them. The dramatic message made Suleman faint. – I panicked at the thought of not being able to dance anymore. We had such big ambitions, says Suleman. Bilal, Nasir and Suleman have been a dance group for over ten years. Here they are in their own dance studio in Oslo. Photo: Sara Marie Broen / news Growing dancers at the top of the world The dance was not taken away from them, fortunately. For over ten years, Nasir, Bilal and Suleman have taught children and young people in their own dance centre, Quick Style Studio in Oslo. The dance group has participated in a number of competitions at home and abroad and won Norske Talenter in 2009. Since then, the trio has traveled around the world to spread the joy of dance through teaching and shows. – The intention with our studio was to create a place where young people who like to dance can meet, be creative and lift each other up. But it has become much more than that. We have become a big family, says Nasir. And in August, Quick Style and a bunch of dance talents from the studio stood together with the rap duo Karpe during ten spectacular concerts in Oslo Spektrum. The dance trio together with the rap duo Karpe. – We are open to anyone who wants to be part of us. The dancers we bring around have been part of the core group in the studio for 10–12 years. Everyone has their role, and we have worked throughout to ensure that they can express themselves freely. We have managed to cultivate world-class dancers. Gave the dance profession respect But the recognition has not come for free. After many years in the industry, Quick Style had enough of not getting the place they deserved on the scene. They wanted to give the dance profession the place it deserves, and began to put hard against hard. – It was about getting some form of respect. We didn’t like being in a room where others were more important than us. While artists were treated like stars, we dancers only got a nod and “that’s it”. Quick Style refused to stand on stage unless they were presented as a dance group. Quick Style has taught all over the world. – We were quite harsh, but now we understand why we did it. Hopefully we have stood in the breach for other hard-working dancers out there – and future dancers, says Quick Style to news. – An important mentality The mentality of Quick Style and the dance empire they have created is praised by Vibeke Sørlie. She is a producer and director, but has a long career as a dancer and choreographer. Vibeke Sørli has followed Quick Style since they started dancing as teenagers. – I’ve followed the Quick Style guys from their scattered beginnings, and it’s fantastic to follow their journey. It is beautiful to see what they have managed to build around them. The former dancer believes it is the mentality of Nasir, Bilal and Suleman that has made them the stars they are. – They have a mentality where nothing is impossible. It can give children and young people hope and belief that anything is possible – as long as you work hard, are true to yourself and your passion. And not least, show the power that can arise in creative communities, says Sørlie to news. See the interview Lindmo did with Quick Style on news TV.
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Quick Style fought for the dancers’ respect – now they are about to take world domination – news Culture and entertainment
