Banjo takes the next step

banjo 20-9-18 Banjo the contest winning dancer struts his stuff at the Brimbank Visy Hub

By Ewen McRae

Banjo has always danced to his own beat.

Just three years after taking up hip hop dancing classes the 14-year-old, who trains at L2R Dance in Sunshine, was named the winner of the under-18 solo B Boy Dance Battle in the competitive Destructive Steps national competition in Sydney recently.

“Most of the people in the competition were a bit older, like 17, so it was a bit nerve wracking,’” he said.

“But after the first round I started to feel really confident in what I was doing.

“I just kept doing me, and when I got into the finals I just decided to have some fun and I ended up winning.

“For me, just making the final was enough, so winning it was another level again. I was pretty pumped.”

It’s been a long journey from his early days learning the basics at L2R Dance, but his love of dance and movement now has Banjo eyeing it off as a future career.

“Back when I started it was really hard for me, I couldn’t really do anything like tricks or things like that so I couldn’t really see myself getting to where I am now,” Banjo said.

“It’s been a great journey. I’ve developed the passion to be a youth worker like my teacher, I want to teach dance because it really inspires me to see the work that L2R does and what they’ve done for me.”

 

Ewen McRae