When B-girl Shreya headspins, backflips and sways in swag, a circle of dancers cheer her along as they witness an incredible energy unfold in the room throbbing to the beats of hip-hop music. The 21-year-old from Visakhapatnam has been steadily making her way to the top in the breaking scene of India.
Shreya has now been selected among the top eight B-Girl finalists from India and will be representing Visakhapatnam at the international breaking championship Red Bull BC One - India finals on May 7. She is the only dancer from Andhra Pradesh to reach this stage for two years in a row. Earlier, Shreya had bagged the runner-up position in the West India qualifiers, which happened in Mumbai on March 26. The event was judged by B-Boy Lilou from France, B-Boy Victor from the USA and B-Boy Zoopreme from the Netherlands.
Trained under coach Sohail Gill of Destiny Breakers International School in Visakhapatnam, Shreya has been learning breaking since 2015 and has brought many laurels to the city. Currently ranked among the top eight B-Girls in India, she is all set for the nationals. “The dance floor is where I found a way to express myself and face my fears,” she says.
Earlier this year, in the second National Breaking Championship at Tirupati, Shreya was the only person from Andhra Pradesh to compete and made it to the quarterfinals in the B-Girl senior category. The event was judged by B-Boy Bojin from World Dance Sport Federation, B-Boy Bobby from Malaysia Dance Sport Federation and B-Boy G1 from Thailand.
“The competition was intense and they were six rounds including a qualifier; I just moved ahead focussing on my strengths,” says Shreya, who was the only participant from Andhra Pradesh to be selected for the BRICS Games 2022 in China and was ranked 9th in the world championship. “Stamina and speed, with a little bit of style, are my strengths. I felt like I can play around when I want to and can also fluctuate my speed according to the beats. My strength is the structure of my rounds which are carefully planned with my coach while working our way around the trivium system (an Olympic judging system),” she adds.
According to coach Sohail, Shreya’s biggest strength from the day she started training has been her perseverance. “Being a chubby kid who joined the breaking class at the age of 13, she faced difficulties catching up to the simplest of moves. Today, she has the physique of an athlete and is among the top eight B-Girls in the country. Her ability to be consistent with her training over the last eight years and her never give up attitude have helped her come a long way,” says Sohail.
