Breaking into street dancing

Teenager Stephen O’Hara, who is studying for his A Levels at the moment, has been a fan of the modern dance sensation for just over two years, after he and his friends were inspired to try their hand at the demanding dance form having watched YouTube videos and seen what other exponents were up to.

Despite throwing himself into mastering the moves, Stephen says in the past two years he had been fortunate not to have suffered any injuries, and little in the way of soft tissue damage or bruising.

He is now so proficient at Break Dance, Robotics and Popping, that he can backflip at will and invert spin on his head.

“I started dancing about two years ago when me and a few friends were watching it on YouTube. We just thought we would give it a go,” he said.

Now Stephen practices every day at home, and his fitness level has gone through the roof.

“You need to be fairly fit to do this type of dance, but the dancing itself is my fitness training. I practice nearly every day,” he said.

Having got the move down, Stephen has found himself getting asked to ‘guest’ at events, and just recently showed the ladies and the guys what he was capable of at the recent ‘Jump’ event in St Columb’s Hall in town and just last week at the school formal.

“I get a real buzz doing it.

“The adrenaline rush you get from it is amazing. I really enjoy doing it,” the 17-year-old enthused.

Studying for his A Levels in Moving Image Art, business studies and ICT are important, but Stephen has also managed to squeeze in a few competitions, and got to the second round of the Sky 1 ‘Got to Dance’ competition.

With a taste for public performance having whetted his appetite for more, Stephen is hoping his dance career will step up a pace in the near future.