‘Differently-abled’ breakdancers spreading message of ‘no excuses, no limits’

AMMAN — The ILL-ABILITIES international breakdance crew began a series of performances in the Kingdom with a show at the capital’s Royal Cultural Centre on Sunday to spread their message: “No excuses, No limits”.

ILL-ABILITIES comprises five dancers Redouan “Redo” Ait Chitt (the Netherlands), Sergio “Checho” Carvajal (Chile), Tommy “Guns” Ly and Jacob “Kujo” Lyons (US), and Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli (Canada). They all have physical disabilities.

Patuelli, founder of the troupe, said he created the breakdancing crew in 2007 and that he met all the four individually during competitions and other events. “They are my best friends now.”

The Montreal-based dancer was born with arthrogryposis, a condition that has left him with very little muscle tissue on his legs. For him, the idea of ILL-ABILITIES basically stems from three words: determination, creativity and passion.

“We believe that everything is possible as long as there are no excuses on the way. Our message is: just try and try hard and all can be achieved,” Patuelli told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

When founded, ILL- ABILITIES was only an “all-star” team of differently-abled dancers with the goal to compete in the bboy competition circuit as a real crew and the intention to show the world that anything is possible, according to the group’s website.

After performing together, the crew quickly realised their potential to inspire audience members with dance and positive attitudes. 

Now, the goal for the crew is to spread positive thinking by sharing their stories with motivational entertainment programmes and theatrical dance performances worldwide.

They are currently fulfilling that mission and have performed in numerous venues across North America, Europe, and Asia.

The crew will be performing a break-dance on Tuesday at Karak’s Al Hassan Cultural Centre and on Wednesday at Zarqa’s King Abdullah Cultural Centre.