Russian Break Dancer Lil’Phat
Just like any other serious artist, Lil’Phat, the well-known Russian break dancer, doesn’t want to talk about any future projects or plans too early. He can only tell us that he wants to study at hip hop schools and get to know all sides of the hip hop street culture in Los Angeles, where he has been living for the last year.
Since break dancing has been pretty much his life for the last thirteen years, this turn towards hip hop in general may signal a big career move for Lil’Phat. Perhaps we shouldn’t speculate here because maybe hip hop is just a natural and logical step in the evolution of a break dancer. After all, he did tell us one time that break dancing would not make a good business. He went on to clarify, however, that if you opened a dance studio and just offered break dancing – you probably would have to shut your doors soon after that because there wouldn’t be enough customers to support it. Of course, that could be said about any dance business. For instance, if you opened a tap dancing school it just may not last very long either. That’s why most dance schools teach any number of dance disciplines, from ballet, contemporary, tap, hip hop, tap and others. Businesses with a good mix of offerings generally have longer staying power.
Lil’Phat obviously has a good business sense and he also has a great deal of trophies and awards that he and his crew, “Derevo” have won at break dancing comp0etitions across the planet. In 2014 they won the KOD (Keep On Dancing) World Championship in China. They also won the Pulse Birthday Battle two years in a row in Russia. “Only Top,” the largest dance festival in the Far East saw them win the gold along with a silver and a bronze.
Lil’Phat was a break dancing coach at the very well respected dance studio in Vlsdivostok called “Forma.” He taught and coached break dancing to adults, teenagers and small kids for six years. Coaching taught him many thing especially how important warming up can be to the human body before it goes into full performance mode. He believes that warming up is one of the truly important elements, along with practice, in break dancing. He also feels that if you are serious about break dancing then you should train hard and always try to improve yourself.
