Breakdancer from Vizag, Shreya made it to the Red Bull BC One Cypher
Shreya is the first breakdancer from Visakhpatnam city and the entire state of Andhra Pradesh to compete at the International Breakdancing Championship RedBull BC One. She was among the Top 8 B-girls in India to compete in the Final Stage. This was conducted on June 4th 2022 in Mumbai.
The B-Girl from Visakhapatnam faced several challenges and her transformative journey since she started breaking seven years ago is quite inspiring. Shreya says the motivation was hard to come by because there were few breakers and crews around her.
She started breaking out in 2015 when she was just 13 years old. Her coach Sohail Singh Gill encouraged her to practice breaking wholeheartedly. With her coach's motivation, she could stay consistent with my practice.
Shreya participated in the city and regional qualifiers thrice. Shreya has qualified for Red Bull BC One Cypher India this time around. Her best personal memory was in Hyderabad in 2019, and it was her first time at Red Bull BC One. Another favourite memory is watching the B-Girl finale of 2020 online.
When asked about her journey, she said, "I've always sought challenges in life; I wanted to do something different and unconventional, so I kept looking for opportunities. And I found that opportunity one day when I spotted a poster for breaking classes while returning home from school. I thought it was interesting, so I searched online to understand what breaking was and was thoroughly fascinated. I decided to give it a shot; I asked my dad to enroll me in the classes, and he surprisingly agreed immediately. That's how my journey in breaking began".
My first battle was at Original Street Dance Championship in the kids' category; I was below 16 years of age. That first battle was an enriching experience. I ended the competition among the top-4. And I also got to meet my favorite breaker B-Girl Nadia from the Funky Style Crew from Siberia.
I also met B-Boy Shigekix from Japan, B-Boy Kosto from the Top 9 Crew from Russia, and B-Boy Abstract from the Skill Methodz Crew. Meeting such inspirational people on the back of my first battle was a tremendous experience for me, motivating me to keep at it.
Shreya was inspired by international breakers like Nadia, Narumi, Ayumi, Bruce Almighty, Menno, MadMax, etc. She looks up to these breakers as someday she sees herself being as good as them. She said, "I want to grow and evolve to that level".