No Excuses, No Limits

Definition

ILL-A•bil•i•ty [‘il-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē] –
noun, plural ILL-A•bil•i•ties~
» An adaptation of power, strength, and creativity.
» Believing in yourself—to accomplish anything you set your mind to.
» Creating opportunities from challenges.
» Exploiting your capabilities—to live life to the fullest potential.
» NO EXCUSES, NO LIMITS.

ILL-Abilities is an international breakdance crew comprised of seven active members from around the world.

Redouan “Redo” Ait Chitt (The Netherlands)
Sergio “Checho” Carvajal (Chile)
Jung Soo “Krops” Lee (South Korea)
Jacob “Kujo” Lyons (U.S.A)
Lucas “Perninha” Machado (Brazil)
Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli (Canada)
Samuel Henrique “Samuka” da Silveira Lima (Brazil)

This crew originated from an idea by Montreal-based dancer/motivational speaker Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli to create an all-star team of some of the world’s best differently-abled dancers. ILL-Abilities was officially formed in 2007 with four founding members Lazyegz, Tommy Guns, Kujo and Checho, whose goal was to compete and perform internationally, showing the world that anything is possible.

The crew gets its name from the standard in hip-hop culture of using a negative term to refer to something positive. Examples of this can be heard in studios or at competitions where dancers complement each other by saying they were bad, nasty or mean. The “ill” in ILL-Abilities does not refer to “sick” or “unwell” but rather to incredible, amazing, intricate, talent. Rather than seeing the negative limitations of “disability”, this crew focuses on their positive, or “ill” abilities.

Once they started performing together, the dancers of ILL-Abilities quickly realised their potential to inspire audience members with their positive attitudes and unique dance moves. The crew thus expanded their goal, presenting their motivational entertainment programmes and theatrical dance performances worldwide.

Jacob “Kujo” Lyons was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He was born with 100% sensor neural deafness in his right ear, and suffered instances of conductive hearing loss in his left ear. Kujo started dancing at the age of 15 and had continued since, despite having had tremendous difficulties hearing the music.

Kujo has now become recognisable due to his wild personality and his incredibly dangerous and difficult moves.

Jung Soo “Krops” Lee was rushed to the hospital because he landed on his neck during a dance practice session. The doctors said he would never be able to walk again, let alone stand as he was paralysed from the neck down. Little by little, Krops was able to move parts of his body. He had to relearn everything he knew before. He’s still working hard to get back to 100%. His optimism and perseverance are truly inspiring. He is living proof that our bodies can do the impossible if we believe!

Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli has been dancing since he was 15 years old. He has developed a unique dance style incorporating his crutches and the strength in his arms, which has gotten him worldwide recognition. Lazylegz is the creator and current manager of the ILL-Abilities Crew. He also co-founded Projet RAD, which was Canada’s first inclusive urban dance program offering people of all ages and all abilities the possibility to participate in accessible dance studios.

Lucas “Perninha” Machado was born with a poor congenital formation in his left leg causing a major leg difference. However, this did not deter him, and he is currently one of the best dancers in Brazil, gaining international recognition in the global breakdancing scene.

Redouan “Redo” Ait Chitt was born with several physical malformations. He has a shorter right arm, which lacks an elbow joint and has a total of five fingers—two on the right hand and three on the left. He is also missing his right hip, has a shorter right leg, and walks with the aid of a prosthetic.

Redo’s dance style is described as smooth, dynamic, and energetic, all of which are performed with his own original twist.

Samuel “Samuka” da Silveira Lima is a young up-and-coming dancer. Diagnosed with cancer in his right leg when he was just 14 years old, Samuka had a full leg amputation just below his hip. Just after surgery, Samuka was quickly introduced to dancing and hip hop. He has not stopped since!

His dance style is energetic, dynamic and powerful.

Sergio “Checho” Carajaval was born and raised in Valdivia, a city at the southern tip of Chile. He had difficulty being accepted within the community and received a lot of discrimination. He used this negative energy to give him strength to progress quickly in his dance style. Checho’s dance style is largely based on the strength of his arms, structuring his movements such that he looks like he is constantly floating across the dance floor.