Yesterday, I participated in a dance battle event called My Style. Jenni “Jeniwai” Tuunainen had organized a great event with international judges and there were many participants from both Finland and Estonia. I felt really relaxed and I just wanted to explore my own dance as much as possible and enjoy the music and movement. For me, the name of the event was quite accurate because I really started to express my own style of hiphop dance and that ended up well; to my surprise I won the battle! I had a really great time both on the dance floor and watchin people on it. It was good to see many new faces in both categories and everybody feeling the vibe.
Here are the videos from all my battles. In the quarter final I got to dance against my really good friend Sami who I entered the Battle SM with and we ended up winning bronze. Semifinal was against Julius, a talented young man who trains and dances with his twin brother Josua. Especially I enjoyed the final that was against Jenni from Cleva Crew and that’s also the battle where I did my best. Jenni is a really nice person and a really good dancer and I like her attitude and energy a lot.
I’m thankful for the support that I got from my students and my friends. Before the battles I got some good advice from a friend from Belgium when he told me to just show who I am through the dance and relax. I had to believe in the people who believe in me and decide not to talk myself down or give up because I thought I couldn’t make it. So, all in all, this was much more than just a battle for me. It was the beginning of a journey of me finding my style and enjoying my dance.
Lilli Yamamoto 