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ILL-Abilities is a breakin’ supercrew composed of seven members living in six different countries all united in one mission: to change the face of hip-hop.

Since launching in 2007, they’ve opened for Talib Kweli, performed for Kanye West, appeared on Ellen, toured North America and Europe, performed with stance and Les Grandes Ballets Canadiennes de Montréal, and co-directed as well as headlined the 2010 Paralympics. All told, ILL-Abilities has performed in over 35 countries.

But what they’re most famous for isn’t where they’ve performed or what they’re achieved — it’s for who they are. All seven members — Luca, Redo, Checho, Kujo, Crops, Samuka, and Perinha — have one or more physical disability.

But why hip-hop? Why use breakin’ to showcase all that their bodies can do? “Because I absolutely believe hip-hop can change the world,” says Luca “LazyLegs” Patuelli, founder of ILL-Abilities.

Hip-hop is a unique culture that can bring people of all ages, all races, all genders and all abilities together in joy and celebration. It’s ripe for showcasing disability as just another trait, like eye color or hair texture, that makes a person who they are.

“My disability enhances my movements because my legs are lighter,” says Patuelli. There are certain dance moves that he can do a lot easier than other people thanks to his crutches and immense upper body strength.

“But I still have bad days, you know what I mean?” he says. “I’ve toured to over 35 countries. I’ve done a lot of great things. But the minute there’s a drop of sweat on the floor and the rubber tip on my crutch hits that water… boom! I’m on my back with the wind knocked out of me.”

But even in those difficult moments, the show must go on.

Patuelli calls this idea “crash and create.” If something unexpected happens during a dance routine, or if he’s going into his move and doesn’t hit it the way he wants, how can he keep that flow going and create something new out of it? Hip-hop dance is all about freestyling and working with what you have.

“Yes, there's that battle aspect,” Pautelli says. “Yes, there's that ego. But there’s also the magic of the cypher.”

Patuelli teaches dance to students both with and without disabilities, and he ends every lesson with his students in a circle freestyling in what’s called a cypher.

“I remember there was one student who had cerebral palsy,” he says. “He had a lot of spastic movements. His legs would naturally go in and out, in and out. It was uncontrollable.”

Another student came in who didn't have a disability, saw the student’s legs moving and started copying him. Patuelli stood in awe watching the two of them dancing together, their legs going in and out, in and out — it was a lightbulb moment. “I remember thinking, ‘Now this is what hip-hop is really all about.’”

This is just one example of “dance is for everyone” — an idea that has become a cornerstone of ILL-Abilities’ public presence. When they go on tour, they teach a workshop called, “Train the Trainer.”

They take dance teachers who don’t have disabilities and teach them what it’s like to dance if you do have a disability by running a series of simulation cyphers — like bringing in wheelchairs and blindfolds so the teacher can feel what it’s like to dance without using their legs or being able to see.

They’ll also do sensorial challenges where they make the lights flicker and have distortions and sudden volume changes in the music so the teachers understand how a student with autism or a sensory processing disorder might experience their classroom.

Doing these simulations helps the teachers understand that if a student has a wheelchair, it isn’t some burdensome addition — it’s part of who they are. So how can they maximize that strength to make for better choreography?

“It’s all about incorporating inclusion to maximum potential,” says Patuelli.

Earlier this month, ILL-Abilities received the Industry Leader Award at the 2020 Virtual Gala for BEAT (Bridging Education & Art Together), a hip-hop arts nonprofit based in New York City. Given ILL-Abilities’ illustrious career, receiving this high honor comes as no great surprise.

Christina Cooke

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed