From Cape Town to Paris: 17 year old Breaker Heading To The 20th Red Bull BC One World Finals
B-girl Keisha, real name Lakeisha Dick, will not only be flying out to Paris for the Red Bull BC One World Final competition but is also impressively the youngest breakdancer to represent South Africa to-date.
The youngster, who hails from Cape Town’s Ocean View, started her breakdancing journey at age 7-years-old and before that, she was a model. But since the breaking bug bit him, as a result of the hype of dance movies at the time, she joined a dance crew.
Now, that hobby that kept her off the streets for so many years has culminated into a start of an impressive career path that she never knew was possible, with her due to represent Mzansi, together with another male winner B-boy Toufeeq who won in his category.
Red Bull BC One is a prestigious global one-on-one breaking competition that sees over a thousand breakers from around the world competing in their respective countries for the chance to compete at the world finals. This year’s world finals, taking place in Paris at the iconic Stade Roland-Garros, will celebrate two milestones.
Image credit: Mpumelelo Macu | Red Bull Content Pool
The first is 20 years of Red Bull BC One World Finals and the second is the official inclusion of breaking at the 2024 Olympic games – this inclusion validates Red Bull’s continued commitment to the sport.
“I am super excited to be representing Mzansi and I look forward to seeing what will be happening there. I look forward to embracing the entire experience and taking everything in as I learn and grow as a creative,” she said.
The breaker will fly out today, after battling out from the preliminary stages right up to the finals. In Paris, she will compete with other countries with the hopes of taking the reigning crown.
“I am proud of myself and my achievements so far because when I look at the work that I have achieved, all the people that I had to compete against were all older than me making me the youngest companion of the competition.”
Red Bull BC One 2023 Winners: B-girl Keisha and B-boy Toufeeq in action. | CREDIT Mpumelelo Macu | Red Bull Content Pool
She admits that while the competition ahead will be a stiff one, it is the support from her family and the work that she put in place that she believes will usher in that win that she is desperately looing. A win is not too far off her reach.
She also hopes that her journey will encourage her peers from her hood, a gang-infested area, to reach for their dreams no matter what their environment presents.
“I believe that I can make it far out there, my mental game and physical abilities are what I have been perfecting. Life has not always dealt fair cards to us but we make the most of our journeys. I want to be the best at dancing and travel the world,” she said.