Isis Granda lives in Kissimmee, and is among the tops in the world at her chosen craft – breaking, or what was known as breakdancing a generation ago.
Granda, 26, who came to Osceola County from her native Ecuador on a visa a year ago to be closer to friends and others in the breaking community, qualified for the knockout round of last month’s Red Bull BC One All Star event in Gdansk, Poland, breaking’s de facto world championship. She earned her place there with a win in the Red Bull BC One Cypher USA 2021 competition in August (Check out a video from it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jVL7_XpLjA). She also won the Freestyle Sessions Orlando competition locally this summer.
Of the thousands of dancers across the globe only 16 B-Boys and B-Girls earn a spot in the Red Bull BC One, which features one-on-one dance battles, and judges decide the winner. Granda made it to the second round – the group of eight – at the event in Poland.
“It made me excited and motivated to keep on, to try to win next year,” she said.
Logan “Logistx” Edra won the overall title of Red Bull BC B-Girl.
“I know Logan very well, she lives in Miami,” Granda said.
Granda is a “B-Girl” – the ‘B’ stands for breaking – in her dance circles. She found the art of breaking eight years ago in Ecuador, after dancing for 21 of her 26 years. across all styles (ballet, contemporary, and more). Although the term "breakdance" is frequently used to refer to the dance in popular culture, "b-boying/girling" and "breaking" are preferred by the current subculture.
“When I found breaking, I fell in love with it and dropped the other styles to focus on it,” she said. “It comes from contemporary dance, something I’ve enjoyed, but it allows you to be more free and put your personality into it. You can develop your own style.”
She was studying psychology back in Ecuador, but being in the United States – and not far from one of its better airports in Orlando – offered her a better chance to travel and work on her craft.
“It’s a career for me now,” she said. “I’m actually in rehab now for some injuries. But in the last year I’ve been gaining confidence in my breaking, training and getting experience, and traveling a lot. I’ve learned that it’s not just about skills, it’s about who you are and preparing your mind.”
Her pursuit of breaking success has taken her from her native South America and enabled her to travel all over the United States, other parts of South America, and when she went to Poland for Red Bull BC One, to Europe for the first time.
She may get to go back in 2024, when breaking is scheduled to be a demonstration sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and would be a shoo-in to qualify from her native country.
“I’m the B-Girl from Ecuador, the first person from there doing this on the world scale. But I love the community we’re in. I feel like I have a big family, and I feel at home here.”
