Luan Carlos Dos Santos aka Luan San

Luan started in the B-Boy scene at age 12, influenced by his friends. He saw B-Boys for the first time on his way home from his Capoeira classes. That was in 2003 and since then, he never stopped dancing.

Today, at age 21, he got the chance to be one of the 16 B-Boys who will battle in the Latin American Qualifier of Red Bull BC One in Monterrey, Mexico. “My style is inspired by my own life. My routine, it is a ghetto style, gangsta, with lots of humbleness, respect and feelings,” says.

If he wins in Mexico, Luan will achieve the goal to be in the 16 best of the world for the 2012 Final of Red Bull BC One 2012, next December in Rio de Janeiro. “I want to learn a lot there and represent my crew pretty well,” says Luan about his expectations regarding the Latin American Qualifier.

His real life, as it is, is his biggest source of inspiration as well as the ones who are close to him. “The streets inspire me; my friends, my crew and my family too.”

Time to battle always brings lots of expectations, it is impossible not to get nervous when this moment comes. “Any B-Boy gets nervous before the battle. But you must be 100% yourself when you are there. I just listen to the music and feel the flow.” And, then, Luan does the moves he considers part of his style such as freezes, tricks, powermoves, besides musicality and jumps. “For me, a B-Boy must be complete,” he emphasizes.

In regards of Hip Hop culture, Luan is a fan of the DJs work as it is something totally related to the dance. About musical preferences, “rap is my favorite one as it talks about real life, it is totally underground.” Soul and funk are also on his list of favorite music styles; the ones you can dance with your soul, as he defines.

Luan lives from his dance, or better, “I survive from my dance,” he says, showing the difficulties of the people who embrae B-Boying as a life style in Brazil. His mother, brothers and his friends from Funk Fockers Crew are the ones who support him the most.

“Most people from my family do not approve my choice. They think I should find a job as I am 21 already. But they also know I will never stop dancing. In 10 years, I see myself teaching the next generation everything I've learned,” concludes Luan.