So You Think You Can Dance in 3D!
LeAura Luciano recently interviewed So You Think You Can Dance winner Legacy Perez about his success from the reality competition and what its like to make a 3D dance flick.
Legacy Perez
El Barrio: Los Angeles, CA
Trabajo: B-Boy
Born in Brooklyn, NY to Colombian parents, Legacy Perez is a dancer, a
Professional B-Boy to be exact. As a child he was an avid soccer
player, playing to be in the running for scholarship awards prompting
scouts to actively watch him. Although he was an active child he never
really considered dance a hobby. “I had an ease with sports, and I
always had Salsa in me” is how he explains being drawn to breaking. As
he got older breaking was his craft, practicing and battling all the
time. “When I was in Miami people told me ‘you can’t make a living off
dancing’ and my attitude was to prove everyone wrong and keep
pushing.” The problem was “people see B-boying as a street dance,” he
explains “and anything from the street people are afraid of and I
wanted to portray it as an art and have them respect it as a dance
style.”
That’s just what he did and explains “when you pursue something you
will succeed because everyone else is giving up around you.” After
seeing a movie starring b-boys he used to battle and beat, he decided it
was time to make a move. In April of 2004, with $240 to his name he
embarked on a road trip driving from Miami to Los Angeles. When he
moved to LA he had more than music videos and film gigs in mind. “I
wanted to change the game and wanted people to know that b-boys had it
in them,” he explains, “so I started learning choreography to expand
my language of types of dance.” This attitude and passion led him to
book a variety of gigs including touring with Gwen Stefani and being a
choreographer for artists including Rihanna, Toni Braxton, The Black 
Whats up next for Legacy? A lot. From the release of his instructional
DVD on break dancing, ‘LET’S BREAK’, to film, both as a dancer and
actor, as he was featured in the film ‘B-Girl’ and ‘Step Up 3D” in
theaters August 20th. Oh that and he performed at this year’s Academy Awards. His advice to those looking to follow in his footsteps is for people to be
themselves. “If you have something you want to do put your mind to it”
and “don’t try to follow anyone, you have to set your own path to
success.”
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