Jawuan Wallace is a street dancer and an Emporia State senior communication major. He has been practicing street dance for more than eight years.
“All of the sudden they (my friends) asked me after soccer team practice (to join.) They said they did performance every year, and I joined them,” said Wallace. “That was the first time I (had an) interest in break-dancing.”
Wallace goes to at least four or five competitions across the country every year. Wallace has been to Chicago, Oklahoma City and other cities to compete.
Wallace usually goes to freestyle competitions, because he feels that he can do whatever he wants with the music. Competitions have changed Wallace; first he just wanted to show his face, but now he thinks competing is showing off what he has been practicing and letting people know how good he is.
“Jawuan’s dance is really powerful,” said Joe Peng, Wallace’s teammate in SlickKnightz Crew. “They are really hard and challenging. It needs a lot of practice. He is a nice, thoughtful person and always full of passion”
However, his very first performance didn’t go well, and he was laughed at. Wallace said he continues because he wants to prove that those people who laughed at him were wrong.
“It was my first performance with my friends who asked me in soccer team,” Wallace said. “I went out there for my solo, and all of the sudden, the school started laughing at me. I thought I did a good job (and) I found out people were like ‘I made a fool of myself’…That’s probably the turning moment, I want to prove them wrong.”
Wallace kept practicing and when he came back for a talent show in his last year of high school, he won. After his performance, people couldn’t stop cheering, according to Wallace. Wallace is still practicing for his competitions and improving himself.
“Practicing everyday is not beneficial, unless you have a goal, so I practice three times a week. I practice the movement that by the end of this month I want to reach that goal,” Wallace said. “I just do regular push-ups, and hand stands all the time.”
Wallace will be competing in the Silverback Open Championships 2018-UDEF, a competition Oct. 27-28 in Philadelphia, according to its Facebook page. It is the biggest competition for him in this year. Wallace’s goal for this competition is to be in the top 100.
