WITH hip-hop music pumping him full of inspiration, dancer Joshua Sevellino shuffles his feet, spins himself like a human top and flips himself over (and around) before planting all his weight onto a one-handed stand. He does it so seamlessly, it appears effortless.

But it takes a lot of work to make it look that easy.

“A lot of it is repetition,” said the 25-year-old Sevellino, a dancer who specializes in b-boy dancing, which is also called breaking. “If I’m trying to learn one move, I try to do it 100 times, just to get my body to the point where, ‘OK, now it’s effortless because I’ve done it 100 times.’”

Sevellino, who performs under the name b-boy Josh Skittle, is one of 16 dancers from across the U.S. who will compete at the Red Bull BC One North America Final in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday. He won his spot at a competition in Honolulu in May, and will represent the West Coast.

The competition is considered one of the world’s most prestigious b-boy events, with dancers battling one-on-one for three fast-paced rounds. Each round lasts a few minutes in a back-and-forth dialogue of dance moves. Competitors determine the length of their routines but must pace themselves in a competition expected to last two hours. The winner goes on to represent North America at the world championship competition in Rome in November.

The acrobatic style is physically and mentally demanding. In a dance battle, the DJ chooses what music to play, and each dancer, improvising to the beat, tries to outdo the other. Judging is based on a number of criteria, including execution, creativity, level of difficulty and musicality.

Fitness is an important part of Sevellino’s preparation for Orlando. He runs several miles five times a week and practices selected dance moves until they become second nature. To build strength, Sevellino regularly does up to 50 pushups and 100 situps.

Sevellino, whose nickname Skittle comes from a crew he danced with in Las Vegas called Rock Skittle, regularly tests his readiness by dancing after running and doing calisthenics.

“I want my muscles to understand the feeling of being tired but still be able to push,” he said. “I’ll purposely wear out my body and try to see if I can still do the hard moves that I want to do … and still execute the moves with finesse.”

Sevellino’s biggest challenge is stamina.

“You can have all the moves, but if you’re tired you won’t execute them, and that’s what you get judged on,” he said. “Personally, I have lost a lot of times in the final round, when I was this close to winning but I didn’t because I was tired.”

The moves require coordination, balance and style. There are “flares,” a circular, rotational move similar to the one gymnasts do on pommel horses and floor routines while balancing on their hands. Footwork to the rhythm of the music is called “top rock.” Most routines end with an “air freeze” — balancing on one hand while keeping the rest of the body in the air.

For Sevellino, breaking opened doors.

As his parents went through a divorce, he went through some struggles that included getting arrested for graffiti-related offenses. He dropped out of Farrington High School in his junior year and finished up at the National Guard Youth Challenge Academy.

Fortunately, dance was always there as an outlet. He credits his older brother, Patrick, for getting him started and showing him the basics. He started dancing seriously at the age of 14 and won his first competition at 16.

To this day he still remembers that moment as an eye-opener.

“It was my first time ever winning and really set in my heart that I wanted to do this on a serious level, and I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life,” he said. “As I witnessed the power of dance, committing myself and then winning, (it) really turned the tide of things.”

He supports himself by teaching dancing. Sometimes, winning a competition brings him enough prize money to pay the rent. But other times, when it’s slow, Sevellino takes whatever side jobs he can to make ends meet.

Having recently moved from Honolulu to Las Vegas, Sevellino’s focus these days is mostly on competition.

His style, he says, is clean.

“I like things sharp, smooth and making it seem effortless,” he said. “Just smooth.”

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