Benson Balajied Ranee Diengdoh (24 years), also known as Ben is from Shillong, Meghalaya. As a kid, Ben was just like other kids his age, going to school, playing etc. As he grew a little older, Ben had his dreams, nothing unusual for a kid his age: he wanted to be an artist, sketch and paint for a living and this was a long time before he became a dancer.
He had a passion for art, took part in various competitions from school and independently, even won a few. As he grew up, he had a change of heart about art, although he didn't discontinue it completely he thought he could only sketch or paint if he was in the mood and he realised not being a mood to do something would cost him.
As time flew, Ben was inclined towards another form of art, dance. He didn't choose the mainstream dance forms, but opted for Breaking and B-boying. At the time he started picking up the dance form, it was not very popular yet and only a minority set of people knew about this form and also knew how to showcase or even perform.
Ben is a self-learned dancer, started off by watching shows on TV and some Youtube videos in 2008. After enormous amount of time, energy, practice and money he started breaking in the year 2012. He landed in Bangalore shortly after and that's where it all started.
" It all took off from there, it was the best decision I made ", he says.
Though he chose a dance from that was only known to some people, it still had its popularity among other dance forms. After he trained and practiced a bit longer, he had the opportunity to perform and showcase his talent at various events to grow and build as a dancer. He participated in international events that took place in the city and he was inspired to do more after meeting and competing with other talented dancers.
As more and more opportunities came his way, he was not only inspired to do more, but gave him more clarity of the things he was capable of doing and he was further able to experiment with himself better and that kept him going, still does.
Ben now works for Cult Fitness as a dance-fitness trainer in Bangalore and he still tries to train and practice to participate in events and dance face-offs whenever he gets time off his work schedule.
As a dancer, especially as a Breaker or a B-boyer, it is a struggle to make a living out of it. These dance styles are not popularised to an extent as much as the others forms, for dancers like Ben to earn a living. There are societal prejudices about making a career and a living out of dancing but International/World-Class events such as The Redbull BC One has given all dancers a bigger stage and opportunity along the years to showcase their talent, allow them to compete and work towards winning. Through this journey, Ben has had very supportive parents who have always been by his side, appreciating and pushing him to do more of what he loves along with something new. Ben has made his family proud by achieving great things in a field he has strong passion for and proven he can make a living out of it.
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