The disabled breakdancers who want to change the world

Abilities is an international breakdance crew of disabled dancers, Founded in 2007 by Luca "Lazylegs" Patuelli, who dances using crutches, they perform traditional shows as well as what they call "motivational entertainment".On this month's Ouch! disability talk show, which can be downloaded as a podcast, Luca talks to hosts Liz Carr and Rob Crossan about how the crew came into being:"It has actually nothing to do with the disability. [The crew] got known for being amazing dancers through competing on an international level. The whole concept behind .Abilities is to really come together as this super crew, kind of like the X-Men, and we want to be able to show the world that anything is possible."Their slogan "no limits, no excuses" preaches against negativity. When not performing, the team work with younger disabled people to create dance moves that are achievable.Luca explains that he wants to "take the word 'disability' out of the dictionary and replace it with 'ill'. Ill, which really means 'sick', In the hip hop world what's bad is good like with the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill".Abilities draws its members from the Netherlands, Chile, Canada and the USA. Each member's impairment informs their characteristic dance style. Find out how Luca's deaf and Thalidomide impaired fellow 'illabled' dancers pull their moves by listening to the full interview. (A transcript is available on the Ouch! blog.)If you want to see ILL-Abilities in action, there's a selection of videos on their website, but if you want to catch them live and check out their moves, then there's an opportunity this coming Bank Holiday weekend. Between Saturday 5 and Monday 7 May, Abilities will be one of the acts performing at Breakin' Convention '12, an international festival of hip hop dance theatre taking place at Sadler's Wells in London.