Breaking
Breaking
From humble beginnings to history maker; this is B-Girl Vanessa's story
B-Girl Vanessa is a world-renowned Portuguese breaker who's a master of adaptability with a determination to excel globally. We take a deep dive into how she did it.
From her home town of Leiria, Portugal, Vanessa has danced her way into the global spotlight, establishing herself as one of the top Portuguese b-girls through relentless dedication and a unique style that captures the essence of breaking. Read on to discover how Vanessa, driven by passion and guided by mentors, transformed her physical limits into strengths, claiming her place on the world stage. Join us as we dive into her inspiring journey, marked by challenges, triumphs and a deep commitment to her art.
Vanessa battles Nicka at Red Bull BC One 2023 World Final
© Nika Kramer/Red Bull Content Pool
01
Vanessa’s secret to breaking success: unique home workouts
Born and raised in Leiria, Portugal, Vanessa started breaking in 2012 at the age of 20. She took up the dance because her best friend was a b-boy (Hugo Silva, aka B-Boy Jordan). He became her breaking mentor and teacher, and once she started practising, she says, “I stuck with it because I wanted to try to be good at something.”
I stuck with it because I wanted to try to be good at something.
In 2014, Vanessa moved to London, England, to further pursue and advance her dance and breaking career. Still a new b-girl on the competition scene, she started traveling and competing at big international competitions once she settled in London, but failed to qualify for any. This opened her eyes to the high standards required for worldwide competitions and she soon realized that she'd have to change her approach to training if she wanted to compete with the best, saying, “I saw I needed to do something more if I want to improve, win and make an impact.” Vanessa also realized she lacked the physical strength for the more explosive breaking moves and knew she needed to become more powerful. While reading former UFC Women's Champion Ronda Rousey's book, Vanessa had a clear idea for what to do next:
B-Girl Vanessa strikes a pose in Lisbon
© Hugo Silva/Red Bull Content Pool
I read how Ronda utilized strength and conditioning when training as a UFC fighter so I started to create my own strength and conditioning plan for breaking.
Vanessa created a high-intensity, breaking-specific workout, mixing breaking moves with body-strengthening and stamina-building exercises. At the time she was working long hours, meaning she didn't have the time to go to a gym, so she built her exercises around things she could do in her room. Making her workout program her daily routine, Vanessa gradually started to see improvement in her strength and breaking ability.
02
Making history at the Red Bull BC One World Final
Three years after starting her workouts, Vanessa’s consistency paid off when she won the b-girl competition at the 2019 Red Bull BC One Cypher UK. This secured her a spot in the Last Chance Cypher, where she competed with all the other national b-girl champs to see who would qualify for the open spots in the top 16 of the Red Bull BC One World Final. Vanessa failed to win and qualify, but that was the beginning of a new stage in her journey that would see her eventually make history while also dealing with unexpected ups and downs.
Watch Vanessa win the Red Bull BC One UK Cypher in 2019:
7 min
B-Girls final: Rawgina vs Vanessa
Watch the final showdown as B-Girl Rawgina and B-Girl Vanessa battle for the title at the UK Cypher.
The next part of that journey was a definite 'down': in 2020 Vanessa lost in the final battle of the UK cypher, this time missing out on a second chance to qualify for the Red Bull BC One World Final.
In 2021, she decided to start competing in her home country and took a spot at the Red Bull BC One Portugal Cypher to represent where she was born. She took the win that year and once again competed at the Last Chance Cypher. This time she fell just short, tasting defeat one battle away from qualifying for the world final.
In 2022 Vanessa came back stronger, winning the Portugal cypher for the second time in a row, and then successfully battled her way through the Last Chance Cypher to qualify for the world final. She made history that year as the first Portuguese b-girl to ever compete at the Red Bull BC One World Final, reaching the quarter-finals by beating Ecuador's B-Girl Isis. Although she was knocked out by B-Girl 671, from China, Vanessa’s performance didn’t go unnoticed, and in 2023 she made history again when she became the first Portuguese b-girl to ever receive a Red Bull BC One World Final wild card invite. Although again she didn’t win, she once again demonstrated the original style for which she was becoming so well known.
Watch Vanessa's battle vs Nicka in full from the Red Bull BC One World Final 2023 in Paris.
World Final
Watch the world's best b-boys and b-girls battle it out to become the 2023 Red Bull BC One World Champions.
At this point in her breaking career, Vanessa had moved back to Portugal to fully represent her homeland. She was ranked as the number-one b-girl in the country, had won multiple competitions around the world and had built her name as one of the most talented b-girls on the scene.
03
A shock injury – and Vanessa’s difficult route back
Everything Vanessa had worked for was coming to fruition when suddenly, one month before the 2024 Red Bull BC One Portugal Cypher, she suffered a training accident in which she broke her elbow and tore ligaments in her left arm, making the arm essentially useless. Vanessa was told her injury would take two months to heal, but she didn’t let this set her back, even choosing to not publicly tell people about her injury, saying, “I didn’t want it to define me and be an excuse for not having the results that I wanted.” Instead, while going through rehab, Vanessa adjusted her approach to training again, figuring out what moves she could do using only one arm and still training to stay strong and ready. The next month, even with her arm not fully healed, Vanessa entered the Portugal Cypher and won it for the third time. After that experience, Vanessa said, “This was to show me that there's nothing I can’t do.” After competing in Shanghai and Budapest, she returned to Paris to compete on the world stage. Next, she will compete again at the Red Bull BC One Last Chance Cypher to earn her spot on the Red Bull BC One World Final stage.
Vanessa won the Red Bull BC One Cypher Portugal for a third time
© Hugo Silva/Red Bull Content Pool
04
Championing female empowerment through breaking
Having become one of the most well known and skilled b-girls on the scene, when it comes to what continues to drive Vanessa’s passion for breaking, she says, “Initially I continued to break because it’s something I could put my mind to and see improvement and concrete results, but now I realize that there is so much I can bring to breaking when it comes to female empowerment.”
You don’t have to wait for anybody else if you want to get something done
© Hugo Silva/Red Bull Content Pool
She credits breaking for teaching her how to be independent and the important lesson, “That you don’t have to wait for anybody else if you want to get something done.” Breaking has taught Vanessa how, “to commit to a goal,” with the art form having shaped her whole lifestyle and the way she views life itself.
When asked what words of advice she would give someone coming up as a competitive breaker now, Vanessa answered, “I would say that shining is more important than winning. Plus, everyone moves differently in their dance, so make that difference so clear that people can see you bring something unique to the table.” Plus, in times of doubt, she says to always remember, “you didn’t come this far to only come this far.”
