Dance
Discover how Lily Frias made her way to the top of the dance scene
Lily moved to another city to practice with her crew under the cover of studying International Business and auditioned for ABDC after a car accident. Find out everything about her journey here.
Professional dancer, Lily Frias, is a popper and waacker whose skills earned her an invite to the first ever Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final. She's a member of the international dance trio, Femme Fatale, with whom she performs all over the world. She's also a dance teacher and a proud Mexican who represents her heritage wherever she goes. There is, of course, a story behind how Lily got to where she is today and it all started when she was a young girl amazed by the hip-hop music that her two older sisters listened to.
"My older sisters used to listen to hip-hop music a lot," explains Lily. "I remember hearing Usher and Brandy, and seeing the 'Mo Money, Mo Problems,' music video and just thinking, 'wow! What is this?'."
At that time Lily and her family briefly lived in America, then, when she was six years old, they moved back to Mexico and the small city of Lerdo. Already having danced ballet and jazz, Lily found a studio to continue and also joined a competition dance team. But there wasn't much information on the hip-hop dance culture filtering down to Mexico at that time. Then, when Lily was 15, she met dance teacher Hector Flores (aka Boogaloo Bean), who brought knowledge.
Lily posing at the Dance Your Style USA Finals
© Jordan Nicholson/Red Bull Content Pool
"I took a popping and locking class from Hector, who ended up being my crew mate later," she says. "He had lived in LA and been exposed to the popping, locking and breaking culture. He spoke about the east coast sound and the west coast vibe, and where it all came from. I wanted to learn more and to be surrounded by others who wanted the same."
Continuing to dig for knowledge, Lily joined her first crew, Funkdation and talked her parents into switching high schools to one where she could graduate a year earlier, at 17. Lily was in a rush to finish school so that she could move to the bigger city of Monterrey, telling her parents she wanted to study International Business at college there. But Lily's real motivation for the move was because Funkdation were based in Monterrey and she wanted to dance, train and be around them more.
"After college I would take a class and then train with the crew until late. We dug into the battle scene, watched old Juste Debout videos on YouTube and looked up stuff on locking, popping, breaking, house and waacking," says Lily. "Back then there were only breaking battles happening in Mexico so we'd go and just be popping and dancing in the corner, enjoying the vibe."
Lily in Las Vegas prior to the Red Bull Dance Your Style USA Finals
© Jordan Nicholson / Red Bull Content Pool
Then Lily's crew saw that the TV show 'America's Best Dance Crew' (ABDC) were taking international entries and that's when her dance journey took a big turn. Funkdation decided to audition and Lily took a semester off college to practice. Even when she had a car accident that caused her to have to do rehearsals in a neck brace, limiting her movement, Lily still didn't stop.
"It was raining and the roads must have been slippery as I remember driving and suddenly my car spun and crashed into a wall. The passenger side collapsed inwards right beside me but by a miracle I was intact. When the ambulance came I was asking them 'am I ok, can I move, because I have rehearsals.' I took a day to rest then returned to practise, saying 'we're still doing this,' as I didn't want to hold anyone back."
After a crazy road trip to San Antonio, in which their car broke down and Lily felt back pain from her neck injury, Funkdation auditioned and made it on ABDC. From there, being in LA, Lily was fully exposed to the hip-hop dance world she had always searched so hard to learn about. Experiencing the battles, the parties and the vibe, and having people tell her that she could actually become a professional dancer, prompted Lily to make the life changing decision. She would not go back to college or Mexico, but stay in LA and continue pursuing the things she had been seeking since she was a little girl.
Lily worked hard to stay in LA
© Carlo Cruz/Red Bull Content Pool
But of course dreams never come easy; Lily wasn't a US citizen, meaning she'd have work hard to get the necessary visa to stay and work in America. Lily was also super nervous about telling her parents that she wasn't coming back to Mexico, but their reaction to the news completely surprised her.
Lily explains: "My dad was, and still has been, really supportive and that was like a turning point for me and my family. My dad said, 'you know what, if this is what you want to do then this is plan A, with no plan B. Let's aim for this'."
Since then Lily hasn't looked back.
"You know what, if this is what you want to do then this is plan A, with no plan B. Let's aim for this.
She discovered new aspects of herself in her popping when she began connecting with the LA popping community and experienced how powerful it felt to learn the knowledge behind the dance.
She competed with waackers from all around the world in one of her first big waacking battles in LA, WaackFest, which was another turning point for her, realising that she really wanted to get more into this unique style of dance.
Lil at the Red Bull Dance Your Style USA Final
© Jordan Nicholson / Red Bull Content Pool
Lily then came together with Marie Poppins and Dassy to form Femme Fatale, with the trio performing and battling together, then realising they had a special connection.
"Marie is French, Dassy is Korean and I'm Mexican, so it's that vibe and essence of bringing those different sides together that works and flows. We're all equally invested and believe in anything we create. We all also know the struggle of what it is to move to another country to pursue your dreams."
Watch the trio perform at the Red Bull BC One World Final in Zurich/Switzerland:
5 min
Femme Fatale
Watch popping trio Femme Fatale's performance during the Red Bull BC One World Final Zurich 2018.
Download the Red Bull TV App to have the best dance videos with you, wherever you go.
But even though Lily now lives and works in the US, she never forgets where she came from.
"Mexicans are humble, hard working warriors. It's my culture, my values, how I feel when I'm dancing, and the way I realised I can give my energy to other people. I rep Mexico hardcore and everywhere I go I say 'yeh, I live in LA but I'm from Mexico so make sure you say that on the Mic'."
Lily also acknowledges all the support she's had on her journey. From her loving family, Marie Poppins and her cousin, Lorena, who both always inspire her, to her Funkdation crew mates whom she is still good friends with, as well as her day-to-day friends who are always there for her. Lily acknowledges the importance of remembering all the OG dancers who paved the way, giving a shout out to Mexican-American waacker, Viktor Manoel, a legendary punker who has been on the scene since everything started and helped open Lily's eye to how special her heritage made her.
Looking back on all the chances she took, Lily says that she has realised that: "I'm braver than I thought," and being only 28, she definitely hasn't even hit her peak yet, as she continues on her dance journey.
As Lily is an outstanding teacher, we recommend you check out Waacking her class on @redbulldance Instagram.
