MONDAY KUNOO

My name is Monday Moo Kunoo but everyone calls me Monday and I am 21 years old. I represent the Karen community from Burma and since 2018 I have been an emerging artist with L2R. I like to volunteer my time teaching dance to Sunday school kids and babysitting my nephew. I also assist with L2R’s Wyndham class held every Monday at the Youth Resource Centre, Hoppers Crossing. 

Being an emerging artist means a lot to me because it gives me the opportunity to speak for the youth that struggle to be heard. It’s also important to me because I get to work with other emerging and professional artists, supporting me to gain new skills in dancing and teaching which gives me the confidence to dance with my head up. I really enjoy working as a dancer and helping others to dance. I hope to gain more skills as an emerging artist while undertaking the internship with L2R. 

L’WEL GAY ‘LIGI’ MOO

L’wel Gay ‘Ligi’ Moo is a dancer, performer and L2R emerging artist. Ligi’s passion for dance was ignited at the age of 12 when he started training with L2R. His involvement with L2R has fostered his love for dance and hip hop culture, and his involvement has given him the opportunity to perform regularly, as well as many opportunities to teach and perform across Victoria.

Ligi’s family is from Myanmar and he was born in Thailand, migrating to Australia 2000. He completed his VCE in 2017 at Braybrook College, earning certificates 1 & 2 in VET Dance. Ligi is also a member of the ‘Young Masters’, a talented crew of break-dancers known for their high-energy street performances, which can be seen weekly in public spaces around Melbourne’s CBD.

Ligi currently works with L2R as an emerging artist and facilitator refining his skills while carving a bright future. Ligi is an Assistant Teacher for the Breaking @ Braybrook program.

NASTARAN ‘NASTA’ GHALHGHOVAND 

Nasta's passion for dance started at the age of 13 when she started training with L2R. Fostering Nasta’s love for dance and hip-hop culture has given her the opportunity to do performances across Victoria and make an appearance on ABC TV show ‘The Floor is Yours’.

Nasta’s family is from Iran, and she was born in Iran. Nasta migrated to Australia in September 2012. She completed her VCE studies in 2017 at Rosehill Secondary College and is currently studying Bachelor of Criminology at La Trobe University, where she is pursuing her passion for criminology. She continues to be a student of different styles of dance.

Nasta works with our CEO Jacinda Richards on youth advocacy and mentoring opportunities where she is building her convince and developing her public speaking skills. Nasta also works with L2R as an emerging artist and facilitator refining her skills while carving a bright future. Nasta is an Assistant Teacher across multiple L2R programs.

MAYA HAJIZADEH

I am Maya Hajizadeh, I was born in Iran and migrated to Australia in August 2013. 
 

In 2014, I studied VCAL at St. Josephs Flexible Learning School. Here I met Jacinda and she introduced me to Hip-hop dance and I have been part of L2R ever since. Dance is in my blood and I can’t live without it. To me dance is a vessel to release my feelings.
 

My dance training includes hip hop, house, urban, dancehall, waacking and street jazz. In 2016, I became an emerging artist and L2R has employed me to perform at events and workshops, assist Panda Squad and the Hiphop program at Western English Language School.  I am excited to see where dance takes me in the future. 

VAN BIAK ‘VB’ THANG

VB is a dancer, performer and a proud L2R emerging artist. VB joined L2R in 2011 and has grown as a dancer and a young leader to the next generation. VB joined VET dance during his time at high school, where he fostered an interest in expanding his dance from hip-hop to other styles including Jazz and Contemporary dance.

VB is also a member of the ‘Young Masters’ crew – a group that formed out of L2R’s Breaking @ Braybrook program. You can see the Young Masters crew perform most weekends in the Melbourne CBD streets, where they have built a reputation as one of the city’s most popular busking attractions.

MONICA AUTIAK

Monica Autiak was born in South Sudan, arriving in Australia in 2017. Since then Monica has been part of the Next Gen 3019 crew in Sunshine and has performed at the L2R experience in 2018. In 2019 she joined the Emerging Artists as one of the youngest members in the collective. Being included in L2R’s Pathways program Monica aspires to increase her artistic capacity in dance and collaborate with other artists and dancers.

Monica joined L2R in 2017, when her brother accompanied her to an L2R class. Monica’s love for dance started at the age of 5 with goals of being a professional dancer and teacher. Her interests include Hip Hop and Afrodance.

As a student, Monica is pursuing a career in Medicine wanting to attend Melbourne University with dreams of being a doctor.

RITO HUYNH

Rito Huynh is a dancer, musician and an L2R emerging artist. Arriving to Australia in 2010 from Vietnam. Rito's journey with dance began in 2012, at the age of 12 when he joined L2R and his passion for the art form expanded through broadening his knowledge on hip hop culture. Since then he has developed his artistic practice through classes, training and performing. 

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As a Bboy Rito has been mentored by teacher Bboy Nasa through L2R’s “Breaking at Braybrook” program. Through this community, Rito and his peers have formed the Young Masters Crew performing regularly in Melbourne’s CBD, activating public spaces through their iconic busking show.

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In 2019, Rito has been employed through L2R’s Pathways Program wanting to further his professional capacity in dance and connection to the arts industry. Rito’s further aspirations included bringing Young Masters to the world and working in the community arts sector and being a youth arts mentor.

LONOWON  KOKEH

Lonowon was born in Liberia in 1998 then shortly moved to Guinea. In November 2009, Lonowon migrated to Australia where he is now based in Melbourne’s west. In 2018 Lonowon completed VCAL year 12 at Braybrook College where he also studied VET dance.

Lonowon has been dancing with L2R since 2011 and is one of our long term legends and emerging artists. Lonowon is one of the original members of the Young Masters Crew which is a male break-dancing crew that has emerged out of L2R. Dance gives Lonowon the opportunity to feel free and have fun with his friends. As part of the emerging artists Alumni, Lonowon hopes to develop strong leadership and mentoring skills, as well as continue to develop his dance techniques across break-dancing, hip hop and ballet. Lonowon is currently studying Youth Work at Victoria University!

JUMESS DINANGA

My name is Jumess Dinanga, and I'm an emerging artist based in Melbourne’s west. I have various artists' mediums and i’m originally a dancer however, the medium that i’m mainly focused on at the moment is spoken word/poetry and am currently exploring this through research based practice.

Being expressive and helping people through my spoken word are two of the things that I want to achieve. Due to living in a multicultural land my spoken word/poetry are mainly focused on the topic of human treatment and or cultural acceptance to raise awareness. I enjoy experimenting by being around people who are the opposite of me and exploring everything about one particular idea and adding my own flow to it. 

I seek my inspiration from videos, other artists, and other social tools such as performances, gigs etc...my hopes for the future is to explore different techniques, being expressive and creative and to find my voice in the art world.

VAN BAWI LIAM SANG

I am a breakdancer and a musician based in the Western suburbs. I moved to Australia in 2015 and joined L2R in early 2016 .

 

One of my main goal as an artist as that to gain more self-confidence and encourage other people as well. Also, I want to earn my name out in the community or maybe even worldwide. I always like to try and explore new things. I like to meet people and make a connection with them.


Sometimes I listen to music and ideas just came up and write it down and try it. Sometimes when I train together with the boys they give me an idea of what I could do or I can try something similar to what they’re doing. 

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I see my inspiration from people, social media or even from nature. My hope for the future as an artist is to enter dance competitions starting from local through to higher national and even international levels. 

YOLANDE ARINDA

I’m Yolande Arinda but most people know me as “Yo” because it’s short and sweet. I was born in Uganda and I moved to Australia in 2015. I joined L2R in 2016 after finding out how much I loved learning different types of dance cultures other than Afro-beat. I believe that I have been dancing to music since I was in my mom’s womb and that’s why i love dancing.

I represent all young females in our society that feel like they have no voices to express their feelings and emotions because of their lack of confidence. I want to show society that there are multiple ways that people can express themselves without being judged, that’s why I believe I speak through dance and I want more people to know that they can as well.

To be an emerging artist to me means being able to learn something new but as you are learning, try to improve the idea and if possible try to create something unique and different from others with the knowledge gained during this time. In order to do so you must love what you are doing or enjoy what you are learning. I am interested in learning more about public speaking and improving my confidence in front of a big audience.

URLIK IRADUKUNDA

My name is Urlik Iradukunda, I’m 18 years old and an emerging artist based in Melbourne west. I have experience in the creative industry as an actor, model and singer; and currently starting my journey as a professional dancer. 

My journey starts with a young Urlik in the country of Uganda where I was in multiple dance crews and performed with well known artists in Uganda. I was 10yrs old when I started dancing and I have haven’t stopped since. 

I joined L2R Dance in 2016 and it has been a pleasure to be a part of such diverse and dedicated team. Initially, I wasn’t good with Hip-Hop dance as my background is in Afro and dancehall; but I have seen improvements in dancing and now I am more open to every genre of dance. 

To me being an emerging artist is taking on a journey and hoping that you’ll find yourself where you are hoping to be. As an artist I believe you always have expectations but sometimes it doesn’t go as you planned. And the entertainment industry is very competitive so it’s hard to know exactly where you belong. Acknowledging myself as an emerging artist helps guides this journey towards success; I hope to find my place in the industry whilst building a foundation, working towards my craft and finding my voice. 
 

STEPHANIE DIXON

I am Stephanie Sorn Dixon but everyone calls me Steph. I am an 18 year old, Australian born with Thai heritage. I have multiple interests in the creative arts including dancing, acting and singing but am mainly focusing my journey at the moment as a professional dancer. I originally started dancing in my room watching youtube tutorials before discovering Kpop and performing at my high school. Yolande, who I went to high school with introduced me to L2R in 2018 and through that I had been introduced to the amazing world of hip hop dance.

Through L2R I discovered the many different styles within hip hop dance and have had many wonderful opportunities to explore further through performances, workshops, dance battles and am currently undertaking my Bachelor of Fine Arts (dance) at Melbourne University (Formally VCA Dance). For me, dance has created the person I am today. It has aided me to become more confident and ways towards self love/care, I’ve met many phenomenal and inspiring artists which has allowed me to develop happiness within myself and spread happiness to others within my community.

An emerging artist to me means a creator who never stops learning and growing. Who continues throughout their career discovering who they are and who they want to be as an artist. In this continuous journey there will be moments that will be tough and may cause us to be frustrated with ourselves but that in turn will aid us in pushing us forward to recognise what we want and find the right pathway for us. In saying this I hope to ride this crazy wave of life and take every opportunity to develop my practice and explore who I want to be as an artist.