While most sixteen years olds are running around enjoying their responsibility-free lives, Ariana Berlin was training to be one of the worlds top gymnasts. Training long hours, Berlin sacrificed the option to attend public school with her friends and attended home schooling instead to provide more time to make her dreams come true. Sacrifice was a part of her daily schedule, but she never thought twice about it. Until one day Ariana was involved in a life threatening car accident that left her barely alive.
After months of recovery, Berlin returned to the gym where she restarted her training. Frustrated with the pain from her injuries, Ariana began to explore her other talents…DANCE. Berlin excelled at dance and became the youngest person to ever join

the talented Culture Shock San Diego. Using her gymnastics background, Berlin explored the world of breakin’ and has competed in several jams throughout California. She is currently represented by one of the top dance agencies in the Los Angeles area, Bloc, and is determined to keep learning. One Cypher commends Berlin for her determination, faith and strength despite all her circumstances…this is her story…

“There was a women fisherman, who saw the whole thing and used something sharp on her keychain to cut the seat belt from around my neck…”

OC: Let’s start with your name and age little one!
Ariana: My name is Ariana Berlin and I am sixteen years old…I mean sixteen and a half in 20 days. (laughs)

OC: When did you begin dancing?
Ariana: When I was in elementary school, I took private lessons with a girl named Pia from Culture Shock San Diego. She would teach a routine once a week on Thursdays and all the kids in the neighborhood would come and learn. The lessons were about an hour long…and we’d just dance. It was fun.

OC: What kind of training have you had?
Ariana: I took classes at APA (Academy of Performing Arts) for a year and a half. I first dance for Future Shock in 2001. Then I auditioned for Culture Shock San Diego in December of 2002 and was picked to be a part of the troupe.

OC: Outside of dancing, what training have you had?
Ariana: Well, I’ve been in gymnastics since I was three years old. A couple of years ago, I started training for Elite (which is the Olympic level) right before the car accident.

OC: Car accident? We’ll talk about that in a minute. Tell me a little bit more about your gymnastics experience.
Ariana: I used to train for seven hours a day. My schedule was like this…on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I trained from 7 am to 9 am then later in the day from 1:45 pm until 7 pm. Then on Tuesday and Thursday I went from 1:45 pm until 8:30 pm and on Saturday from 8:30 am until about 12 pm.

OC: So what about school?
Ariana: I had home schooling.

OC: Wow!
Ariana: Yeah!

OC: Tell me who inspires you and why.
Ariana: My parents inspire me because they always tell me to keep pursuing my love, what I love to do…they give me MAJOR support. All my coaches were very supportive too.

OC: What are your largest accomplishments?
Ariana: In gymnastics, I’m proud of winning Level 9 Nationals. Also, getting as far as I did in gymnastics, like training for Elite (Olympics). As far as dancing, I’d have to say being on Future Shock and then making Culture Shock San Diego. Being a part CSSD is definitely my highest dance accomplishment so far.

“Dance has kept me out of trouble.”

OC: What is your ultimate goal?
Ariana: Dance-wise, I want to be in music videos. (laughs) I want to be a professional dancer in Los Angeles…doing jobs for different artists and performing in shows like the one the Groovaloos did…that looks fun!

OC: What is your best dancing experience?
Ariana: CSSD, by far. I have gotten so much better dancing, breaking, everything.

OC: What does dance mean to you?
Ariana: It’s a way out…a problem free world where you can be yourself. A place to dance off anger, frustration, sadness…whatever negative feeling you have. It just all disappears when I’m dancing.

OC: Give me a couple of your favorite experiences while dancing.
Ariana: Bust-A-Groove, Showcase, and Fusion were fun, even with Future Shock. Oh, and I performed in Las Vegas with CSSD…that was really fun.

OC: How has dance affected your life?
Ariana: Dance has kept me out of trouble. It hasn’t and still doesn’t give me a chance to get into trouble. It has also given me the opportunity to express myself.

OC: Name three people in the dance scene who you have MAD respect for.
Ariana: Sherman because he puts up with a lot of crap. Rynan because he’s doing his thing in L.A, while still contributing to CSSD. He’s a dope bboy. Tessy, Jafar, and K.J…they’re dope choreographers. They’re like, the best dancers and are supportive. I gotta say David Ross too, because he has supported me ever since I was going to APA. He got me started with the whole Future Shock/CSSD scene. He always pushes me to get better…so I got MAD respect for him, too.

OC: What does Hip Hop mean to you?
Ariana: I feel Hip Hop is a culture with multiple aspects; the music, the people, the way you see yourself…it’s a way of life. Hip Hop is a world of possibility.

OC: Name some things that you do when you’re not dancing.
Ariana: SLEEP!

OC: Ok, what’s the best thing you like about dancing with Culture Shock?
Ariana: The people….everybody’s got a different style, there are so many different personalities. Being a part of CSSD, I’ve met so many people. I’ll be in Master Class and I’ll meet someone from New York. It’s cool. I feel like I’m with family…you know, like a home away from home. Everybody’s got each other’s back. I like that.

OC: Do you have a role model and if so, who and why?
Ariana: My role model is my brother. He gets good grades, goes to a really good school (UC Santa Barbara)…he’s really cool. So I look up to him.

OC: Have you trained anywhere other than the U.S.?
Ariana: Nope.

OC: What major obstacles have you experienced?
Ariana: The car accident I was in.

OC: Ok, let’s talk about that. Tell me a little bit about what was going on before the actual accident.
Ariana: Well, me and my mom were going to go to Orange County for a girl’s day of shopping because I did gymnastics in Orange County, so we knew of the mall there, Southcoast Plaza….uhm …I don’t remember anything else about that day.

OC: Ok, well tell me about the accident. Whatever you can remember.
Ariana: Well this is what we’ve been told. There was a guy who was hurrying to get to Santa Monica. We were on the 73 toll road…and we were almost there. He hit us from behind, our car went airborne and it rolled about five or six times. When someone found us, the car was on its side…flipped onto my mom’s side and I was hanging out the window with the seat belt wrapped around my neck holding me inside the car. My body was hanging out of the window but my head was inside he car.

OC: Oh my God!!!!!
Ariana: Yeah. There was a women fisherman, who saw the whole thing and used something sharp on her keychain to cut the seat belt from around my neck. I went to the hospital and was in “induced coma” for five days…so the accident happened on Saturday and I didn’t wake up until Wednesday. When I woke up, I was wondering what was going on. I was confused wondering…did we get in an accident on the way to or from Orange County? I didn’t remember anything from that day. I don’t even remember getting ready that morning…nothing.

“I was in two casts and a wheelchair for a couple months.”

OC: What were your injuries?
Ariana: I broke both my legs. I already had one surgery on my right leg before I came out of the coma. I had a rod in it and I had screws in it too. I broke my wrist, two ribs and my collar bone. Both of my lungs collapsed, so I had chest tubes in. That was while I was in the hospital in Orange County. When we came down to the San Diego hospital, I had surgery on my left leg and they took out the chest tubes. I was in two casts and a wheelchair for a couple months. I had a bed in my mom’s room because she had to help me.

OC, Wow. What happened to your mom?
Ariana: She doesn’t remember anything either but she broke her leg and had a plate in it. She had surgery in order to get it removed. She also shattered her scapula, broke a couple of ribs, she hit her head pretty hard and had cuts on her face.

“…don’t let anyone intimidate you or stop you from doing what you love to do. ”

Overall, I had three surgeries. I went back to gymnastics for two or three months but it was just hard going back because everything was hurting and I wasn’t where I was before…was kind of disappointing. It wasn’t fun anymore, so I started dancing.

OC: So, when did the accident actually happen?
Ariana: November 24, 2001…Thanksgiving weekend.

OC: Girl, I’m so happy you’re here.
Ariana: I know. You should see pictures of the car. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m supposed to be here…for a reason.

OC: Man, for you to overcome something like that is truly a blessing…really! Whew…..ok, next question. I know you’re a b-girl, when was the first time you went to Qween B?
Ariana: When I competed. I not only attended but competed.

OC: OK, talk about a soldier! Who’s your b-boy role model?
Ariana: Footwork..I gotta say Eddie “Stylez”, he’s so tight. He’s so clean. I like Saso’s freezes and I like Rynan’s blow ups.

OC: Name your three favorite groups to watch and why?
Ariana: Urban FX because of their energy on stage. I know a lot of their choreography is done by K.J. I like his style, you know, he makes it appealing to the audience. Fun to watch. Funkanometry because they compliment each other on stage. Jabbawockeez because they are crazy. They are my number one favorite group to watch. Every single movement they make is different than anyone has ever seen. Their music selection is unique and full of music people probably never heard…it’s a new experience watching them, like “Oh My God, my eyes have never seen anything like this before.”

OC: Do you have an interest in learning any other forms of dance?
Ariana: Jazz. I know it’ll help me later in life because I know in L.A. you gotta know jazz. It’s sick to watch but it’s hard to learn.

OC: Right before you step on stage, what feelings run through your body?
Ariana: I can’t even describe it. It’s like I’m so excited but I’m so nervous and the nervousness builds more excitement…it’s like… you want to show the world what you can do. I can’t even explain it!

OC: Earlier we talked about gymnastics and how it was hard for you to attend school while training. Is it hard for you to balance school and dance?
Ariana: Well, CSSD rehearsals go until 12am/1am then I have to go to school the next morning and my parents get mad. It’s not a big problem yet and hopefully it won’t become a problem in the future.

OC: Do you have any words of encouragement for future dancers?
Ariana: Just do what you love to do and don’t let anyone or anything stop you. When I first started dancing with CSSD, I was really intimidated by some of the dancers because I was nervous about what people thought and that stopped me from trying as hard as I could. Now, I’m more comfortable so they don’t intimidate me as much anymore (laughs)…so don’t let anyone intimidate you or stop you from doing what you love to do.

OC: Last but not least. Any shout outs?
Ariana: All of CSSD, my mom, my dad, and my brother. Caity and Dominique…I love you girls. All my friends from school…all the dancers I know! I love ya’ll!

OneCypher, Shelley (Boo-Dizzle), and Atija…thank you muchos! Peace!

Interview by Atija Brewer