Rehab students hear success story from performer with scoliosis

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Luca "Lazylegz" Patuelli isn't going to let a muscle disorder stop him from driving, swimming, skiing and, most importantly, breakdancing.

"There is nothing wrong with me and there is nothing wrong with you," the 23-year-old told students at Bloorview Kids Rehab during a performance at the Bayview and Eglinton avenues hospital Friday, May 23. "You find ways of doing the things you want to do."

Born with arthrogryposis, a muscle disorder limiting joint motion, Patuelli has undergone 16 surgeries on his legs and spine since the age of eight months.

But that hasn't stopped the breakdancer, who has performed on stage with Kanye West, k-os and the Nappy Roots from following his passion for dance.

Patuelli, who was born in Montreal and raised in the Washington, DC area, was diagnosed with scoliosis at age eight, a condition affecting the curvature of the spine.

Surgery five years later resulted in the fusion of eight vertebrae and the insertion of titanium rods along the spine.

"I have very little muscle in my legs," he told the students. "The condition affects me from the waist down."

A skateboarder before he turned breakdancer, Patuelli had to give up the former because knee surgery made it too difficult to continue.

This lead him to discover breakdancing, and eight years and a slew of performances and competitions later, including landing in the Top 30 on America's Got Talent, Patuelli shows no sign of slowing down.

But that doesn't mean Patuelli hasn't had his share of injuries, including a broken leg six years ago that left him in a full body cast for two-and-a-half months, forcing him to relearn his dance moves.

"My father taught me your first failure is not to try," he said. "It's about taking the bad and making it good. We should never let anyone stop us from living our dreams. I'm only disabled if I allow myself to think I am disabled."

Patuelli, who is studying marketing at Montreal's Concordia University and is part of the breakdancing crew Ill-Abilities, made up solely of disabled dancers, has travelled across Canada, the United States and Europe bringing his message of believing in yourself, along with his dance moves, to audiences for the past two years.