With over 2,500 international students at the University of Oregon, Eugene is home to students from 96 countries. Two international students in particular, Kazumasa Inaba from Japan and Li Miky from China, are freshmen at the UO and have created a breakdance group for students on campus.

Inaba and Miky use breakdance as a means of communication with other students at the UO. They became friends with each other after moving to Eugene in the fall of 2013. “I want to connect with a lot of people who love dance and who love music through their dancing,” said Inaba. “When we are dancing, we don’t need to, like, speak an actual language, but we can communicate with them, like people all over the world.” Both Inaba and Miky speak limited English, but have been able to express themselves to their peers through their dance crew. “Especially in this globalizing world, it helps a lot, like what I believe – dance is the physical expression of your soul – of your self. Yeah, it’s the most direct way and easy way to communicate with others,” said Miky.