In July, in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, during the Youth Is The Future Camp and the world-class hip-hop breaking event Outbreak Europe held from July 20 to 27, the Breaking The Walls project continued its training journey with a new series of formative meetings for all participating young dancers.

Together with professional dancer Willstr8, the group expanded on the work initiated in Alba and further developed in L’Aquila. These sessions gave Willstr8 the opportunity to observe how much the young dancers had absorbed from previous encounters and to assess the personal and artistic changes they had undergone over the past months.

The evolution of the group was remarkable. Participants demonstrated clear improvements in both performance quality and social interaction—progress that stemmed not only from working with professional dancers but also, and perhaps most importantly, from the sessions organized by each partner organization with experts in Dance Therapy and Psychology. Every member of the group gained deeper self-awareness, greater control over emotional expression, and increased confidence in listening to and interpreting their own feelings. This emotional literacy has become an essential tool for managing their talents during dance performances.

Thanks to this solid foundation, the group took part in a dedicated mental training session led by Dr. Isabelle Tay, head of mental health policy for the WDSF and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Together, they explored the meaning, value, and psychological weight of three powerful words: Talent, Success, and Fame.

The young dancers responded with exceptional openness, collaborating with one another and freely sharing their ideas, fears, and perspectives. The atmosphere was calm, constructive, and deeply enriching.

Even more surprising was the success of the public reprise of this workshop, conducted with the project participants but open to the broader breaking community. More than 150 dancers attended, creating a large-scale collective moment of reflection on the importance of mental training—even for those who do not have any diagnosed conditions.

This experience in Slovakia highlighted a growing awareness: in today’s fast-paced and demanding artistic environment, mental training is not a luxury but a crucial component of personal and professional growth. The journey of Breaking The Walls continues to demonstrate that strengthening the mind is just as vital as training the body.