Mid-November 2024 (Porto, Portugal)
Project leaders from BeStreet, Check the Style and Move X Move meet face-to-face for the first time to align artistic goals, set the 2025 training calendar and sign off on safeguarding and inclusion protocols. Two days of round-table strategy sessions are followed by an open evening with local stakeholders at Casa da Música, where partners present the vision of Breaking the Walls to municipal youth services, arts funders and the press.
January 2025 (Partners’ home bases)
Each partner association will audition and select five core participants who will travel to every international activity, plus five local participants who will join events held in their own city. Candidates present a short dance piece and a brief motivation talk; juries include youth workers, psychologists and senior dancers. The goal is to spot creative potential and build a balanced, gender-inclusive group that can carry the project’s values across borders.
February-April 2025 (Alba, Italy · L’Aquila, Italy · Porto, Portugal)
February 2025 launches a bespoke cycle of at least ten meetings in each city, where young participants work with psychologists and dance-therapy specialists. The journey centres on self-discovery—recognising reactions and emotions, practising active listening, tuning into bodily sensations, and sharing them openly. From that foundation, the group collectively explores what Talent, Fame, and Success mean today and how those ideas shape Gen Z ambitions.
21 – 25 May 2025 (Check the Style Festival – L’Aquila, Italy)
During Check the Style, the fifteen selected dancers—five from each partner—gather for their first cross-border intensive with guest mentors Willstr8 and Frieda Frost. Afternoon classes on 21 & 22 May focus on musicality, battle preparedness and injury-safe power moves. Side events include a live radio interview featuring all participants and an on-stage presentation of the project, recorded as a video-podcast episode on Saturday 24 May.
21 – 27 July 2025 (Outbreak Europe Festival)
The crew reconvenes for a second intensive week split between the Youth Is the Future Camp and the Outbreak Europe festival. Morning sessions with Willstr8 and Frieda Frost deepen footwork vocabulary and battle strategy, while afternoon labs pair the dancers with local youth for collaborative circles on resilience and self-expression.
19 – 22 March 2026 (Alba, Italy)
The first major event of 2026 took place during ALBAttle, bringing together young participants from the project’s partner countries. The programme included Dance Movement Therapy sessions with psychological specialists, breaking workshops led by international professionals Kleju and San Andrea, and the Twin Cities Battle.
Participants also took part in cultural exchange activities and had the opportunity to discover Alba and the surrounding Langhe region, combining athletic development, mental well-being, and intercultural connections.
21–24 May 2026 (L’Aquila, Italy)
The second event took place during Check The Style, an internationally recognised breaking competition. Young participants attended workshops combining breaking, mental coaching, and Dance Movement Therapy, continuing their physical and psychological development.
The event also offered opportunities to connect with the international breaking community and encounter leading athletes, including Olympic champions, while exploring self-expression, emotional awareness, and resilience.
19–26 July 2026 (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)
The third international event brought the project to Outbreak Europe, part of The Legits Blast, one of the world’s major breaking gatherings.
Activities focused on the connection between breaking and mental well-being, including training, cultural exchanges, and a dedicated dissemination session on 20 July to share the project’s experiences and methodologies. The programme also included podcasts and radio discussions featuring participants, encouraging reflection on personal growth and psychological resilience.
24–30 August 2026 (Porto, Portugal)
The final chapter of Breaking The Walls took place during The World Battle, in partnership with MXM Art Center.
Participants attended dedicated workshops led by Polish B-Boy Kleju on 27 August and French B-Girl San Andrea on 28 August. The journey culminated on 29 August with the final Breaking The Walls performance, bringing the young participants together on stage.
The event celebrated the project’s two-year European journey, highlighting the importance of breaking as a tool for personal development, mental well-being, and intercultural exchange.
