Frieda Frost is a breaking trainer at Breaking The Walls
Friederike “Frieda” Frost is a German B-girl, choreographer, and leading scholar in hip-hop and breaking, bridging professional dance and academic research.
William Smiles is a breaking trainer at Breaking The Walls
William John Henry Smiles, also known as Bboy Willastr8, is an Australian breaker recognized internationally. He began dancing in 1999 and has nearly three decades of experience in the scene.
Andrea Mondoloni is a breaking trainer at Breaking The Walls
Bgirl San Andrea is a French international professional breaker, known for her sharp, dynamic footwork and solid technique.
Paola Castagno is a Dance Movement Therapist at Breaking The Walls
Paola Castagno works as an independent professional consultant as a Dance Movement Therapist, focusing on body-, emotional-, and relational-related distress, providing individual interventions with children, adolescents, and adults.
Tomasz Kuliś is a breaking trainer at Breaking The Walls
Tomasz “Kleju” Kuliś (born 1989) is a world-renowned Polish B-Boy, celebrated for his exceptional musicality, unique movement, iconic curly hairstyle, and sunglasses.
Breaking The Walls Reaches Portugal: Open Workshops and Global Exchange in Porto
During The World Battle 2025 in Porto, the Breaking The Walls project hosted open workshops on hip-hop breaking with Willstr8 and mental training sessions with Dr. Isabelle Tay, offering young dancers a unique space for growth, cultural exchange, and psychological development.
EU-funded project Breaking The Walls restarts in 2026 with the first major event in Italy, 19–22 March
Brussels, 19/02/2025 – The 2026 timeline of the EU-funded project Breaking The Walls, first announced in early December, officially kicks off with its first major event in Alba, Piedmont, Italy: ALBAttle 2026. “ALBAttle will be one of the four flagship events of this year within the European project Breaking The Walls, funded by the European…
Scrolling, Stress, and Self-Expression: How Dance Helps Gen Z Cope
Gen Z is the first generation to grow up fully immersed in algorithm-driven digital environments. Social media platforms are no longer just tools for communication, they are ecosystems designed to maximize attention, engagement, and emotional response. Infinite scrolling, constant notifications, and performance-based validation systems have reshaped how young people experience identity, connection, and self-worth. This…
The Psychological Benefits of Breakdance for Gen Z
In the modern landscape of social media, Generation Z faces a psychological paradox. While they are the most “connected” generation in history, they simultaneously report record levels of isolation, anxiety, and digital overstimulation. The constant pressure of the curated self—the need to maintain a digital persona that is always polished and performative—often leads to emotional…
Mental Health of Gen Z in the Age of Social Media: How Dance Movement Therapy Can Play a Role
Gen Z is the first generation to grow up fully immersed in social media. Platforms designed for connection have become spaces of comparison, performance, and constant evaluation. Likes, comments, and views often function as markers of self-worth, shaping how young people see themselves and how safe they feel expressing who they really are. While Gen…
How Dancing Helped Improve My Mental Wellbeing
Two stories that tell us why Dance Movement Therapy Matters to Gen Z so much Gen Z is coming of age in a world defined by constant connectivity, rapid change, and ongoing uncertainty. While social media, remote work, and digital culture offer new opportunities, they also bring intense social pressure, comparison, and emotional overload. Many…
What Is Dance Movement Therapy and Why It Can Help Improve Gen Z’s Mental Health
Generation Z is growing up in a context of digital transformation and global uncertainty, facing high levels of anxiety and post-pandemic isolation. Traditional mental therapies don’t always meet their needs. Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) offers a body-centered alternative, helping young people process emotions and stress through movement. The European project “BREAKing THE WALLS” combines DMT…
Growth, Awareness, and Connection: The Breaking The Walls Project Continues in Slovakia”
During the Youth Is The Future Camp and Outbreak Europe 2025 in Banská Bystrica, the Breaking The Walls project continued its development with workshops on dance, psychology, and mental training, including a session led by Dr. Isabelle Tay. Over 150 dancers joined a collective reflection on talent, success, and fame.
In L’Aquila, Italy, the First Training Meeting of the International Project
In May 2025, L’Aquila hosted the first international training meeting of the Check The Style event, where young dancers engaged in workshops with experts Willstr8 and Frieda Frost. The event emphasized breaking, mental training, emotional growth, and community building. Participants explored their emotions and motivations through dance, fostering connections among themselves. Live interviews and a…
Launched Breaking the Walls: The New Eu-funded Project That Proposes Breaking as a Tool for Personal Growth
The initiative aims to support Gen Z’s mental health with events in three European countries, proposing a combination of breaking with mental coaching. Brussels, 30.11.2026 – In today’s digital age, young Europeans seem to face growing pressures arising from online comparison and post-pandemic isolation, negatively impacting their emotional well-being and social relationships. In this context…
Building the Crew, Sharing the Vision: Double-Header Friday in Alba
Friday, 21 March 2025, unfolded as a two-part celebration of collaboration at BE-STREET Alba. The afternoon opened with a one-hour breaking workshop led by international mentor Willstr8, who brought together the core Breaking the Walls dancers from BE-STREET and Check the Style and a handful of guest breakers eager to join the creative journey. From…
Inside the Studio: First Intensive with Willstr8
On Thursday night, 20 March, Breaking the Walls shifted from theory to sweat as international mentor Willstr8 led the project’s first closed-door training session. The two-hour workshop brought together five core dancers—chosen to travel to every European residency—and five local alternates who will join only the home-base events in Alba. What happened The core five…
Breaking the Walls Hit the Airwaves on Radio Alba
On Thursday evening, 20 March, Radio Alba devoted a prime 30-minute slot to Breaking the Walls. From 18:00 to 18:30 host Andrea Vico welcomed a quartet of BtW dancers fresh from their Inner Growth Labs, international mentor Willstr8, and two project coordinators. What followed was a rapid-fire mix of beats, stories and big-picture vision that…
Rapping the Rise of Skateboarding: Words on Wheels Workshop
On Wednesday 19 March, BE-STREET Alba turns into a freestyle classroom where language, rhythm and sport history collide. From 18:15 to 19:30 we’ll run a RAP TOUR–style lab that uses lyrics and meter to unlock new knowledge—this time the story behind the Olympic sport of skateboarding. Working over a classic 4/4 beat, participants will break…
Breaking Life on the Big Screen: How Olympic Breakers Train Mind & Soul
As we guide young dancers through Breaking the Walls, we want them to encounter real stories from the front lines of elite breaking. That’s why we’re screening the International Olympic Committee’s new docu-series “B-Boys and B-Girls Take the Spotlight | Breaking Life, Road to Paris 2024.” Across four short films—following three women and one man—it…
Breaking the Walls Kicks Off in Porto: Building Bridges Before Breaking Beats
Delegates from Italy, Slovakia and Portugal met face-to-face for the first time, turning months of online planning into concrete action. Over two intense days they aligned the 2025 activity calendar, approved safeguarding guidelines and mapped out workshops, residencies and outreach that will move fifteen young breakers across Europe.From empowering young breaking dancers to connecting communities…
BREAKing The Walls 