BRKFST
BODYSTRAIN
JUL 19 | 1 PM
Olympic Sculpture Park | 2901 Western Ave | free admission
Presented through the Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation
In partnership with Seattle Art Museum
Featuring participants in the Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation Professional Performance Cohort
BODYSTRAIN | About the work “Making something out of nothing” is an adage that is revered in Hip Hop. Created by marginalized individuals in communities deprived of economic and socio-political resources, breaking was developed out of necessity for individual recognition and respect through experimentation intrinsic to the self-taught nature of the form. A once contaminated, post-industrial area riddled with blatant disregard for humans, wildlife and natural resources, the vision and construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park parallels hip hop’s adage in creating an environment built on pain to reveal beauty.
BRKFST Dance Company will create a site-specific work at Olympic Sculpture Park exploring the act of decaying and what then comes to fruition. Through activities centered around collaboration, partnering, isolation and duration, participants will generate material rooted in the movement and values of breaking, while incorporating elements of their own vocabulary. Breaking vernacular will be drawn from the morning classes where dancers will learn fundamentals including, toprock, go-downs, footwork, powermoves and freezes. Historical context will also be integrated into each lesson as it plays a crucial role into how and why the dance is performed.
Breaking movement relies heavily on balance, weight bearing, strength and momentum. These qualities will be explored within the creative process, outside of their utilitarian context and incorporated into building human sculptures, which will meticulously become undone. Originating on the streets of New York, breaking holds the essence of adaptability to surroundings. As dancers experience the differing ground surfaces spanning Olympic Park, they will learn how to modify choreographic material to enhance their relationship with the land, exploring intentionality and emotional complexity in the movement created.
ARTIST BIOS
BRKFST DANCE COMPANY
JOSEPH ‘MN JOE’ TRAN
LISA ‘MONA LISA’ BERMAN
SEATTLE FESTIVAL OF DANCE + IMPROVISATION
The Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation is a vibrant month-long immersion in the Seattle dance community, and a chance to explore with dance practitioners experimenting at the leading edge of dance technique, creative practices, and dance improvisation. Grounded in SFD+I’s nearly 30 years of community-building and intergenerational collaboration, this festival is a gateway for new dancers to connect with artists making work in the Seattle dance and improvisation community, and a chance for Seattle-based artists to train and research with internationally renowned artists.
During our Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation, Velocity also presents work by local and visiting faculty members. These presentations range from work-in-process sharings to larger scale productions, and are often one-night-only presentations. We also commission artists to work with participants to create new work that is shared during the festival.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
The Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation is made possible with generous support from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and the King County Festival and Events Fund. It is also supported by our community of individual donors, community partners, and arts advocates. If you would like to join this community of sponsors, please contact Erin O’Reilly at erin@velocitydancecenter.org.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
12th Ave Arts is fully accessible for wheelchairs and walkers. The lobby and bathrooms are at street level, and seating is available without the need for an elevator or stairs. The venue is also equipped with an Assistive Listening Device.
BRKFST Dance Company
Founded in 2014 and based in St. Paul, Minnesota, BRKFST Dance Company utilizes breaking, hip hop’s first dance form, to create works that are intellectually stimulating and physically rigorous. Combining breaking with abstraction and contemporary dance vernacular, the company seeks original modes of artistic expression. BRKFST’s egalitarian and choreographic collaboration is rooted in the hip hop adage, “Each One Teach One:” regardless of class, race, experience, age or gender, everyone remains both teacher and student. Their lineage stems from breaking and hip hop culture: earning respect from battles and embodying inclusivity by passing down their knowledge to the new generation. The lived experiences of this collective of artists, who identify as working class, queer and BIPOC, inform their compositions.
BRKFST performs regionally premiering work in Minneapolis, Minnesota at: The Walker Arts Center (2024), Orchestra Hall with The MN Orchestra (2023 & 2022) Southern Theater (2021 & 2017) and The Cowles Center (2019). They have toured nationally and internationally at: Vancouver International Dance Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia (2025), Schaeffer Theater at Bates College in Maine (2025), John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin (2024), Civic Theater with Des Moines Symphony in Iowa (2024), Belding Theater with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut (2022) and Dance2Connect Hip Hop Festival in Dublin, Ireland (2022). Their film Dreamers (2019) was deemed an official selection in 11 international film festivals receiving the Grand Jury Award (In/Motion Festival 2021) and Best Experimental Film (Tirana Int. Film Festival 2020).
BRKFST has worked with dancers teaching breaking technique and BRKFST methodology as well as setting repertoire and original work at Vancouver International Dance Festival in B.C. (2025), Bates College in ME (2025), Princeton University in NJ (2024), Winona State University in MN (2024), St. Olaf College in MN (2023), Carleton College in MN (2022), D2C Hip Hop Festival in Ireland (2022), Bates Dance Festival in ME (2022) and the University of MN (2021 & 2020).
BRKFST Dance Company accolades include:
2025 & 2024 Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) Flexible Support Grant
2024 Caroline Hearst Choreographer-In-Residence at Princeton University & Creative Residency at The National Center for Choreography – Akron (NCCAkron)
2023 National Performance Network Creations and Development and Storytelling Grants
2022 New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project Production Grant
2022, 2021, 2020 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support Grant
2021 Mid Atlantic Arts USArtists International Grant
2019 MRAC Arts Activities Grant.
*Photo by Courtney Perry
Lisa ‘MonaLisa’ Berman
Lisa ‘MonaLisa’ Berman is the Co-Founder of BRKFST Dance Company. She is the recipient of the 2019 Artist Initiative Minnesota State Arts Board Grant producing Dreamers, an experimental dance film choreographed and performed by members of BRKFST and chosen as official selection in 11 international film festivals, 2016 McKnight Dancer Fellowship and 2008 Jerome Travel and Study Grant. Berman has set repertoire and original choreographic works on dancers at Bates Dance Festival in ME, Dance2Connect Hip Hop Festival in Dublin, Ireland, The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Carleton College, St. Olaf College, and Hamline University in Minnesota. As a solo performance artist and with BRKFST Dance Company, Berman has toured nationally and internationally performing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Connecticut, Florida, Washington DC, New York, the Netherlands, Ireland and British Columbia.
*Photo by Adam Adolphus
Joseph ‘MN Joe’ Tran
Joseph ‘MN Joe’ Tran is the Co-Founder of BRKFST Dance Company and a former member of the world-renowned breaking crew Knuckleheads Cali, respected for their uniquely intricate and non-traditional methods of movement. Tran is the recipient of the 2025 MSAB Creative Individuals Grant, 2025 Base Residency in Seattle, WA, 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship for Dance and 2019 McKnight Dancer Fellowship. He is known for his signature moves which have earned him multiple first-place victories in breaking competitions across the U.S., Europe, and South America. Tran has choreographed multiple original works which have premiered at various venues such as The Cowles Center, Southern Theater, and Orchestra Hall with the Minnesota Orchestra. He has toured internationally to Ireland for Dance2Connect Festival and nationally to Hartford, CT with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Tran has set repertoire with BRKFST at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Carleton College, and Bates Dance Festival. From 2007-2019, he was a dancer and choreographer for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves “First Avenue Breakers.”
*Photo by Adam Adolphus