At The Beacon, Dance Classes Now Come With Coffee and Community

Cruise into The Beacon, a space founded and run by local breakdancing members of the Massive Monkees crew, and you're greeted by chill beats in a bright open space with bold murals. Whether or not you check out their dance class offerings, ranging from breakdancing to house to soul line, you can grab a coffee, acai bowl, or spam musubi at their new Freshh Cafe Eats and Beats. The cafe is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Brysen Angeles, founder of the Massive Monkees and The Beacon, said his life became devoted to hip-hop culture at 15, when he started learning about breakdancing and the values that go along with the art form. More than three decades later, his life is centered around operating The Beacon studio and engaging with the dance community. He said opening Freshh Cafe is just the latest step in his hip-hop journey.

"It's a valuable service offering something useful — healthy food — so that people can continue doing the things they're in the space to do: dance," said Angeles. "You also can't make a ton of money selling dance classes. The numbers don't pencil out financially. Freshh Cafe is a way to become more sustainable for the long-term."

Angeles is a founding member of Massive Monkees, a local crew that began in 1999 and is celebrated for winning coveted international breakdancing world championships. He first opened The Beacon in 2013, which hosted dance classes and events in the Chinatown International District (CID) until it closed in 2020 when the community practiced and shared breaking moves in parks due to the COVID-19 shutdown. In 2022, Angeles and two other crewmembers opened a second iteration of The Beacon just southeast of Rainier Avenue South and South Dearborn Street.

Angeles said his mother is Japanese, so he grew up with foods like onigiri (rice mixed with seasonings and wrapped with nori or dried seaweed), which is on the Freshh menu alongside furikake toast as well as fruit and veggie smoothies. Rodericko Francisco, another co-owner of the shop, has added pastries from Golden Wheat Bakery.

Francisco and Angeles grew up in Southeast Seattle and danced their way through the halls of Franklin High School. They learned hip-hop through an after-school program by DVS Crew in the mid-'90s at Jefferson Community Center. Massive Monkees formed when two local rival crews, M.A.S.S.I.V.E. and the Untouchable Style Monkees, came together and won the national 1999 B-Boy Summit in Los Angeles and the 2004 World B-Boy Championship at Wembley Stadium in the U.K. The crew is known for explosive and artful moves.

Having been in breakdancing for over 30 years, Francisco has navigated how to pursue his passion — dance — while making a living on his own terms. He's a managing real-estate broker and general contractor in addition to running The Beacon and Freshh Cafe.

"If you learn your true self, and you're true to yourself, if you don't let it go, you're gonna find a way. You can build a career, and still be passionate about dance."

Hocine Jouini, the third co-owner from the Massive Monkees crew, grew up in Nantes, France, and is of Tunisian descent. He had been breaking in France as a teen then moved to Seattle and joined Massive Monkees in 2008 and won the 2012 R16 World B-Boy Masters Championship in Korea with the crew. A YouTube video of the breakdancing battle is closing in on 100 million views. Jouini taught classes at The Beacon in the CID and worked toward the transition to the new space with Francisco and Angeles.

"Massive Monkees is a huge part of why I'm here," said Jouini. "Even though I have a corporate gig, I invest myself in the community that gave me so much."

The Beacon receives financial support from the Seattle Office of Economic Development's Tenant Improvement Program, which paid for physical renovations to the studio, like making the space ADA accessible. The cultural funding agency 4Culture helps with costs such as rent, equipment, staff, and The Beacon's scholarship program.

Dance classes are held in the studio's two large spaces in the evenings. Open sessions are held after many classes, which allow anyone in the community to watch. Angeles refers to The Beacon as a collective of dancers who share their knowledge and style with the community. "Decades ago, people often focused on their dance style, where now people are crossing over and learning multiple styles of dance," said Angeles.

In the coming months, the studio will host Freshh Cafe's grand opening and breakdancing battles with live DJs and performers for The Beacon's anniversary in March. During the last weekend in May, The Beacon will celebrate Massive Monkees Day by inviting some of the best breakers in the world to perform.

"It's amazing what a group of friends from Seattle and the surrounding area have been able to do for this long," said Angeles. "There've been ups and downs, and there's turmoil, but truly at the heart of everything from where we're at now and where we've been: We're just a group of friends who like breaking."

The Community at The Beacon

Anna Banana Freeze (ABF) is the instructor of "Mini Breaks," a breakdancing class for children ages 2 to 5. They started experimenting with teaching breaking moves to this age group in 2007.

"I saw a new girl in high school practicing with all the guys that usually practice," said ABF. "Before that, I never looked twice at breaking. I was never interested. But when I saw her, I wanted to do it too." This led to 20-plus years as a breaker-in-training, performing, competing, and teaching.

Sejal Soni lives in Beacon Hill and brought her 2 1/2-year-old son to a class because her son will dance whenever there's music.

"Most dance classes I've seen start at 3-plus, and they seem a lot more regimented. So I was looking for something that integrated the dance and the music. He loved it," said Soni.

Taking her son to classes inspired Soni to take the adult house-dance class.

"It seemed like a really welcoming, sweet environment here. We'd like to be a bigger part of this community and meet more people."

White Center mom Rusna Walker and two of her three sons were enjoying smoothies after the Mini Breaks class. It was her first time attending, saying it was recommended by a friend of her 7-year-old.

ABF, the instructor, is "really good at making everyone feel included, and breaking down some moves that the kids can try. Really good energy," said Walker.

Whitney Weigum was at The Beacon with her 3-year-old Bennett, who she said loves to dance to music. "He's been trying moves that look a lot like breakdancing so I figured I would show him a video, and he decided he really wanted to try it," said Weigum.

Editors' Note: Faces of minors in the background of some photos were blurred to protect their privacy.

Yuko Kodama is the News editor for the South Seattle Emerald. She is passionate about the critical role community media plays in our information landscape and loves stories that connect us to each other and our humanity. Her weekly "South End Life" column spotlights the stories of neighbors and community members that weave through the South End.