Beyond the Dance Floor

General Santos City, Philippines- “Nakita ko that one day magiging malaki ang breakdance at mangangailangan ng breakdancers ang bawat grupo. Kaya sabi ko kailangan ko magparami ng mga breakdancers.”

This was a big realization of Hosen Ngilay around 20 years ago, he was fresh out of dance school at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, among others, where he started his formal dance education at only 18 years old. From that point forward, Hosen made it his life goal to pursue breakdance as an art, advocacy, and so much more.

The first breakdance school in the Philippines

The Breaking School of Gensan, founded and directed by Hosen Ngilay, is a learning institute providing a structured format for students who are interested to learn breakdancing. The learning set up is a combination of interactive dance classes and lectures teaching the disciplines, safety, courtesy, art, and techniques of breakdancing.

“Gumawa tayo ng dalawang module, primary breaking, secondary breaking. Ito yung guide na parang libro kung paano magturo ng breaking properly, ang gina isip is ang safety ng mga bata. Ginawaan natin ng sistema kung paano ang body of the class, ang pedagogy, may courtesy after the class, pati ang discipline gi-arrange natin yun para hindi siya mag mukhang nasa streets lang.” Hosen expounds on what the breaking school is all about.

It has also become a mobile school system through its partnership with organizations and communities with enough students interested to learn breakdancing and a dedicated space for the classes. The breaking school provides the coaches, learning modules, and classroom management of the entire dance program. At the moment, there are schools in General Santos and Butuan Cities that started their very own breakdancing classes in partnership with the Breaking School of Gensan. This breakdance learning format is the first of its kind in the entire Philippines.

Why is this important?

Breakdancing was used to be seen as a gangster and dangerous activity because of its origin and nature, which is a dance style born out of the streets, with unconventional dance movements and techniques, and rough dance battles as means of competition. These negative images might have tainted the real beauty and art of breakdancing.

“Kaya gumawa tayo ng venue for breakdancers na sa loob talaga ng studio at ginawan ng module, may discipline, at sports talaga yung approach. Para yung mga parents na may anak na gusto mag breaking, maka feel sila na safe ang anak nila. Ito na yung unang hakbang para magiba yung mga (negative) na perception nila dito.”

He also explained why it is important that the government and Filipino people accept and support sports that are more appropriate for Filipino athletes compared to other popular sports that have height advantages. “Ang mga nanalo sa sayaw sa labas is mga Pilipino, meaning ang laki ng chance na may pagasa talaga ang pinoy sa breaking…lalo na ngayon na Olympics sports na siya. Ang kulang na lang is yung acceptance natin mga Pilipino kung saang sports talaga tayo bagay.”

The 2-decade Journey

Hosen started his dance career as a member of the multiawarded contemporary dance company called the Teatro Ambahanon back in 2005. His core dance discipline is ballet, and became a scholar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Ballet Center Cebu, and Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges.

“We were given the freedom to choose our art direction after ballet school, and I chose breakdance because nobody else was doing it here at that time.” Hosen took this opportunity to lead the breakdance scene in General Santos City by forming and training dance communities, one of these is the Gensan Bboys Community with members coming from the entire Mindanao archipelago.

“Gumawa ako ng community wayback 2005, ang Gensan Bboys Community. Nagstart kami sa barangay lang sa plaza lang, nagtrain ako ng mga breakdancers from Tacurong, Marbel, Saranggani, South Cotabato. We had members from region 12 mga 100 plus...hanggang sa umabot ng 20 years ang journey na to. Kahit na wala tayong pera, kahit sarili kong gastos patuloy pa rin tayo.”

Safekeeping an Art and Culture

“Ang breaking naman ay doon galing (streets), pero dahil naging sports na siya, hindi naman sa nawala na ang essence ng culture na yun. Gi-safeguard lang natin ang kultura...gumawa tayo ng programa na magdevelop ng mga bagong athletes na magsunod sa atin para naman may sustainability ang programa. ”

There may be many ways to keep an art and a culture alive, Hosen Ngilay defined and made his own way of doing this to the breakdance culture in the country. By starting a breakdance learning system, he and his team of coaches are now working hard to produce as many breakdancers as they can. Producing breakdancers to represent the country in global breakdance competitions like the Olympics, is not only a dream, but now a greater possibility.

Today, the Breaking School of Gensan actively partners with public and private schools in Mindanao, training students in breakdance classes. Hope is high that new breed of breakdancers will carry on the art and culture that Hosen and many Bboys and Bgirls in Mindanao truly love.

A breakdance workshop participated by students from public schools in General Santos City on August 14, 2025.

Hosen with the Gensan Bboys Community training in a public plaza during the group’s early days.

Watch this short film to learn more

The future of Mindanao’s Breakdance Culture is Beyond the Dance Floor

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