Recycling education can easily become another poster on a wall or another lesson that children forget as soon as they leave the room.

We wanted to approach it differently.

The original project was designed around non-formal education, using performance and art to help children understand waste reduction, environmental damage and household recycling. Household items became props, recyclable materials became part of games and young people created superhero artwork around recycling.

We also mixed recycling activities with movement and Breaking.

Young people could race to put different materials into the correct recycling containers, take part in challenges, create artwork and learn through doing rather than simply being told what to do.

That is still an important part of how Powered by Hip Hop works today.

We meet people through something they enjoy first, then use that engagement to open up conversations and learning.

Reaching children across St Helens

The project worked with a range of schools and community organisations across the borough.

Schools involved included:

• Wargrave Primary School
• St Mary’s Catholic Junior School
• Broad Oak Primary School
• Queens Park Primary School
• Rivington Primary School
• Garswood Primary School

Activities also took place through Parr Library, Chester Lane Library, Thatto Heath Crusaders, Newton Boys & Girls Club, Young Carers, community workshops and the Summer Streets Festival.

The original target was to reach 400 young people.

We exceeded it.

By the end of the project, 414 young people had been directly engaged and 1,262 people had been reached overall.

13 tonnes diverted from landfill

Participation numbers are useful, but they only tell part of the story.

The final project report recorded:

13 tonnes diverted from landfill.

For a relatively small community project with a budget of £6,675, that remains one of the strongest measurable environmental impacts in our organisation’s history.

UC Crew was selected as the St Helens district project in a heavily oversubscribed Community Fund round, meeting the 60-point minimum score required for projects receiving an award.

It showed that creative youth and community work could contribute to something much bigger than attendance at an activity.

It could contribute to real changes in what happened to waste.

When young people took recycling home

Some of the feedback from the project has stayed with us just as much as the statistics.

After one of the workshops, pupils from Broad Oak later recognised a workshop leader at a local Race for Life event.

They told her that they had remembered what they had been taught and were now recycling at home.

A parent from Wargrave also reported that her family had started recycling following the school workshop. Her son had taken responsibility for recycling as one of his weekly chores.

That is exactly the kind of impact we wanted.

A young person attends a workshop.

They understand why recycling matters.

Then they go home and start questioning what their family throws away.

One child can influence a whole household.

For funders and organisations looking at environmental behaviour change, that is an important part of the story.

The young person isn’t only the beneficiary.

They can also become the person carrying the message into their family.

Helping improve recycling in St Helens

The project took place during a period when recycling rates and household waste were major issues across St Helens.

UC Crew was part of that wider effort.

Our role wasn’t collecting household waste or operating recycling services.

Our role was different.

We helped make recycling interesting enough for children and families to engage with it.

The final report recorded waste being diverted from landfill, young people being directly educated about recycling and examples of behaviour continuing at home afterwards.

That gives us confidence in saying that UC Crew helped improve recycling in St Helens.

And while 2014/15 remains the year in which we recorded our biggest direct recycling impact, it wasn’t the end of our environmental work.

MORE THAN A DECADE OF RECYCLING PROJECTS IN ST HELENS

Environmental projects continued to appear throughout the years that followed.

The subjects and activities have changed, but the basic idea has remained the same:

Use creativity, movement and practical activity to help people engage with environmental issues.

Together for Our Planet – 2021

In 2021 we received Together for Our Planet funding.

This project focused more heavily on reuse and repair.

Children, families, schools and adults were encouraged to look at materials differently through arts activities, games and entertainment.

One of the highlights was our Halloween recycling activities, where reused and recycled materials became costumes and creative resources.

Rather than always asking:

What do we need to buy?

we encouraged people to ask:

What have we already got that we could use again?

Recycled materials in our holiday activities

Over the last three years, recycled and reused materials have also become a regular part of our holiday activity clubs.

Cardboard, containers, scrap materials, old resources and unwanted items can become:

• artwork
• props
• games
• themed activities
• creative challenges

For us, this is important because sustainability doesn’t always need to be delivered as a stand-alone environmental workshop.

It can become part of how an organisation works every day.

Changing our own awards

We have also started looking at our own practices.

Instead of always buying conventional plastic trophies and awards, we have replaced some of them with awards made from recycled spray-paint cans or wood.

They are different.

They have a story behind them.

And they reinforce the same message we give young people:

something doesn’t have to be new to have value.

Pollinators and wildflowers across St Helens

During 2024 and 2025, our environmental work expanded beyond recycling and waste.

Through our St Helens pollination and wildflower projects, we helped raise awareness of protecting habitats for pollinating insects.

The projects also created or contributed to wildflower areas in local parks and community spaces across St Helens.

Again, the approach was practical.

Rather than only talking about protecting the environment, young people and communities could actually contribute to improving it.

Parkour, litter picking and reverse vandalism

Environmental action has also become part of our work in Parr.

Over the last two years, our Parkour in the Park projects have combined physical activity with litter picking and reverse vandalism.

Young people aren’t simply being asked to respect their local parks.

They are helping improve them.

That might mean collecting litter.

It might mean cleaning or restoring something affected by vandalism.

It might mean helping turn an overlooked area into somewhere the community can feel more positive about.

We have found that pairing environmental action with something young people genuinely want to take part in can create a very different level of engagement.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR FUTURE RECYCLING PROJECTS IN ST HELENS

What makes Powered by Hip Hop different isn’t that we claim to know more about waste than specialist recycling organisations. Our strength is knowing how to get children, young people and families involved.

We use Hip Hop culture, movement, art, games and youth work as the route into environmental learning — and we have more than a decade of experience testing that approach in St Helens.

And we have been testing that approach in St Helens for more than a decade.

Our 2014/15 project gives us the clearest measurable evidence:

414 young people directly engaged.

1,262 people reached.

13 tonnes diverted from landfill.

Families reporting that they were recycling at home after taking part.

Since then, the work has continued through recycling, reuse, repair, recycled art, pollinator projects, wildflower planting, litter picking and environmental improvement.

So when Powered by Hip Hop talks about developing new recycling or environmental projects, we are not starting from scratch.

We are building on more than a decade of learning about what engages children, young people and families.

What could we do next?

We believe there is still a huge opportunity to combine environmental education with activities people genuinely want to take part in.

That could include:

recycling and reuse workshops in schools, creative environmental projects, recycled art, community clean-ups, litter reduction, environmental activities for families, holiday programmes and projects combining movement with looking after local spaces.

The exact activity can change.

The principle remains the same.

Get people involved first. Make the learning memorable. Give them something practical they can take home or use in their community.

Our biggest recycling impact may have started more than a decade ago.

But the lessons from it are still shaping what Powered by Hip Hop does today.

And we think there is much more we can do next.

The challenge hasn’t disappeared. St Helens’ current Resources & Waste Strategy runs to 2030, with recycling, reuse and the circular economy continuing to form part of the borough’s approach to waste.

Our role can be helping turn those bigger environmental ambitions into activities that children, young people and families actually want to take part in.

Breaking, also widely known as Break Dancing, is different from a Street Dance or Hip Hop dance class, based mainly on learning choreography.

Young people still learn important foundations and techniques, but they are not expected to spend the whole class standing in a line and copying exactly the same routine.

Instead, they are given the freedom to explore different moves, make their own choices and develop a style that feels like their own.

One student might enjoy footwork. Another may be interested in freezes, power moves, music or creating their own combinations.

The aim is not for every young person to look the same.

We want students to understand the foundations, discover their own strengths and become the best version of themselves.

More Than a Weekly Dance Class

Our classes also have a strong community atmosphere.

Students practice together, encourage each other and celebrate when someone finally achieves a move they have been working on.

The coach is not the only person who can share knowledge.

Young people are given opportunities to demonstrate, explain moves and help other students. Someone who has only recently learned a skill may understand exactly what another beginner is finding difficult.

This creates an environment where students learn from the coaches and from each other.

As their confidence grows, they begin to realise that they have knowledge worth sharing.

Taking Break Dance Skills Back to Formby

During their time attending classes in St Helens, the young person began using their Breaking skills outside the weekly sessions.

They took part in dance at school and began showing friends some of the moves they had learned.

This became an important part of their journey.

Instead of always feeling as though they were trying to keep up with their friends, they now had a skill that other young people wanted them to share.

They could demonstrate a move, explain how they had learned it and encourage their friends to have a go.

The skills learned in St Helens travelled home to Formby with them.

For that young person, Breaking became an opportunity to lead.

Learning About Hip Hop Culture

Coaches don’t just teach Breaking as a collection of moves without explaining where they came from.

Students are introduced to the values and history of Hip Hop and the stories of the leaders and pioneers who helped develop the culture.

They learn that Hip Hop includes:

• Breaking
• DJing
• Rap and MCing
• Graffiti art
• Knowledge and community

Young people may also have opportunities to try these different skills through workshops, events and community projects.

This helps them understand that Hip Hop is more than a style of dance.

It is a culture built around creativity, freedom, identity, sharing knowledge and bringing people together.

From Student to Young Leader

Leadership does not always mean being the loudest person in the room or standing at the front of a large group.

For a young person, leadership can begin with showing a friend a move, encouraging someone who is struggling or having the confidence to demonstrate something new.

Breaking creates these moments naturally.

Students begin by watching and learning. As their knowledge develops, they begin contributing ideas, supporting newer students and passing their skills on to other people.

The learner gradually becomes someone others can learn from.

For this young person, travelling from Formby to attend Break Dance classes in St Helens led to much more than learning physical moves.

They found a community, developed confidence and discovered that they had something valuable to teach.

Sometimes the greatest sign of progress is not simply being able to perform a move.

It is becoming confident enough to help someone else learn it.

Looking for Break Dance Classes in Formby?

From our research their are currently no Break Dance teachers and coaches who provide weekly Break Dance classes in Formby.

Our specialist Breaking classes take place in St Helens, with young people travelling from different parts of Merseyside and the wider North West to attend.

Families searching for Break Dance classes near Formby can find our current class locations, ages and times on the Powered by Hip Hop website.

Do You Remember Break Dancing in Formby?

We would also like to discover more about the history of Breaking, Break Dancing and body popping in Formby and Sefton.

Were there dancers or crews practicing in the town during the 1980s, 1990s or later?

We would particularly like to hear about:

• Break Dancing in Formby schools or youth clubs
• Local dancers, crews and nicknames
• Talent shows, discos, battles or performances
• Photographs, flyers, newspaper cuttings or videos

Contact Powered by Hip Hop if you have a name, photograph or memory that could help us record the history of Break Dance in Formby.

This research started with a memory shared with Powered by Hip Hop in 2021.

A mum from Liverpool contacted us after seeing one of our heritage call-outs. Her son had been part of Electro Warriors, a Liverpool Break Dance and Body Popping crew from the 1980s.

She remembered the everyday details around the scene: trying to bring home sheets of hardboard from Rapid Hardware on Renshaw Street, buying odd pieces of lino for dancing, and feeding hungry young dancers with butties, crisps and burgers.

She also remembered something very important to this story.

When the Liverpool International Garden Festival opened in 1984, Electro Warriors were sponsored by JD Sports to perform there.

That memory gives us a strong lead.

Now we are trying to find the missing evidence around it: the programme listing, daily guide, newspaper clipping, photo, video, flyer, or another person who remembers being there.

“All we needed was a Ghetto Blaster and a sheet of lino”

The memory shared with us also gives a powerful picture of Liverpool’s early Break Dance and Body Popping scene.

It was about music, style, movement, crews and young people making something happen for themselves.

There were challenges in youth clubs, dancing on the street, busking for pennies, graffiti appearing across the city, and dancers creating their own look through clothes, trainers and new Electro sounds.

One line from the memory captures the whole feeling of that time:

“All we needed was a Ghetto Blaster and a sheet of lino and we were good to go!”

That is why this history matters.

Before social media, smartphones or online tutorials, young people were learning from each other. They were building confidence, friendships and identity through dance.

Some of the Liverpool crews remembered from that time include Street Force, Eastwood Rockers, Body Shock and Electro Warriors

We would love to hear from anyone connected to those crews, or anyone who remembers seeing them perform.

Why the Garden Festival matters to Liverpool Break Dance history

The Liverpool International Garden Festival was one of the biggest events in Liverpool in the 1980s.

Many people remember the gardens, the Yellow Submarine, the railway, the crowds and the family days out. But the Garden Festival was also full of entertainment.

There were stages, performances, music, theatre, dance, school groups, competitions and daily events across the site.

That is why this lead matters.

A Break Dance or Body Popping performance would not have been out of place at the Garden Festival. It was exactly the kind of public event where young performers, local groups and new culture could be seen by large crowds.

We are now trying to find out where this performance happened, who organised it, whether other crews were involved, and whether it appeared in a daily guide, programme, newspaper listing or photo.

What we have found so far

So far, we have several pieces of evidence that point in the same direction.

We have a first-hand family memory that Electro Warriors performed at the Liverpool International Garden Festival and were sponsored by JD Sports.

We have found Garden Festival material showing that the site had a large entertainment programme, with stages, performances, school groups, dance, music and competitions.

We have also found evidence of young people and school groups performing as part of the official Garden Festival programme.

A YouTube video connected to a Dovedale Junior School International Garden Festival performance also appears to show young people using Body Popping and Break Dance-influenced movement between 49 minutes 48 seconds and 52 minutes.

This does not prove there was a formal competition, but it does show that these dance styles were visible among young people in Liverpool around the time of the 1984 Garden Festival.

What we still need is the missing piece: a programme listing, daily entertainment guide, newspaper clipping, photo, video, flyer or another memory that confirms exactly what happened.

What we still need to find

We are now looking for anything that can help confirm the details of the Break Dance or Body Popping performance at the Liverpool Garden Festival.

We would especially like to find:

programme pages
daily entertainment guides
newspaper clippings
photos
videos
flyers
posters
tickets
staff passes
scrapbook pages
memories of the stage or location
names of dancers and crews
details of the JD Sports sponsorship
memories of who organised it
memories of whether it was a competition, showcase or performance

Even a small detail could help.

A name, a date, a stage, a song, a crew, a photo in the background, or a line in an old programme could be the missing piece that helps us document this properly.

Why this history matters

Break Dancing, Body Popping and Hip Hop culture gave many young people something positive to belong to.

It kept people busy.
It built confidence.
It created friendships.
It gave young people a way to express themselves.
It brought people together across different backgrounds.

But a lot of this history was never properly written down.

It lived in people’s memories, family photo albums, old VHS tapes, school magazines, youth club stories, local newspapers and boxes of forgotten flyers.

That is why we are asking now.

If these memories are not collected, they could disappear.

Powered by Hip Hop wants to help preserve this history while people can still share it, so future generations understand that UK Break Dance heritage was built by local people, local crews and young people making something happen in their own communities.

Part of our Breaking heritage project

This research is part of Powered by Hip Hop’s wider UK Break Dance heritage work and our Breaking Heritage Ambassadors project, supported by European Heritage Days.

The support is helping us collect, protect and share memories of Breaking, Break Dancing, Body Popping, Hip Hop, crews, DJs, graffiti, youth clubs and early performances before they are lost.

This call-out is one part of that work. Every memory, photo, programme page or newspaper clipping shared with us can help build a more accurate picture of Liverpool and Merseyside’s early Hip Hop history.

Do you remember Break Dancing at Liverpool Garden Festival 1984?

Were you there?

Did you dance, watch, film or take photos?

Do you remember Electro Warriors, JD Sports, Street Force, Eastwood Rockers or Body Shock?

Did you work at the Garden Festival, visit with your family, perform on one of the stages, or keep any old programmes, guides, photos, tickets or newspaper cuttings?

Powered by Hip Hop would love to hear from you.

You do not need to have the full story. Even a small memory could help us connect the dots.

Please contact us with any memories, names, photos, videos, programme pages or newspaper cuttings.

Email: hello@poweredbyhiphop.org

Together, we can help make sure Liverpool’s Break Dance and Popping history is not lost.

Interested in Working With Powered by Hip Hop?

Powered by Hip Hop CIC delivers Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops, school projects and community activities across St Helens, Prescot and the wider region.

To find out more about our Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops or community projects, please get in touch.

For more updates, follow Powered by Hip Hop on Facebook and Instagram.

European Heritage Days is a joint programme of the Council of Europe and the European Union.

The 2026 European Heritage Days Stories grant scheme invited community-led projects to respond to the theme Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine.

Eight projects were selected from across Europe, with Powered by Hip Hop’s Breaking Heritage Ambassadors Project the only successful project from the UK.

This places the Break Dance heritage of St Helens, the Liverpool City Region and overlooked northern communities alongside other important forms of European history and culture.

It also strengthens Powered by Hip Hop’s position as one of the UK’s leading specialist organisations working in Breaking, Break Dance and Hip Hop heritage

Read the official European Heritage Days funding announcement.

Why Powered by Hip Hop Is Best Placed to Lead This Work

We have not suddenly moved into Hip Hop heritage because funding became available.

We have lived, taught and helped pass on this culture for more than 20 years.

Our journey began in St Helens in 2004 as UC Crew. Since then, we have taught Breaking to different generations, developed teachers and volunteers, organised competitions, supported international youth exchanges and created opportunities for young people to perform, compete and lead.

Learn more about Tom Glynn’s experience in Breaking, teaching and Hip Hop community development.

In 2022, we became Powered by Hip Hop CIC, reflecting our wider work across Hip Hop culture, education, youth work, community development and heritage.

Since 2020, we have also worked with original Breakers, young dancers, community members and St Helens Archive Service to research and publicly share the history of Breaking.

Our Hip Hop heritage work has included recording the memories of original Break Dancers and Hip Hop practitioners, identifying early crews, teachers and youth workers, researching youth clubs and community venues, locating photographs and video footage, and creating public Break Dance heritage displays and events.

We have also brought original pioneers together with today’s young dancers, helping children and young people understand the culture behind the moves they learn.

There are heritage organisations that understand archives.

There are dance organisations that understand Breaking.

Powered by Hip Hop brings both together.

We understand heritage research, youth participation and community storytelling, but we also understand the language, relationships, values and lived experience of Hip Hop culture.

That combination is essential when much of the history has never been written down and can only be found by earning the trust of the people who were there.

What Is the Breaking Heritage Ambassadors Project?

The €10,000 funding will allow us to train young people as Breaking Heritage Ambassadors.

They will not simply attend a heritage project or look at a finished exhibition.

They will help research and create it.

Young people will learn how to:

• interview original Breakers, youth workers and community members;
• record oral histories;
• research archives and newspaper collections;
• identify people, places and dates in old photographs;
• document flyers, clothing, trophies and other artefacts;
• create digital stories and public heritage displays;
• share their findings with other young people;
• connect local Break Dance history with the wider story of Hip Hop.

The project will give young people practical skills in research, communication, photography, digital storytelling and public presentation.

It will also help them understand that they are not simply learning dance moves.

They are continuing a culture passed down through creativity, friendship, mentorship, youth work and community leadership.

The St Helens and Stuttgart Break Dance Connection

A central part of the project is the long-standing Breaking connection between St Helens and its twin town of Stuttgart in Germany.

Breakers from the two communities have been connected since 2008 through performances, competitions, youth exchanges and shared learning.

When international travel stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers from both communities continued supporting one another online by sharing lessons, teaching approaches and movement ideas.

Despite this long relationship, the shared Break Dance history of St Helens and Stuttgart has never been formally documented together.

The Breaking Heritage Ambassadors Project will begin changing that.

Young people will help explore how Breaking developed in both communities, who helped sustain it and how Hip Hop culture created a lasting European relationship between two different places.

Read our full European Heritage Days story about the St Helens and Stuttgart Breaking connection.

Protecting Break Dance History Across the Liverpool City Region

Alongside the St Helens and Stuttgart story, Powered by Hip Hop is developing research into overlooked Break Dance history across the Liverpool City Region.

Our work includes communities in St Helens, Liverpool, Halton, Sefton and Knowsley.

The story of UK Hip Hop does not only belong to major cities or internationally famous artists.

It also belongs to young people who formed crews in smaller communities, practised in youth clubs and passed their knowledge on to friends.

Break Dance History in St Helens

We are researching the original Breakers, crews, youth clubs, teachers, town-centre performances and community events that helped Breaking grow in St Helens from the early 1980s onwards.

This includes connecting the original pioneers of St Helens Break Dancing with the young people continuing the culture today.

Break Dance History in Liverpool

Our developing Liverpool Break Dance research includes local crews, youth culture, performances and major public events.

This includes the role of the 1984 International Garden Festival, where Break Dance crews performed in front of large public audiences, as well as the smaller community spaces where Liverpool Breakers practised and developed.

Read our research into Liverpool Break Dance pioneers the Eastwood Rockers

Break Dance History in Halton

We want to uncover the Break Dance history of Halton, including memories from Widnes, Runcorn and surrounding communities.

We are interested in identifying early dancers, crews, youth clubs, teachers, demonstrations, competitions and the places where young people gathered to practise.

Break Dance History in Sefton

We are seeking stories about Break Dancing across Sefton, including local crews, youth provision, performances and the people who introduced Breaking, body popping and electric boogie to young people in the borough.

Much of this history may still only exist in personal memories, family photographs and local newspaper collections.

Break Dance History in Knowsley

Our work also includes researching Break Dance and Hip Hop heritage in Knowsley, including Prescot and surrounding communities.

We want to understand how Breaking developed through youth clubs, schools, community centres, local dancers and links with neighbouring areas.

Recording Break Dance History in Northern Towns and Villages

Powered by Hip Hop is also researching northern towns and villages where Break Dance history has rarely been formally documented or recorded.

When Break Dancing appeared across the UK during the early and mid-1980s, it travelled far beyond the largest cities.

Young people discovered it through television programmes, music videos, films, touring demonstrations, local discos and friends who had learned moves elsewhere.

Local crews formed and practised in youth clubs, community centres, village halls, schools, shopping precincts, garages and family homes.

Sometimes all they needed was a piece of lino, cardboard or hardboard and enough room to practise.

These local stories are an important part of British Hip Hop history.

Break Dance History in Chorley

We are uncovering how Break Dancing, body popping and electric boogie reached Chorley during the early 1980s.

Our research is looking at the first local dancers and crews, where they practised, how they discovered the culture and what happened after the first national Break Dance craze began to fade.

We are also documenting the teachers and community organisations that later helped introduce Breaking to new generations.

Break Dance History in Wigan

Our research is helping to identify Break Dance teachers, classes, crews, competitions and events connected to Wigan.

It is also showing how dancers moved between neighbouring communities, carrying knowledge and building relationships through teaching, training and battles.

Break Dance History in Warrington

We are collecting information about Warrington Break Dance crews, teachers, venues, practice spaces and competitions.

This includes the different generations that helped keep Breaking active and the people who connected Warrington dancers with the wider UK Breaking scene.

Discover the Breaking journey and teaching legacy of Warrington B-Boy Bov

Break Dance History in Other Northern Communities

We know there are many more stories waiting to be found.

Some towns and villages had established crews, regular training sessions and large public performances.

Others may only have had a small group of friends practicing together for a few years.

Both stories matter.

Our aim is not to claim ownership of every Break Dance story across the North.

It is to create a trusted way of finding, recording and protecting local histories that might otherwise disappear.

Why UK Break Dance Heritage Is at Risk

Breaking itself is not disappearing.

New generations continue to enter and develop the culture.

What is at risk is the local history behind it.

Many early Break Dance stories survive only through personal memories, family photographs, old newspaper cuttings, flyers stored in boxes, trophies, clothing and VHS tapes kept in lofts and garages.

The culture was rarely formally recorded when it first appeared.

Many adults and institutions saw Break Dancing as a short-lived craze rather than a cultural movement that would still be active more than 40 years later.

As people lose contact, move away or pass away, their knowledge can disappear with them.

One missing name, photograph or date may seem small.

Together, those missing pieces leave major gaps in the history of British Hip Hop.

That is why this work needs to happen now.

Learn more about Powered by Hip Hop’s community impact, heritage work and previous supporters.

Recognition for the People Who Built the Culture

This funding recognises more than one organisation.

It recognises the original Breakers who practised wherever they could, often without formal teachers, equipment or financial support.

It recognises the youth workers who opened buildings, found pieces of lino and created safe spaces where young people could learn.

It recognises the dancers who passed their knowledge to the next generation without expecting payment or public recognition.

It recognises the families who kept photographs, flyers, newspaper cuttings and memories safe.

It also recognises the children and young people continuing the culture today.

“We Understand This History Because We Are Part of the Culture”

“Receiving €10,000 and being the only UK organisation selected is a massive achievement for us.

“We have worked directly in Breaking since 2004, and over the last few years we have seen how much of its local history is at risk of being lost.

“The story of UK Hip Hop does not only belong to major cities or famous artists. It also belongs to the young people who formed crews in northern towns and villages, practised in youth clubs and passed their knowledge on to their friends.

“We understand this history because we are part of the culture. This funding will help us work with original pioneers and young people to make sure their stories are properly recorded and respected.”

Tom Glynn, Director of Powered by Hip Hop CIC

Do You Remember Break Dancing in Your Area?

We would like to hear from original Breakers, poppers, electric boogie dancers, DJs, youth workers, photographers, promoters, families and community members.

You may be able to help if you remember Break Dancing in St Helens, Liverpool, Halton, Sefton, Knowsley, Chorley, Wigan, Warrington or another northern town or village.

We are looking for:

• local Break Dance crews and dancers;
• dancer nicknames and crew names;
• youth clubs and practice spaces;
• teachers and youth workers;
• competitions, demonstrations and performances;
• photographs, flyers and newspaper cuttings;
• VHS tapes and other video footage;
• clothing, trophies and memorabilia;
• memories of how Breaking first reached your community.

You do not need to know the full history. Even one name, photograph, date or memory could help us reconnect an important part of UK Hip Hop heritage.

Share Your Break Dance Memories

Interested in Working With Powered by Hip Hop?

Powered by Hip Hop CIC delivers Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops, school projects and community activities across St Helens, Prescot and the wider region.

To find out more about our Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops or community projects, please get in touch.

For more updates, follow Powered by Hip Hop on Facebook and Instagram.

The first event took place at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, where 15 Chatty Café attendees explored DJing, graffiti art and Hip Hop culture.

Ahead of the workshop, attendees submitted lists of their favourite songs. These selections covered a wide range of decades and genres, creating a soundtrack shaped by the group themselves.

Led by DJ Tommy P-Nuts, participants learnt how DJs mix between tracks and took turns blending their chosen songs into the next attendee’s selection using professional DJ equipment.

For many, it was their first experience behind the DJ decks.

The group also experimented with scratch DJing using mini turntables. Many found this particularly challenging after spending years being told never to scratch records from their own or their parents’ collections.

Alongside the music activities, graffiti artist Kingsyze helped attendees create their own graffiti tags by combining their names with interests, hobbies and personality traits. Once designed on paper, participants had the opportunity to add their artwork to a community graffiti board.

“One attendee said: “It was great fun. It was really interesting. The DJing was fascinating.” 

Another added: 

“It’s the first time I’ve done this before and I really enjoyed myself.”

The session was fully inclusive, with all attendees taking part, including a partially sighted participant who was able to experience scratch DJing through the sounds and feedback produced by the decks.

The event also highlighted how DJ workshops and graffiti workshops can help people of all ages explore creativity, self-expression and new experiences.

Learning Grandchildren’s Hobbies

The second event took place at KL Dance in St Helens, where around 25 children, parents and grandparents came together for an intergenerational activity session.

Rather than watching from the side-lines, grandparents and family members were encouraged to get involved and experience some of the activities their children and grandchildren enjoy.

Families explored scratch DJing together, learnt circus skills using flower sticks and took part in team challenges designed to encourage participation and laughter.

They also had the opportunity to watch Powered by Hip Hop students showcase some of the Breaking skills they have been developing through Hip Hop classes in St Helens.

One grandparent commented:

“It was great to spend time with my grandchildren learning their hobbies. I didn’t expect to have so much fun.”

The event created opportunities for different generations to spend quality time together, learn from each other and build new memories through shared experiences.

Challenging Assumptions Around Ageing

Both projects formed part of Age Without Limits Day, a national campaign encouraging people to question ageism and challenge assumptions about what people of different ages can and cannot do.

The activities showed that learning new skills, expressing creativity and participating in community activities do not have an age limit.

Following the workshops, many attendees stayed behind to continue conversations about ageing well, community connection and the stereotypes often attached to different generations.

The discussions highlighted how important welcoming community spaces can be in helping people remain active, connected and confident throughout life.

More Than Hip Hop Classes

Powered by Hip Hop CIC is best known for delivering Hip Hop classes in St Helens and Hip Hop classes in Prescot, but the organisation also delivers DJ workshops, graffiti workshops, school projects, community engagement programmes and intergenerational activities across the region.

Projects like these demonstrate how Hip Hop culture can be used as a tool for community connection, lifelong learning and bringing generations together through shared experiences.

Whether it is a young person learning their first Breaking move, a grandparent trying scratch DJing for the first time or a Chatty Café attendee creating their first graffiti tag, the principles remain the same: creativity, confidence and community belong to everyone.

Powered by Hip Hop Activities in St Helens and Prescot

Powered by Hip Hop CIC provides:

• Hip Hop Classes in St Helens
• Hip Hop Classes in Prescot
• Breaking Classes for children and young people
• DJ Workshops
• Graffiti Workshops
• School Workshops
• Community Projects
• Intergenerational Activities

Through these programmes, the organisation uses Hip Hop culture to build confidence, creativity, participation and community connection.

Thank You

Powered by Hip Hop CIC would like to thank the Centre for Ageing Better, Shakespeare North Playhouse, KL Dance, Chatty Café attendees, DJ Tommy P-Nuts, Kingsyze Graffiti and everyone who took part in making the projects a success.

Interested in Working With Powered by Hip Hop?

Powered by Hip Hop CIC delivers Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops, school projects and community activities across St Helens, Prescot and the wider region.

To find out more about our Hip Hop classes, DJ workshops, graffiti workshops or community projects, please get in touch.

For more updates, follow Powered by Hip Hop on Facebook and Instagram.

#AgeWithoutLimitsDay #QuestionAgeism

Who actually was Nell Gwyn?

Nell Gwyn was one of the most famous actresses of Restoration England during the 1600s. She rose from poverty in London to become a celebrated theatre performer and eventually the companion of Charles II.

Before acting, she reportedly sold oranges around theatre venues before gradually becoming part of the performance world herself. At a time when theatres had only recently reopened after years of closure, Nell became one of England’s first celebrity actresses and a hugely recognisable public figure.

Artwork by Shakespeare North Playhouse for the upcoming production of Nell Gwynn.

What made her story different was that she wasn’t born into wealth or privilege. She entered culture from the outside.

That idea feels strangely familiar to anyone connected to Hip Hop culture.

FROM OUTSIDER CULTURE TO MAINSTREAM CULTURE

One of the biggest similarities between Nell Gwyn’s world and Hip Hop culture is how both began outside traditional power structures.

Early theatre culture was often looked down on. It was loud, public, chaotic and connected to working-class audiences. Some people viewed actors and performers as disruptive or unserious.

Hip Hop culture experienced many of the same attitudes centuries later.

Breaking, graffiti art, DJing and rap music were often dismissed as “street culture” rather than recognised as legitimate art forms. Young people learned and practised in parks, youth clubs, playgrounds and community spaces long before Hip Hop became a global cultural movement.

Today, Breaking is part of the Youth Olympics and can be seen everywhere from music videos and theatre productions to competitions, festivals, adverts and major international events.

What once existed on the outside of mainstream culture is now recognised worldwide.

Young people taking part in Hip Hop dance and Breaking classes with Powered by Hip Hop

WHY THIS MATTERS IN PRESCOT

The arrival of Nell Gwynn at Shakespeare North Playhouse also highlights something important about Prescot itself.

Places like Prescot and St Helens have long histories of community performance, local creativity and cultural participation. While Hip Hop dance and Breaking may seem modern, the deeper idea of people gathering around music, movement, storytelling and performance is much older.

That is one reason why the connection between Hip Hop culture and theatre does not feel forced to us at PBHH. Both are rooted in people expressing themselves publicly, creatively and collectively.

In many ways, Hip Hop dance continues a tradition that theatres helped shape centuries ago:

• Movement
• Storytelling
• Rhythm
• Audience interaction
• Identity
• Community

The tools may change, but the human need behind them remains very similar.

Promotional artwork by Shakespeare North Playhouse for Nell Gwynn.

HIP HOP CULTURE IN PRESCOT AND ST HELENS

As Hip Hop culture continues to grow across Prescot and St Helens, these art forms must be seen as more than trends or hobbies.

Breaking, Hip Hop dance, graffiti art and DJ culture all carry history, heritage and community value. They create spaces where young people can connect, express themselves and build confidence through movement and creativity.

That is part of the reason why we found the story of Nell Gwyn so interesting.

Her journey reminds us that many art forms that are now celebrated once started on the outside. Theatre itself had to earn cultural legitimacy over time — just like Hip Hop did.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For anyone visiting Shakespeare North Playhouse to watch Nell Gwynn this June, it may be worth thinking about the bigger cultural story underneath the play.

Not just the story of one woman, but the story of how performance culture evolves.

How outsider voices slowly move into the spotlight.

And how communities continue shaping culture from the ground up.

From Restoration theatre to Hip Hop dance and Breaking, the journey is perhaps not as different as it first appears.

If you enjoyed this article or the themes explored in the show, more young people and adults across Prescot and St Helens are now discovering Hip Hop dance and Breaking through local workshops, performances and classes.

At Powered by Hip Hop, we continue supporting young people and communities through Hip Hop culture, creative movement and performance-based learning across the local area.