BRKFST Dance Company is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate a collaborative and equitable space for artists through breaking, celebrating individuality and community by way of creation, performance, and mentorship. Conducting non-partisan research and generative activities in pursuit of performative artistic endeavors, BRKFST educates through movement technique, methodology and choreography, and uplifts underserved communities, providing engaging experiences through artistic expression.
Founded in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2014 by Lisa ‘MonaLisa’ Berman and Joseph ‘MN Joe’ Trần, BRKFST Dance Company specializes in performance art that combines breaking, hip hop’s first dance form, with abstraction and non-codified dance vernacular, creating emotionally resonant and physically rigorous works. The lived experiences of this collective of artists, who identify as working class, queer and BIPOC, inform their compositions. Guided by the hip hop adage, “Each One Teach One.” where everyone remains both teacher and student regardless of their background, identity or status, BRKFST honors their roots from breaking culture by embodying inclusivity, passing down their knowledge to the next generation and representing the form with foundation and innovation.
Garnering international acclaim as a substantive innovator, BRKFST has received commissions from College of the Holy Cross (MA), Northrop (Minneapolis, MN), The Cowles Center (Minneapolis, MN), Orchestra Hall (Minneapolis, MN), Hartford Symphony (Hartford, CT) and Des Moines Symphony (Des Moines, IA), premiering original works across the globe.
Offering community engagement opportunities through adaptive workshops and residencies that combine movement practice with collaborative decision-making, open dialogue, and peer mentorship — creating a safe, inclusive space where participants can explore personal expression, develop technical and leadership skills, and contribute their creative voices to a shared process — is an essential aspect of BRKFST’s ideology.
BRKFST performs locally, premiering work at the Walker Arts Center, Southern Theater, The Cowles Center and Orchestra Hall with The MN Orchestra; nationally at Temple Theater with Des Moines Symphony in Des Moines, IA and Belding Theater at The Bushnell Hall with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in Hartford, CT and internationally in Dublin, Ireland for Dance2Connect (D2C) Hip Hop Festival. 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 at Princeton University, New Jersey (2024), University of Akron, Ohio (2024), Bates Dance Festival, Maine (2024), Winona State University, MN (2024), St. Olaf College, MN (2023), Carleton College, MN (2022), D2C Hip Hop Festival, Ireland (2022), Bates Dance Festival, ME (2022) and the University of MN - Twin Cities (2021) teaching breaking technique, BRKFST methodology and setting repertoire and original works.
2026 McKnight Fellowship for Choreography (Lisa Berman & Joseph Trần)
2025 Bridge Fund for Dance Grant - Minneapolis Arts and Cultural Affairs
2025 Flexible Support Grant - Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC)
2024 Princeton University's Caroline Hearst Choreographer-In-Residence
2024 Creative Residency at The National Center for Choreography - Akron, OH
2024 Flexible Support Grant - Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
2024 National Performance Network (NPN) Documentation and Storytelling Grant
2023 NPN Creation and Development Fund Project co-commissioned by John Michael Kohler Arts Center in WI, National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron in OH, Bates Dance Festival in ME and NPN in LA
2023 Minnesota Orchestra's Artist-In-Residency
2023 21st Century Dance Practices Residency at The National Center for Choreography - Akron, OH
2023 MRAC Arts Impact Grant
2023, 2022 & 2021 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support Grant
2023 & 2019 MRAC Arts Activities Grant
2022 New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) National Dance Project (NDP) Production Grant
2021 NEFA NDP Finalist
2021 Mid Atlantic Arts USArtists International Grant
VISIT OUR WEBSITE > BRKFSTDANCE.COM
Organization name
BRKFST Dance Company
Tax id (EIN)
39-4716227
Categories
Arts & Culture , Education , Community
BIPOC Serving
BIPOC Serving
BIPOC Led
BIPOC Led
Address
1576 Merrill St.