Frescy’s Breaking Journey to Self-Discovery

This feature shines a light on Ryan “Frescy” Everett. Humble, true to the culture, and defining his craft through exploration, Frescy is carving a path to Bboy enlightenment as he embarks on a journey of travelling, battling, and venturing into the unknown to define his dance identity.

With a very limited online presence, enjoy this exclusive interview as we learn of his roots, teaching style, and upcoming European adventure using dance as his guide.

Click here see Frescy's vast dance credentials

Frescy, thanks for the chat.

Thanks for having me.

You are a rare breed. You came up the ranks of a studio rec student, to being part of the first generation of Beast Machine, to the first class of Gateway, and now you’re a PULSE instructor, working in several residency dance programs throughout the city. Can speak more of your dance journey to where you are today?

For sure. My dance journey started with a gift. I was signed up for a few weekly classes for my birthday present one year and was introduced to Breaking by my first dance teacher, Gomo. A year later, I was invited to join Beast Machine, a blessing that opened my eyes to other street dance styles. 

My heart was and is always in Breaking, so I found myself in a lot of community practices, harnessing my craft. In 2018, Tara reached out and asked me to be a part of a new project she was starting up called Gateway. It was an opportunity to look at dance as a profession and explore the different outlets of teaching, performing, theatre work, and that kind of thing.

After two years with Gateway, I made the jump to become an instructor, teaching at PULSE and going out to different schools in and around the city to share my knowledge and passion with others. 

Frescy and his first dance teacher, Gomo, in 2011.

Looking at this photo of you in the early dance days really puts into perspective how far you've come. And where did the name ‘Frescy’ fit in the journey?

Ahh yes. That came from Grade Eight Social Studies. We were learning about the Renaissance and the ‘Fresco’ painting technique. ‘Fresco’ means ‘fresh’ in Italian. So, I wanted to make my dance fresh, like a painting, and use the floor as my canvas, you know?

From there, my friends and crew sometimes called me Frescy, as a nickname to the nickname. And it just stuck.

That's a very thoughtful nickname now that we know the roots of it. Have you put any thought into your philosophy with dance?

My philosophy is taking everything I learn from my teachers and life itself and connecting those ideas with music in the simplest way. The key is simplicity. Some dancers try to blow it up and do all hype moves, but for me, ‘hard’ doesn’t always mean ‘better,’ you what I mean?

Hard moves don't always win in my eyes. If I see somebody killing it musically and being super funky with it, that’s more ideal than the dancer who does nothing but tricks and hard stuff.

Simplicity is a part of my Breaking style. I don't do the hardest moves or most complex things. Rather, I like to find simple yet creative pathways that people don't really think of or overlook.

“I want to make my dance like a painting and use the floor as my canvas [like a Fresco painting]”

So how would you tie that in with your relationship with Breaking?  

To me, Breaking is about the art of exploration and discovery. I like to connect the physical aspects of dance with artistic simplicity. And when you add the element of music, dance becomes limitless. There are so many choices you can make – musically and with the movement.

There seems to be a physical aspect to Breaking that's similar to sports. Do you see breaking as a sport?

Breaking itself isn't a sport, in my opinion. But there are definitely competitive aspects to dance that are similar to sports. With battles, you get a number, you get called up, you go out, compete and either win or lose. So some have a sporty side, but not all competitions are like that.

Breaking is an art form and you don't need competition to break.

With Breaking coming to the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer, what do you hope to come out of this exposure on a global platform?

I hope to see Breakers being supported. There is a stigma going around that people don't understand Breaking, mainly from people on the outside of dance. So with Breaking being in the Olympics, I think it's going to prove how hard, physically demanding, and impressive it is. With that, I hope to see more dancers getting supported financially as a result of the exposure from the Olympics.

That's my hope, but I also believe that Hip Hop and Breaking don't need the Olympics. It has survived before the Olympics and it will keep going with or without the Olympics in the future.

Frescy's bronze medal win at the 2023 CDS National Championships

“I want to inspire people the way that I was inspired, and the way I do that is by expressing my passion and making that contagious.”

We're sure there's going to be an uptick of interest in Breaking afterwards and interested kids are going to be looking for teachers like you. When new parents are looking to enroll their child at PULSE, what can they expect from taking your class?

When I’m teaching a new student, I gauge their physical awareness first and see what they're capable of. From there, I can determine what needs to be worked on or where they can grow in dance.

But dance should be fun, first and foremost. It’s this creative blend of fun and challenge, with something always to work on and get better. That's how I fell in love with it. I want to inspire people the way that I was inspired, and the way I do that is by expressing my passion and making that contagious.

Sounds like your students learn in a healthy way and have fun doing it. 

It doesn't matter if you're striving to be the best dancer in the world. It's just about self-improvement, enjoying yourself and healing in the process. I think it's so important to have fun, enjoy the music, and vibe with each other. 

If you want to get better and level up, I emphasize practicing, especially if you're only training once a week or a couple hours a week. Practicing is so important to see that improvement.

“I like to connect the physical aspects of dance with artistic simplicity. When you add the element of music – dance becomes limitless.”

In the spirit of getting better and levelling up, you took your Breaking to Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and the Yukon last year. Take us back to those experiences.

Yeah! I went to Vancouver twice. The first trip was for Red Bull BC One Canada. It was my first time competing on that level and I made it to Vancouver's top four qualifiers. It was a really cool experience.

The other trip was for the Canada Dance Sport National Championships when I secured a spot back in Calgary. They were doing a point system and qualifiers to select Breakers to represent Canada in the Olympics. 

But it wasn’t my goal to make the team. My goal was to participate and see where it takes me. I didn’t want to shut the doors on different opportunities so I shifted my perspective to making it a test of my skills. I was able to sharpen my battling approach through that experience. 

The Toronto and Montreal trips were for battles as well. And the Yukon trip was less about competition and more about vibing with each other.

And what did you take away from these trips?

All these jams allowed me to meet new people and make new connections. I got to connect with other dancers and hear their philosophies on Breaking and dance. I was really inspired by these trips. And I hope that inspiration could rub off on other dancers and students I'm around.

So, what’s next?

I'll be going to Seattle at the end of March for a 3-versus-3 battle with a couple of friends from Calgary and Vancouver.

And in May, I'm off to Europe. There’s a battle in France called “Who Got the Flower” that I'm hyped about. 

From there, we’ll see. I’m going to put my focus on Europe, link up with people to train with and hear more philosophies to better my own.

Final question. With all this teaching, travelling, and nurturing of philosophy, what is your ultimate goal in dance? 

The ultimate goal is not necessarily mastery. It's more about exploration. I just want to be dope and create dope stuff. That's the only way I can put it. If I can make a living with it, keep working on my craft and not rely on a job that doesn’t make me happy, then mission accomplished. 

Dance is dope that way because there isn’t a cap to how good you can be. There's always something to improve on – new styles to incorporate, ways to strengthen your body to get certain moves or work on your flexibility – the sky's the limit. I get there by travelling, building my dance career, and seeing where that takes me.

Safe travels Frescy! And keep sharing your passion for dance wherever your journey takes you!

If you want to follow Frescy’s Breaking adventures, you can find him on Instagram @frescystkz and a handful of classes at PULSE. To sign up for one of his classes, jump to our website and start your own dance journey today!