Gwen Schoonewille dances her way to the top

The eight participants include DJs, photographers, fashion designers, and breakdancers. Gwen Schoonewille (17) belongs to the latter category.

When we speak to her, Gwen is a bit tired. After a busy weekend at Heerlen's own breakdance festival IBE, followed by a few days of breaking at Outbreak Europe in Slovakia, there is little time to rest. Last weekend, she performed four times at the Cultura Nova festival with the theater show 'It Was All a Dream', in which she danced alongside three other breakers (two of whom are also Life Cipher participants). And now, school is starting again. "But I’m not complaining," she laughs.

Professional Dancing

This week, Gwen is starting her studies in Event Production at Vista College. “Because,” she says, “I’d love to become a professional breakdancer, but I know it’s not that simple. That’s why my plan is to also be able to organize events around breakdancing, like battles, so I can stay involved with breaking no matter what.” The busy schedule of the past weeks shows that she has the right mentality and is pushing her limits. “At IBE, I made it to the top 8 in the Breaking Games, and at the Undisputed battle, I reached the second round. I was super happy with that. The theater show for Cultura Nova was something completely different. We worked with a director who helped make our dance more theatrical. She also helped us with our facial expressions. I learned so much from that.”

First Swimming, Then Breaking

By now, she has plenty of experience with breakdancing events. She first went to IBE in Heerlen when she was five, and that left her wanting more. “I absolutely loved it. They taught me how to stand on my head, amazing!” A year later—after she first had to get her swimming diploma—she started breakdancing at Swing-inn, and at eight, she joined HFC. She never left. She trained, and still trains, passionately alongside school. “I’ve been doing this every day of my life for the past eleven years. Now I’m even increasing my training to five times a week. A training session usually lasts about three hours. I just want to keep getting better and better—there are some battles coming up. Hopefully, I can balance it well with school."

Inspiration in Montpellier

Gwen is improving through her own efforts, but recently with some help from coaches and fellow members of Life Cipher, the coaching program that started at the end of May. “I spar a lot with Jop (Vermeesch, co-founder of Kool Cult). He also teaches a part of my course and knows a lot about entrepreneurship. Additionally, so far we've mostly sparred with each other: where do you want to go, what do you want to achieve, and with whom? Some want to go to Japan or America, but I would love to go to Montpellier. There is still a very raw break scene there. I want to attend a battle, meet b-boys and b-girls, and of course, train together,” Gwen says. “It's interesting to see how each of us has a completely different vision of what we want to do. For example, Luc and Miko view their creative careers in completely different ways, which is great. It offers a whole new perspective.”

Robots

When asked about her ultimate coach, Gwen takes a long time to think. “Oh, there are so many people from whom I could learn something. It would have to be a mix of Ami, San Andrea, and b-girl Kate, just to name a few. Not only in terms of skills but also in terms of character: they have a good vibe. Sometimes you have good dancers, but they are also like robots. I don’t find that inspiring.” In an ideal world, Gwen would travel endlessly and keep meeting new people. So, a professional breakdancer, she laughs. “Life Cipher helps a lot with that; we visit many places and often make new contacts. That way, you expand your network, which often comes in handy later. I find that more valuable than, for example, a breakdance course like the one in Utrecht. Then I think: you’re done, and what next?”