by Samantha White
Northwest Asia Weekly
From left: The Beacon’s b-boys Ronnie, Kig Guppy, Scout and Dann Vital. (Photo courtesy of Massive Monkees)
The lighthouse will return to Seattle.
After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, Seattle-based breakdance group Massive Monkees has reopened its studio, marking the occasion with a grand reopening on Nov. 5. Celebrations include breakdance studios for all ages and levels, one-on-one fights, open codes and more.
Like many businesses, The Beacon, which first opened in 2013, closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world begins to reopen, staff regroup to discuss the possibility of reopening the studio.
“We still want to do it,” said member Hocine Jouini.
They are not the only ones. When they were closed, Jouini said, people approached them every week to ask when they would reopen. So, with the community’s support and request for the restoration studio, Massive Monkees got to work.
A new, more convenient location
Along with fellow crew members Brysen Angels and Rodericko Francisco, Jouini set out to find a new location for the lighthouse.
They looked at more than 50 potential locations but encountered issues such as rents being too high, locations too far from where they wanted to go, or landlords not meeting the Massive Monkees mission.
They finally landed at 812 Rainier Avenue South, which used to be a Chinese antique shop called Discovery Decoration. Angeles City, which sits on the border of the Little Saigon and Hiawatha neighborhoods and was studio director in its first incarnation, said the lighthouse’s new location is still close to its former Chinatown-International District (CID) location and very centrally located Seattle. Additionally, he said, they are now easier to reach due to their proximity to the highway.
Jouini added that they had previously had restrictions on their King Street location, such as no designated parking spaces, and because they were connected to the apartment building, they had to turn off the music at certain times. Because of this, the crew knew what they wanted and what they didn’t want.
The new location does not have these restrictions. It’s about the same size as the previous location (about 2,500 square feet), but Jouini says the new studio has two rooms so they can hold two classes at the same time. According to Jouini, the classes are taught by the Massive Monkees staff and a cadre of “all-star coaches” and include a variety of styles of dance, including break, house, whacking, popping and lock, as well as hip-hop. There will be programs for all ages and levels, as well as breakthrough academies for kids through which students of all levels can grow and progress.
More than just a hip-hop space
B-boy Walle-Roc is deadlocked at the grand reopening of Massive Monkees studio The Beacon. (Courtesy of Big Monkey)
Beyond dancing, Massive Monkees wants to create an inclusive and safe space for the community. Angelis said they also plan to hold classes and events such as panel discussions to learn more about all four elements of hip hop (breakdance, emcee, presenter and graffiti painting), and to learn more about the culture and way of life, and its origins.
They began educating the community during the grand reopening event, inviting Seattle graffiti artist Sneke One to create work on the building to showcase the visual history of Massive Monkees.
In addition, Angeles and Jouini say staff are opening up their studios to the community so people can rent out space to host their own events (the wall between the two rooms opens up to create a larger space).
“It’s everyone’s studio,” Jouini said. “It’s everyone’s space.”
need a village
Community has been an important part of Massive Monkees’ culture since its inception. Angelis said they might have been successful as a team, winning breakdancing competitions and championships, but looking back, what kept them grounded and moving forward was community support. This sense of community has continued during the COVID shutdown, with staff transitioning to hold outdoor classes in parks around the city as well as virtual classes.
“The community moves on,” Angelis said.
But he and Jouini admit it’s not the same as having a home base where they can gather for events — something they really missed early in the pandemic.
Angelis said when they considered bringing The Beacon back, they realized that the studio was a big part of many people’s stories. They heard from community members about their experiences at Lighthouse and what it meant to them. This helped revive Massive Monkees to bring back the studio — especially when running a small business in the arts isn’t easy.
Staff launched a donation drive to help fund the reopening as the space needed renovations to be used as a dance studio. According to Jouini, community contributions have been very helpful.
Additionally, Massive Monkees has received support from the Seattle Recovery Initiative, a partnership with Shunpike, the City of Seattle Office of Economic Development and the Seattle Good Business Network, focused on revitalizing neighborhoods around the city through creativity and commerce.
According to its website, the Seattle Restoration Project encourages the public to visit downtown Seattle, support local businesses and support local artists — particularly Black, Indigenous and other entrepreneurs and artists of color — by creating vibrant and engaging streetscapes. The program is funded by the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund established under the U.S. Relief Program.
“It definitely takes a village,” Jouini said of the effort to bring the lighthouse back.
Samantha is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
