Last weekend, the local hip hop scene won it big at an international competition in Milan, with Maltese breakdancer and hip hop artist, Liston Bongailas, taking home the silver.

While he fell short of taking home the top gong, Liston says that the whole experience was dream-like: “Win or lose, it’s a blessing being there competing with the best artists around the globe,” he says, adding that such events are about having fun and enjoying the process of self-improvement and learning more about your art form.

The third time participating in the Floor Wars Footwork Battle, Liston was one of four Maltese dancers competiting, with Charlene Grange, Elton Gialanze and Kyle Cassar also representing Malta under the name Street Elements Hiphop Artists. Liston had previously landed a top 8 spot in 2017, while fellow crew member, Elton Gialanze, had earned a top 8 placing in 2014.

Liston’s wife, Charlene, had also earned a top 7 placing in the 2017 event in the Bgirl Battle category. Following last weekend’s event, Liston shared a throwback photo of himself and Charlene together shortly before travelling to the 2014 edition and competing there for the first time: “There is always a girl behind man's success ❤️,” Liston wrote. 

The 2020 edition saw another addition in the form of two-year-old son Kane Lee, who Liston reveals also participated in some friendly freestyle during the warming up session. While the breakdancer is inspired by everything around him, such as nature, films and cartoons, it is his son that stimulates his creativity the most: “nowadays inspiration comes from Kane Lee who also loves to dance and travel with us,” he says.

Liston and Charlene both kickstarted their dance journey together 15 years ago, and he is extremely grateful to be sharing this journey alongside his wife, who he refers to as his idol. The pair have big plans for the year, with their crew’s participation confirmed in international hip hop and breaking competitions in the UK, Holland and Germany.

Works are also in progress for their NGO We are Hiphop which aims to help children and youths use hip hop to improve their lives.

Watch the final battle against Georgia representative DarksSynchro below:

Wow!