Riki Almouti put the circle back on De Dam
The man behind Back to the Street and Stichting Coffee & Dance took the battles out of the venue and put them in the middle of Zaandam - free, outdoors, for anyone walking past.
Anyone walking across De Dam on 22 August heard it before they saw it: a DJ, a ring of people, and two dancers inside it. Behind that circle is Riki Almouti - known in the scene as b-boy Rikimaru - the founder of Back to the Street.
Almouti runs the event through Stichting Coffee & Dance, together with co-founder Marth Craandijk. The premise is stated plainly on their own site: for the culture, by the culture. Not a stage with an audience held at a distance, but battles, street art and music on a square anyone can wander into.
What stood on the square
For the 2026 edition that meant three battle categories, two of them for dancers under 17, a judging panel including four-time world champion Menno van Gorp, live graffiti, an open mic for rap and beatbox, and an evening programme at De Groote Weiver that ran to midnight. De Groote Weiver and Jan Hekman came on as partners; the day was free for everyone.
Why the street
Choosing De Dam wasn't a logistical decision but an editorial one. Breaking started outside, in circles that formed wherever the music happened to be. Putting the battles back on a public square puts the culture in front of people who would never otherwise walk past it - and in front of kids who find out, right there, that this is something they could do too.
Coffee & Dance doesn't stop at this one event; the foundation also organises the art and music festival Turbo Vision in Zaanstad.