It all started as a bunch of middle school friends who liked to dance. But it became so much more. Kings of the school, now their reign is coming to a close.

The Breakerz Club, the largest dance and tumbling group at PHS, started 10 years ago, but the group completely revolutionized when the current Breakerz joined the group. Most of the group will be graduating in June.

In middle school, most of the current seniors had an interest in dancing, particularly senior Jonny Tran. He spurred an interest in dancing among his friends and taught the Breakerz most of the tricks they do now.

“We would go to the field back in middle school and try to practice things on the field,” senior Cecil Lam said. “It didn’t feel good, but it worked.”

Lam said he knew nothing about break dancing before Tran introduced him to it. Now, he loves it just the same.

“It’s challenging and fun,” he said. “The amount of work you put in is really the amount of progress you get out of it which is really the rewarding part of breakdancing.”

When the group got to high school, Tran became the co-president of the club with former PHS student Kelly Lam. They taught each other tricks and learned even more through YouTube videos.

Senior Greg Afong said he likes breakdancing because it is different from what other students do.

“When you listen to the beat you just feel the music and you don’t really have to think about anything else that’s going on in your life,” he said. “You can just go with the flow, and be whoever you want to be when you’re dancing.”

The group gained notoriety within the school by dancing in rallies and in dance showcases. Junior Robert Yu decided he wanted to be a breaker after seeing them perform in the dance showcase as an eighth grader.

Yu said he was also inspired by his older brother senior Michael Yu, who told Robert Yu about his experiences on Breakerz. When he joined the club his freshman year, Robert Yu became viewed by fellow students primarily as a breaker.

“As a group we have this presence and it’s just grown over the years,” he said. “Since freshman year it’s been nice because I’ve been known as a breaker my whole high school career.”

Being in the Breakerz together also allowed the boys to bond as a group.

“By sharing something like dancing together, we definitely spent a lot more time together,” Michael Yu said. “Junior year and senior year we all have been doing our independent things, but no matter what we can all come back to collaborate.”

Michael Yu said that being in the Breakerz Club has not only allowed him to bond with the group, but has also brought him closer to his brother.

“In the earlier years of high school I was kind of iffy about [Robert joining Breakerz], because definitely with your siblings you don’t really want to hang out with them that much,” he said. “But the later years I appreciated it a lot more because we were able to spend a lot more time together.”

Next year, the seniors are planning on taking the skills they have acquired through the Breakerz Club to college dance clubs. With the seniors leaving, Robert Yu will be the only one left to hold the club together. However, he is planning on teaching and recruiting people.

“I’m a Youth Educator, so maybe I’ll recruit some little eighth graders,” he said. “It’s going to be tough because I’ll be the only breaker, but I’ll figure it out.”

Robert Yu said he is looking forward to teaching people. Over the years, the Breakerz have taught some of their peers, but mostly on a short-term basis.

Last year, junior Elaine Qian learned the “Too Legit” piece that the boys were practicing, as a joke, but ended up legitimately performing it in the Spring Dance Showcase with them.

“They made me realize a passion of mine that I had tried to push away,” Qian said. “Getting back into dancing was a huge breakthrough for me, especially since they taught me basically everything I know now.”

Qian said people should join the Breakerz Club because it is easy to learn the basics and progress from there, and because it’s fun.

“What happens to Breakerz Club next year is still up in the air, but it’ll be pretty different without those derpy hooligans,” Qian said.