Performing in Schildergasse, Cologne, 2017 Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying, is an athletic style of. While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, breakdancing mainly consists of four kinds of movement:,,, and. Breakdancing is typically set to,, and music, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns. The dance style originated primarily among and youths (many of them former members of street gangs, such as the, the Young Spades, and the Baby Spades) during the mid-1970s in. The dance spread worldwide due to popularity in the media, especially in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. A practitioner of this dance is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. Although the term 'breakdance' is frequently used to refer to the dance in popular culture and in the mainstream entertainment industry, 'b-boying' and 'breaking' are the original terms and are preferred by the majority of the pioneers and most notable practitioners.
Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Terminology [ ] Instead of the original term b-boying (break-boying), the mainstream media promoted the artform as breakdancing, causing many to only know it as such. Enthusiasts consider 'breakdancing' an ignorant and derogatory term due to the media’s exploitation of the artform. The media displayed a simplified version of the dance, making it seem like the so-called 'tricks' were everything, ultimately trading the culture for money and promotion. The term 'breakdancing' is also problematic because it has become a diluted that incorrectly includes,, and,: 60 which are not styles of 'breakdance', but are funk styles that were developed separately from breaking in California.
Video of active young couple dancing hip hop choreography and breaking the floor in an abandoned. Video of active young group dancing choreography in an abandoned building. 4K Female breakdancer finishes her dance moves in urban surroundings as friends cheer her on.
The dance itself is properly called 'breaking' by rappers such as,,, and of. Youth breakdance during Celebrations There are several ways breaking came to Canada. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, films such as, Beat Street (1984), and the overall influence of Hip-Hop culture brought many people over from,,,, and, which in the process, brought over their style from the U.S. Breaking expanded in Canada from there, with crews like Canadian Floormasters taking over the 80's scene, and from Montreal New Energy opened for James Brown in 1984 at the Paladium. Leading into the 90's, crews like Bag of Trix, Rakunz, Intrikit, Contents Under Pressure, Supernaturalz, Boogie Brats and Red Power Squad, led the scene throughout the rest of the past two decades and counting. France [ ] Breakdancing took off in France in the early 1980s with the creation of groups such as the Paris City Breakers (who styled themselves after the well-known ).
In 1984, France became the first country in the world to have a regularly and nationally broadcast television show about Hip Hop—hosted by —with a focus on Hip Hop dance. This show led to the explosion of Hip Hop dance in France, with many new crews appearing on the scene. Japan [ ] Shortly after the Rock Steady Crew came to Japan, breakdancing within Japan began to thrive. Each Sunday breakers would perform in Tokyo's. One of the first and most influential Japanese breakers was Crazy-A, who is now the leader of the Tokyo chapter of Rock Steady Crew. He also organizes the yearly B-Boy Park which draws upwards of 10,000 fans a year and attempts to expose a wider audience to the culture.
South Korea [ ] Breakdancing was first introduced to South Korea by American soldiers shortly after its surge of popularity in the U.S. During the 1980s, but it was not until the late 1990s that the culture and dance took hold. 1997 is known as the 'Year Zero of Korean breaking'.
A hip hop promoter named John Jay Chon was visiting his family in Seoul and while he was there, he met a crew named Expression Crew in a club. He gave them a of a Los Angeles breakdancing competition called Radiotron.
A year later when he returned, Chon found that his video and others like his had been copied and dubbed numerous times, and were feeding an ever-growing breaker community. In 2002, Korea's Expression Crew won the prestigious international b-boying competition, exposing the skill of the country's breakers to the rest of the world. Since then, the Korean government has capitalized on the popularity of the dance and has promoted it alongside Korean culture. Is the most well-known government-sponsored breakdancing event, and is hosted by the and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Famous breaker crews from Korea include Morning of Owl, Jinjo Crew and Gamblerz. Dance elements [ ].
Gravity Benders crew showcasing the four elements of b-boying —,,, and — some crew choreography, and a short battle. There are four primary elements that form breakdancing. They are toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. Generally refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position.
It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, though dancers often transition from other aspects of breakdancing to toprock and back. Toprock has a variety of steps which can each be varied according to the dancer's expression (i.e. Aggressive, calm, excited). A great deal of freedom is allowed in the definition of toprock: as long as the dancer maintains cleanliness, form, and attitude, theoretically anything can be toprock. Toprock can draw upon many other dance styles such as,,,,. Transitions from toprock to downrock and power moves are called 'drops'. (also known as 'footwork' or 'floorwork') is used to describe any movement on the floor with the hands supporting the dancer as much as the feet.
Downrock includes moves such as the foundational, and its variants such as the 3-step. The most basic of downrock is done entirely on feet and hands but more complex variations can involve the knees when threading limbs through each other.
Are acrobatic moves that require, speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, and control to execute. The breaker is generally supported by his upper body while the rest of his body creates circular momentum. Some examples are the,, back spin, and head spin. Some power moves are borrowed from gymnastics and martial arts. An example of a power move taken from gymnastics is the which is shortened and spelled in b-boying.
Are stylish poses that require the breaker to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength in poses such as the. They are used to emphasize strong beats in the music and often signal the end of a set. Can be linked into chains or 'stacks' where breakers go from freeze to freeze to freeze in order to hit the beats of the music which displays musicality and physical strength. B-Boy performing hand hops in Washington D.C. Because everybody watches the same videos online, everybody ends up looking very similar. The differences between individual b-boys, between crews, between cities/states/countries/continents, have largely disappeared.
It used to be that you could tell what city a b-boy was from by the way he danced. But I've been saying these things for almost a decade, and most people don't listen, but continue watching the same videos and dancing the same way. It's what I call the 'international style,' or the 'Youtube style.' Luis 'Alien Ness' Martinez, the president of Mighty Zulu Kings, expressed a similar frustration in a separate interview three years earlier with 'The Super B-Beat Show' about the top five things he hates in breaking: Oh yeah, the last thing I hate in breakin' Yo, all y'all motherfuckin' internet b-boys. I'm an internet b-boy too, but I'm real about my shit. Everybody knows who I am, I'm out at every fucking jam, I'm in a different country every week. I tell my story dancing.
I've been all around the world, y'all been all around the world wide web. [my friend] Bebe once said that shit, and I co-sign that, Bebe said that.
That wasn't me but that's the realist shit I ever heard anybody say. I've been all around the world, you've been all around the world wide web. Although there are some generalities in the styles that exist, many dancers combine elements of different styles with their own ideas and knowledge in order to create a unique style of their own. Breakers can therefore be categorized into a broad style which generally showcases the same types of techniques. • Power: This style is what most members of the general public associate with the term 'breakdancing'. Power moves comprise full-body spins and rotations that give the illusion of defying gravity.
Examples of power moves include head spins, back spins, windmills, flares, air tracks/air flares, 1990s, 2000s, jackhammers, crickets, turtles, hand glides, halos, and elbow spins. Those breakers who use 'power moves' almost exclusively in their sets are referred to as 'power heads'. • Abstract: A very broad style which may include the incorporation of 'threading' footwork, freestyle movement to hit beats, house dance, and 'circus' styles (tricks, contortion, etc.).
• Blow-up: A style which focuses on the 'wow factor' of certain power moves, freezes, and circus styles. Blowups consist of performing a sequence of as many difficult trick combinations in as quick succession as possible in order to 'smack' or exceed the virtuosity of the other breaker's performance. The names of some of these moves are air baby, hollow backs, solar eclipse, and reverse air baby, among others. The main goal in blow-up style is the rapid transition through a sequence of power moves ending in a skillful freeze or 'suicide'. Like freezes, a suicide is used to emphasize a strong beat in the music and signal the end to a routine. While freezes draw attention to a controlled final position, suicides draw attention to the motion of falling or losing control.
B-boys or b-girls will make it appear that they have lost control and fall onto their backs, stomachs, etc. The more painful the suicide appears, the more impressive it is, but breakers execute them in a way to minimize pain. • Flavor: A style that is based more on elaborate toprock, downrock, and/or freezes. This style is focused more on the beat and musicality of the song than having to rely on power moves only. Breakers who base their dance on 'flavor' or style are known as 'style heads'. Downrock styles [ ] In addition to the styles listed above, certain footwork styles have been associated with different areas which popularized them.
• Traditional New York Style: The original style from the Bronx, based around the Ukrainian dance. This style of downrock focuses on kicks called 'CCs' and foundational moves such as 6-steps and variations of it. • Euro Style: Created in the early 90s, this style is very circular, focusing not on steps but more on glide-type moves such as the pretzel, undersweeps and fluid sliding moves. • Toronto Style: Created in the mid 90s, also known as the 'Toronto thread' style. Similar to the Euro Style, except characterized by complex leg threads, legwork illusions, and footwork tricks. This style is attributed to three crews, Bag of Trix (Gizmo), Supernaturalz (Leg-O & Dyzee) and Boogie Brats (Megas). Power versus style [ ].
This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged and. (June 2017) () Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breaking community over the give-and-take relationship between technical footwork and physical power. Those who focus on dance steps and fundamental sharpness are labeled as 'style heads.' Specialists of more gymnastics-oriented technique and form—at the cost of charisma and coordinated footwork—are known as 'power heads.'
Such terms are used colloquially often to classify one's skill, however, the subject has been known to disrupt competitive events where judges tend to favor a certain technique over the other. This debate however is somewhat of a misnomer. The classification of dancing as 'style' in breakdancing is inaccurate because every breaker has their own unique style developed both consciously and subconsciously. Each breaker's style is the certain attitude or method in which they execute their movements, and does not strictly refer to just toprock or downrock. It is a concept which encompasses how a move is executed rather than what move is done. Music [ ] The musical selection for breaking is not restricted to as long as the tempo and beat pattern conditions are met.
Breaking can be readily adapted to different music genres with the aid of. The original songs that popularized the dance form borrow significantly from progressive genres of,,,, and. The most common feature of breakdance music exists in musical, or compilations formed from taken from different songs which are then looped and chained together by the DJ.
The tempo generally ranges between 110 and 135 beats per minute with and beats in the percussive pattern. History credits DJ for the invention of this concept: 79 later termed the. World championships [ ]. A b-boy does an in a cypher at R16 Korea 2014.
• Floor Wars is a three-on-three breaking competition founded in 2005 in Denmark. Eight top ranked international crews, referred to as the Great 8, are automatically invited to participate in the final.
The other eight crews qualify for the final through regional tournaments. • is a South Korean breaking competition founded in 2007 by Asian Americans Charlie Shin and John Jay Chon. Like BOTY and Red Bull BC One put together, Respect16 is a competition for the top 16 ranked crews in the world. What sets it apart from other competitions is that it is sponsored by the government and broadcast live on Korean television and in several countries in Europe. In 2011, R16 instituted a new judging system that was created to eliminate bias and set a unified and fair standard for the way b-boy battles should be judged. With the new system, breakers are judged against five criteria: foundation, dynamics (power moves), battle, originality, and execution. There is one judge for each category and the scores are shown on a large screen during battles so that the audience can see who is winning at any given moment.
• World B-Boy Classic is a two-on-two Dutch breaking competition founded in 2009 in Rotterdam. An hour before the competition begins all the participating breakers are randomly assigned a partner. They may or may not know each other. The purpose of the competition is to judge which duo has the best chemistry when working with someone they have not trained with. World B-Boy Classic takes place during Eindhoven's Urban Culture Festival E-Moves and had 13 worldwide qualifiers in 2015. • Solverde World Battle is an annual Portuguese breaking competition founded in 2014 and hosted in.
• B-boy B-girl Africa is an African breakdancing championship founded in 2012 by b-boy Salifus of Burkina Faso and hosted in Senegal. • The will incorporate breakdancing as part of its programme, starting with the in. Breakdancing is eligible for inclusion as it is a discipline of, which is recognised by the. The competition will feature men's, women's and mixed-team events in a one-on-one battle format. Female presence [ ] Similar to other hip-hop subcultures, such as writing, and, breakers are predominantly male, but this is not to say that women breakers, b-girls, are invisible or nonexistent. Female participants, such as Daisy Castro (also known as Baby Love of Rock Steady Crew), attest that females have been breaking since its inception.
Critics argue that it is unfair to make a sweeping generalization about these inequalities because women have begun to play a larger role in the breaking scene. Some people have pointed to a lack of promotion as a barrier, as full-time b-girl Firefly stated in a BBC piece: 'It's getting more popular. There are a lot more girls involved. The problem is that promoters are not putting on enough female-only battles.' Growing interest is being shown in changing the traditional image of (and by extension, b-boy culture) to a more positive, empowered role in the modern hip-hop scene.
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