B-boying or breaking , commonly referred to as breakdancing , is a style of dance that evolved as part of hip-hop culture among Black and Latino American youths in the South Bronx of New York City during the 1970s. It is danced to both hip-hop and other genres of music that are often remixed to prolong the musical breaks. One who practices this style of dance is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. Although "breakdance" is a common term, "b-boying" and "breaking" are preferred by the majority of the art form’s pioneers and most notable practitioners.
Breaking's intense popularity started to fade in the late 1970s, but in the following decades it became an accepted dance style portrayed in commercials, movies, and print media. Parties, disco clubs, talent shows, and other public events became typical locations for breakers. Instruction in breaking techniques is now available at dance studios where hip-hop dance is taught. Today, breakers maintain a discipline somewhere between that of dancers and athletes.
Terminology
Though widespread, the term "breakdancing" is looked down upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture. "Breakdancer" may even be used disparagingly to refer to those who learned the dance for personal gain rather than commitment to hip-hop culture. The terms 'b-boys', 'b-girls', and 'breakers' are the preferred terms to use to describe the dancers. B-Boy London of New York City Breakers and filmmaker Michael Holman refer to these dancers as “breakers”. Frosty Freeze of Rock Steady Crew says, “we were known as b-boys”, and hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa says, “b-boys, what you call break boys… or b-girls, what you call break girls.” In addition, Jo Jo and Mr. Freeze of Rock Steady Crew and Fab 5 Freddy use the term “b-boy”.
The dance itself is properly called "breaking" according to figures such as KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC in the breaking documentary The Freshest Kids . Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy, Michael Holman, Frosty Freeze, and Santiago "Jo Jo" Torres (cofounder of Rock Steady Crew) use the original term "b-boying". Purists consider "breakdancing" an ignorant term invented by the media that connotes exploitation of the art.
- Crazy Legs; Rock Steady Crew: "When I first learned about the dance in ’77 it was called b-boying… by the time the media got a hold of it in like ’81, ’82, it became ‘break-dancing’ and I even got caught up calling it break-dancing too."
- Action; New York City Breakers: "You know what, that’s our fault kind of… we started dancing and going on tours and all that and people would say, oh you guys are breakdancers - we never corrected them."
- Jo Jo; Rock Steady Crew: "B-boy… that’s what it is, that’s why when the public changed it to ‘break-dancing’ they were just giving a professional name to it, but b-boy was the original name for it and whoever wants to keep it real would keep calling it b-boy."
- Boston Globe: "Lesson one: Don't call it breakdancing. Hip-hop's dance tradition, the kinetic counterpart to the sound scape of rap music and the visuals of graffiti art, is properly known as b-boying."
- Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon: "Break dancing is a term created by the media! Once hip-hop dancers gained the media’s attention, some journalists and reporters produced inaccurate terminology in an effort to present these urban dance forms to the masses. The term break dancing is a prime example of this misnomer. Most pioneers and architects of dance forms associated with hip-hop reject this term and hold fast to the original vernacular created in their places of origin. In the case of break dancing, it was initially called b-boying or b-girling."
The term "breakdancing" is also problematic because it has become a diluted umbrella term that incorrectly includes popping, locking, and electric boogaloo. Popping, locking, and electric boogaloo are not styles of "breakdance". They are funk styles that were developed separate from breaking in California.
Dance techniques
For more details on this topic, see List of breakdance moves.There are four basic elements that form the foundation of breaking. These are toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes/suicides.
Toprock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into more acrobatic maneuvers. Toprock is very eclectic and can draw upon many other dance styles. Though commonly associated with popping and locking (two elements of the funk styles that evolved independently in California during the 1970s) breaking is distinct from both, as its moves require a greater sense of athleticism—as opposed to the contortion of limbs seen in the funk styles. Breakers who wish to widen their expressive range, however, may dabble in all types of hip-hop dance.
Downrock (or "floorwork") includes all footwork performed on the floor such as the foundational 6-step. It typically involves complicated contortions of the lower body and may be as highly variable and personalized as toprock. Downrock transitions into more athletic moves known as power moves.
Power Moves are actions that require momentum and physical power to execute. The breaker is generally supported by his upper body, while the rest of his body creates circular momentum. Notable examples are the windmill, swipe, head spin, and flare. Some moves are borrowed from gymnastics (such as the flare) and martial arts (such as the butterfly kick).
Freezes/Suicides usually signal a pause or the end of a b-boy set. Freezes are stylish poses, and the more difficult require the breaker to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength in poses such as the pike. Alternatively, suicides can also signal the end to a routine. Breakers 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. In contrast to freezes, suicides draw attention to the motion of falling or losing control, while freezes draw attention to a controlled final position.
Power vs Style
Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breaking community over the give-and-take relationship between technical footwork and physical prowess. Those who focus on dance steps and fundamental sharpness (but lack upper-body brawn, form, discipline, etc) 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 b-boying is inaccurate because every b-boy or b-girl has their own unique style developed both consciously and subconsciously. Each b-boy or b-girl's style is the certain attitude or method in which they execute their movements. A breaker's unique style 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.
History
Elements of breaking may be seen in other antecedent cultures prior to the 1970s, but it wasn't until the '70s that breaking evolved as a street dance style. Street corner DJs would take the rhythmic breakdown sections (or "breaks") of dance records and loop them one after the other. This provided a rhythmic base for improvising and mixing and it allowed dancers to display their skills during the break. In a turn-based showcase of dance routines the winning side was determined by the dancer(s) who could outperform the other by displaying a set of more complicated and innovative moves.
A crew is a group of b-boys/b-girls who dance together. A few of the most well known crews are the Rock Steady Crew, Last For One, Super Cr3w, Gamblerz, Mortal Combat, Flying Steps, and Massive Monkeys. B-boy crews such as the Rock Steady Crew and the New York City Breakers changed breaking into a pop-culture phenomenon when they received a large amount of media attention by battling each other in public at the Lincoln Center in 1981. Shortly after the Rock Steady Crew came to Japan, breaking within Japan began to flourish. Each Sunday b-boys would perform breaking in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. 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.
Uprock
A related dance form which influenced breaking is Uprock also called Rocking or Brooklyn rock. Like toprock, uprock is also performed while standing. The difference is that uprock is a war dance that involves two dancers who mimic ways of fighting each other using mimed weaponry in rhythm with the music. Uprock as a dance style of its own never gained the same widespread
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