This USPS stamp depicts an '80s breakdancer and a boombox. Breakdancing, also known as breaking and b-boying by its practitioners and followers, is a dynamic style of dance that evolved as part of the Hip Hop movement in the South Bronx of New York City during the late 20th century. Breakdancing is one of the four original elements of Hip Hop culture (the others being Rapping, DJing, and Graffiti). Contents 1 Etymology 1.1 B-boys 1.2 B-girls 2 Dance 2.1 Style vs technique 2.2 Battles 2.3 Breakdancing as a Folk Dance 3 Music 4 Fashion 5 Media 5.1 Myths 6 See also 7 Video clips 8 Sources Etymology Breakdancing was never an actual term used by the original practitioners. The term was popularized in the 80's when it became more of a media phenomenon. David Toop (1991) describes breakdancing as being an adaptation of the Break, a dance popular before being replaced by the Freak, fueled by Chic's "Le Freak" in 1978, but that was revived by Crazy Legs, Frosty Freeze, and the Rock Steady Crew. He also explains, ""the word break or breaking is a music and dance term (as well as a proverb) that goes back a long way. Some tunes, like "Buck Dancer's Lament" from the early 20th century, featured a two-bar silence in every eight bars for the break - a quick showcase of improvised dance steps." However, in the documentary "The Freshest Kids" hip hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc insists that the name breaking originated in the slang term "break", meaning someone going "off" or crazy, just as the dancers seemed to do when driven by the right beat. Others claim the term originates in the break of the song, which is the best part to dance to. B-boys DJ Kool Herc coined the term B-boy in 1969 in New York City. During performances where Herc was DJing, he would yell out "b-boys go down!" which cued the dancers to begin breakdancing. 1969 was also the year that James Brown recorded "Get on the Good Foot," a song that promoted high-energy, acrobatic dancing and that Afrika Bambaataa (founder of the Zulu Nation) claims led to breakdancing (Toop, 1991). Many oldschool breakdancers prefer to be referred to as b-boys. "B-boy" was the original term for urban style dancers, though "breakdancer" is better known as it has been used more commonly by the media. The 'B' in b-boy doesn't correspond to a specific word, but most likely means "Boogie", "Bronx" or "Break." The "b" in b-boy probably does not stand for "Boogaloo". Boogaloo was a style developed in the West Coast and pertains more to the general Funk-style dance scene than to the b-boying and Hip Hop scene although those two cultures did end up intermingling. Funk styling, or Popping, is an entirely different dance with origins in California and the funk scene, not New York and the Hip Hop scene. B-girls A b-girl (breaker girl) is is the female counterpart to a b-boy in the hip hop culture. This term specifies a female who is a break-dancer and more recently, a female who represents the true hip hop culture. The term has been used since hip hop's inception during the 1970s. Notable b-girls include the late Bunny Lee (the first female member of The Rock Steady Crew), Baby Love, Roc-a-fella (not the record label), Asia-One, Suga Pop, and others. Actress Debi Mazar started out her career as a b-girl in New York City before turning to acting. Dance In its early form, breakdancing was divided into three distinct forms: Breaking, dancing, and popping. Breakdance is commonly associated with, but distinct from, popping which is one element of the funk styles that evolved independently in California during the late 20th century. Other styles of dance associated with the funk styles include Locking, Tutting, Krumping, Boogaloo and liquid dancing. These styles are sometimes more "contortionistic" than "athletic," although they are often incorporated by breakdancers who wish to widen their expressive range. All such styles factor heavily into the breaker's movements while standing, called toprock. As opposed to toprock, footwork or downrock is performed with the body in contact with the floor. Many of the most recognizable breakdancing moves are part of downrock. Breakers usually begin by toprocking, and then continue down to the floor, often into some variation of the 6-step. The 6-step can be combined with or transitioned into certain power moves. After performing the techniques, the breakdancer will often end the dance on his feet or contorted into a freeze. Style vs technique One of the greatest divides in breakdancing is the give-and-take between style and technique (or power). Devotees of each aspect are commonly known as styleheads and powerheads. Styleheads focus on the dancing side of breakdance. They may look down on powerheads as hack gymnasts who have eschewed the fundamental dance aspect for flashy acrobatics. Powerheads would respond that styleheads are little different than dancers from other styles because they neglect the difficult athletic moves that make breakdancing so radically different. Others argue that style and techinque are two equally important facets of a single unified art, so looking down on either is nonsense. For some b-boys/crews, there is no such thing as a 'power set' or a 'style set', as the two are freely intermixed. Obviously this requires a fluent ease with at least some fragment of one's powermove vocabulary. Interestingly, style vs. power is somewhat mirrored in the dichotomy of Capoeira, Angola and Regional. Much of being a successful breakdancer is about having style. The constant debate between b-boys is a debate of who has the most style. Since, in theory, anyone can learn the basics of breakdance, the dancers must deviate from the set dances to use their own style. In this way they can show-up other breakdancers during battles, thus winning the battle. Battles Breakdancing battles are competitions in which dancers 'fight' against each other on the dance floor in a stylistic sense. They form a circle and take turns trying to show each other up through either better style, more difficult moves, and/or combinations of both. Battles can pit individuals against one another, but often take place between two opposing breakdancing crews. Examples of major crews are the Zulu Nation, Rock Steady Crew (RSC), Style Elements, Furious Styles Crew, Dynamic Rockers, Problems Kru, Ichigeki, Repstyles, Team OHH, Fireworks, Havikoro, The Furious Five, Full Force, Battle Monkeys, Knucklehead Zoo, Renegades, Killafornia, Vagabonds, Gamblers, Pockemon, and Airforce Crew. Today serious battles are usually held at organized b-boy events. The battles are usually part of a tournament-style competition with cash prizes, or they are featured showcase battles, where each crew is paid to dance. It's not uncommon that spontaneous battles will happen at events as well, when rival crews show up with most of their members. These events are called "jams," and generally consist of several hours of "cyphering" (open circles), followed by the main battle event. The largest competition each year is probably Battle of the Year (BOTY), held in Germany since 1990, and featuring crews from around the world. Despite its name, BOTY focuses on choreographed routines. After judges rate the routines, the final winner, and de facto world champion crew, is decided in a final battle (along with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places). Recent winners have been from France, Korea, Germany, and Hungary. While crews from the USA have won in the past, the claim is that they are not often winners of BOTY because competitions in the USA are almost exclusively battles and hip hop dances, whereas in the rest of the world, dance routine competitions are more common. Additionally, until recently (August 21 2005), the USA has not held a BOTY USA national event and thus has not had a crew to send to the finals in Germany. BOTY USA 2005 was the first; at this event, Knucklehead Zoo defeated Renegades in the finals and won Best Show to secure their victory and entry in the BOTY finals. Nonetheless, this is a good indicator of how widespread the practice and high ability level of this American folk art form has become. Another few competitions gaining much popularity is BC One, sponsored by Red Bull. This tournament invites many of the best b-boys from around the world to compete one-on-one in single-elimination. This is somewhat unique, as most battle events pit entire crews or crew fragments of 3 or more people. Most other instances of one-on-one matchups are one-time main event attractions for entire jams, not comprising the entire event. Breakdancing as a Folk Dance There is some academic interest in whether breakdance can be considered a folk dance. In particular, street dances are living and evolving dance forms, while folk dances are to a significant degree bound by tradition. Breakdance was in the beginning a social dance but in the later years, mostly because of media and television, its goal has become more of a performance dance. Music Contrary to popular belief, b-boys do not only break to hip hop. It is very common to see b-boys breaking to funk and soul tracks. Whatever genre it is, most of the songs popular for breaking are from the 80's. Modern mainstream hip hop, through its changes, is generally not as good for breaking as tunes from when breaking was popular. Music is a very important thing to a b-boy. One could argue that the knowledge of music is almost as important as the ability to dance to it. Skilled b-boys are expected to have almost a trainspotter-esque detailed knowledge of breaking songs. They show this through hitting certain interesting focal points in each song, perhaps with a freeze, and also somewhat 'narrating' with their motions, which is often humorous as well as impressive. Although the term breakbeats sounds like a name for what b-boys break to, it is mostly used to refer to certain genres in electronica. Fashion For the breakdancer, fashion is an important aspect of their identity. Many breakdancers dressed wearing Adidas shoes with thick laces. Some b-boys that are extremely serious match their hat, shirt, and shoes. This style is to show uniform, and is supposedly a threat to the competitor. They also wore nylon jumpsuits which were functional as well as fashionable. The slick surface allowed the breakdancer to slide on the floor much easier than if she or he had been wearing a cotton shirt. Also, the popular image of the breakdancer during the 80s always involved a public performance on the street, accompanied of course by a boombox. B-boys today dress differently from b-boys in the 80's, but one thing remains, and that is dressing "fresh". Due to the spread of b-boying as an artform from the inner cities out into the suburbs and to different social groups, different senses of "fresh" have arisen. Generally the rule that one's gear needs to match has remained from the 80's. Kangols are still worn by some, track pants and nylons still have their place combined with fresh sneakers and hats. Trucker hats became a large part of the scene in the late 90s and early 2000's, well before the mainstream pop culture began wearing them again in such numbers. Function is heavily entertwined with b-boy fashion. Due to the demands on the feet in b-boying, b-boys look for shoes with low weight, good grip, and durability when given pressure to the sole as well as elsewhere. Headwear can facilitate movement with the head on the ground, especially headspins. Bandanas underneath headwear can protect from the discomfort of fabric pulling on hair. And wristbands placed along the arm can lower friction at a particular place as well as provide protection. There are dancers and crews that now have begun to dress in a style similar to "goth" or punk rockers in order to stand out from the more traditional toned-down b-boy look. Certain clothing brands have been associated with breaking. Tribal is an example. Puma is also well known in the breaking community. Both brands sponsor many b-boy events. But aside from these generalities, many b-boys choose not to try too hard to dress for breaking, because in a certain sense one would want to be able to break anytime, anywhere, whatever the circumstances. This is related to why many would rather learn headspins without a helmet, despite it being able to facilitate. Another trend is referred to as "Internet b-boys" or as they call them in japan "Otaku b-boys", who are often looked-down upon as not having their heart in hip-hop culture, and having learned much of what they know of the dance purely from the internet and from watching videoclips, not by instruction or by the passing of knowledge from one generation to another. Additionally, these "e-boys" do not usually reach out to their local b-boy scenes, nor participate in jams, nor do anything except flaunt and preach over the internet (see wannabe). Media In the 1980s, with the help of pop culture and MTV, breakdancing made its way from the suburbs to the rest of the world as a new cultural phenomenon. Musicians such as Michael Jackson popularized much of the breakdancing style in their music videos. Movies such as Flashdance, Wild Style, Beat Street, Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo also contributed to breakdancing's growing appeal. Today, many b-boys and former breakers are disappointed by the media hype that watered the dance down into money and overfocus on power moves. Myths For the most part, the danger inherent in b-boying is overemphasized. One can understand wanting the deterrent of fear in the past, as b-boying was associated with gang activity. Nowadays, however, the fear of life-threatening injury is largely unfounded. Like any other 'street' activity, there is a certain associated stigma which must be considered if an accurate assessment is desired. As with any other physical activity, there is of course a measured risk of physical injury. See also List of breakdance moves Battle of the Year Video clips Examples Sources David Toop (1991). Rap Attack 2: African Rap To Global Hip Hop, p.113-115. New York. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432. The Freshest Kids: History of the b-boy. Film. BREAKCHECK.COM | check.the.style History HiphopRnbSoul.com Where Hip-hop, R&B and Soul music collide JahSonic.com History of Breakdance: BREAKDANCING BREAKDOWN - UK a considered opinion by Fluent-C, Suspense, Toze, and Zia, from The Bomb Hip-Hop Magazine Issue #46 (April/May 1996) B-BOYING History on breakdance BREAKCHECK.COM | check.the.style History of b-boying The Spartanic Rockers The Furios Styles crew History of Breaking James Madison University Breakdance Club (JMU BDC) Hip hop/Rap Breakdance - Turntablism - Graffiti - MCing - Hip-Hop Music - Hip hop collaborations - List of Rappers Fashion - Feuds - Urban slang - Timeline Genres East Coast - West Coast - South - Miami bass Abstract - Chopped & screwed - Crunk - Gangsta - G-funk - Hardcore - Horrorcore - Jazz rap - Nerdcore - Old Skool - Underground - Urban Pasifika Christian hip hop - Electro - Freestyle - Ghettotech - Go go - Hip house - Hip life - Merenrap - Neo soul - Rap metal - Reggaeton - Trip hop de:Breakdance es:Breakdance fi:Breakdance fr:Break dance he:ברייקדאנס hy:Բրեյք դանս it:Breakdance ja:ブレイクダンス nl:Breakdance pl:Breakdance pt:Breakdance ru:Брейк-данс sv:Breakdance Search Term: "Breakdancing" Categories: Hip hop culture elements | Hip hop dance