BREAK DANCE

BREAK DANCE
Breaking was born when street corner DJ's (in legend it is DJ Kool Herc who was first) would take the breakdown sections (or "breaks") of dance records and string them together without any elements of the song per se. This provided a raw rhythmic base for improvising and further mixing, and it allowed dancers to display their skills during the break.

One of the major breakdance street culture pushes was Michael Jackson's Robot dance, first performed on television in 1974. The performance received a large following with many later breakdance pioneers further popularizing breakdance in the late 1970s.

Popular speculations of the early 1980s suggest that breakdancing, in its organized fashion seen today, began as a method for rival gangs of the ghetto to mediate and settle territorial disputes.[1] 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.[2]

It later was through the highly energetic performances of the late funk legend James Brown and the rapid growth of dance teams, like the Rock Steady Crew of New York City, that the competitive ritual of gang warfare evolved into a pop-culture phenomenon receiving massive media attention. Parties, disco clubs, talent shows, and other public events became typical locations for breakdancers, including gang members for whom dancing served as a positive diversion from the threats of city life.

Though its intense popularity eventually faded in the 1980s, it has today grown into a well-known and accepted dance style, portrayed in commercials, movies, and the media, and often available at common dance studios. Some large annual breakdance competitions can be seen today, such as Battle of the Year or the heavily sponsored Red Bull BC One.

The dance

For more details on this topic, see List of breakdance moves.

A breakdancer in the middle of a downrock.


Breakdancing is generally unstructured and highly improvisational, allowing the incorporation of many different elements. A basic routine might include toprock, a transition into downrock, a display of power moves, and finally a climactic freeze or suicide.

Toprock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, style, and most importantly, rhythm. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into more acrobatic maneuvers. In contrast, downrock includes all footwork performed on the floor as in the 6-step. Downrock is normally performed with the hands and feet on the floor. In downrock, the breakdancer displays his or her proficiency with foot speed and control by performing footwork combinations. These combinations usually transition into more athletic moves known as power moves.
The windmill is a popular power move.
The windmill is a popular power move.

Power moves refer to moves that require momentum and physical power to execute. In power moves, the breakdancer relies more on upper body strength to dance, using his or her hands to do moves. Power moves include windmill, swipe, and flare. Because power moves are physically demanding, breakdancers use them as a display of upper body strength and stamina. Many moves are borrowed from gymnastics, such as the flare, and martial arts, with impressive acrobatics such as the butterfly kick.
A one-handed handstand, commonly used as a freeze.
A one-handed handstand, commonly used as a freeze.

Freezes halt all motion in a stylish pose. The more difficult freezes require the breakdancer to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength, in poses such as the handstand or pike. Whereas freezing refers to a single pose, locking[3] entails sharp transitions between a series of freezes.

Suicides are another type of 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 breakdancers 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 the final position.

"Battles" refer to any level of competition in which breakdancers in an open space (typically a circle or even on stage) participate in quick-paced, turn-based routines, whether improvised or planned. Participants vary in number, ranging from head-to-head duels to battles of opposing breakdance crews, or teams. Winners are determined by the side exhibiting the most proficient and varied combinations of moves. "Cyphers," on the other hand, are open-forum, mock exhibitions where competition is less emphasized.

In pop culture
Cartoon of a breakdancer displaying a basic freeze, next to a stereotypical boombox.
Cartoon of a breakdancer displaying a basic freeze, next to a stereotypical boombox.

Since its inception, breakdancing has provided a youth culture constructive alternative to violent urban street gangs. Today, breakdancing culture is a remarkable discipline somewhere in-between those of dancers and athletes. Since acceptance and involvement centers on dance skills, breakdancing culture is usually free of the common race, gender and age boundaries of a subculture and has been accepted worldwide.

The world scene

Social interaction centers on practices and competitions, which are occasionally intertwined because of its improvisational style. While featured at dance schools, breakdancing is very difficult, typically taught to newbies, or beginners, by more experienced breakdancers and passed on to new generations by informal word-of-mouth. Clubs and hip-hop schools do exist, but are rare in number and more so in organization.

Music

As the clichéd quote "break to the beat" insists, music is a staple ingredient for breakdancing. The original songs that popularized the dance form borrow significantly from progressive genres of jazz, soul, funk, electro or electro funk, disco, and R&B. The most common feature of breakdance music exists in breaks, or compilations formed from samples 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 shuffled sixteenth and quarter beats in the percussive pattern. History credits Kool Dj Herc for the invention of this concept, later termed breakbeat.

The musical selection is not restricted to hip-hop as long as the tempo and beat pattern conditions are met. It can be readily adapted to different music genres (often with the aid of remixing). World competitions have seen the unexpected progressions and applications of heavily European electronica, and even opera. Some b-boys, such as Pierre, even extend it to rock music.

Fashion
Breakdancer doing a headstand.
For most breakdancers, fashion is a defining aspect of identity. The breakdancers of the 1980s typically sported flat-soled Adidas, Puma, or Fila shoes with thick, elaborately patterned laces. Some breakdancing crews matched their hats, shirts, and shoes to show uniformity, and were perceived as a threat to the competitor by their apparent strength in numbers. B-boys also wore nylon tracksuits which were functional as well as fashionable. The slick, low-friction material allowed the breakdancer to slide on the floor much more readily than with cotton or most other materials. Hooded nylon jackets allowed dancers to perform head spins and windmills with greater ease. Additionally, the popular image of the original breakdancer always involved a public performance on the street, accompanied by the essential boombox and oversized sheet of cardboard, which serves as a dance floor.

The b-boys today dress differently from the b-boys in the 80s, but one constant remains: dressing "fresh".[citation needed] Due to the spread of breakdancing from the inner cities into the suburbs and other social groups, different perceptions of "fresh" have arisen. Generally the rule that one's gear needs to match has remained from the 80s, along with a certain playfulness. Kangols are still worn by some, and track pants and nylon clothes still have their place combined with modern sneakers and hats. Trucker hats were reintroduced to the scene in the late 1990s, well before the mainstream pop culture began wearing them again in numbers.[citation needed]
A freeze.

Function is heavily intertwined 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 in the sole as well as elsewhere. Headwear can facilitate the movement of the head on the ground, especially in headspins. Bandannas underneath headwear can protect against the discomfort of fabric pulling on hair. Wristbands placed along the arm can also lower friction in particular places, as well as provide some protection. Today's breakdancing styles, which emphasize fast-paced, fluid floor moves and freezes, differ from that of two decades ago, requiring more freedom of movement in the upper body. Therefore, less baggy upperwear is more common today (though pants remain baggy).[citation needed]

Some dancers and crews 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 appearance.

Certain clothing brands have been associated with breaking, for instance, Tribal. 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 one would want to be able to break anytime, anywhere, whatever the circumstances.[citation needed] This is part of the reason why many breakdancers would rather learn headspins without a helmet even though helmets allow them to learn the technique more easily.

Breakdancing as a folk dance

There is some academic interest in whether breaking 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. Breakdancing was in the beginning a social dance but in its later years, because of media and television exposure, it has become a more performance oriented dance.

Breakdancing as a stage show
Se7en performs his signature Nike kick.

In many different countries, most notably South Korea, different stage companies and individual breakdancing crews are creating musicals and stage shows that are either based on, or focus on breakdancing. Among the most notable is A Ballerina Who Loved A B-Boy, a musical telling the story of a ballerina who falls in love with the power of breakdancing. It is played by professional breakdance crews, including Extreme Crew, Maximum Crew, and Able Crew. Another breakdancing musical is Marionette, performed, created and choreographed by Korean breakdancing crew Expression. Many entertainers have incorporated breakdance moves into their stage performance, ranging from professional wrestler Booker T to Korean singer Se7en.

Media exposure

In the 1980s, with the help of pop culture and MTV, breakdancing made its way from America to the rest of the world as a new cultural phenomenon. Musicians such as Michael Jackson popularized some of the breakdancing styles in music videos, and movies such as Flashdance, Wild Style, Beat Street, Breakin', and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo also contributed to the growing appeal of breakdancing. Today, many b-boys and former breakers are disappointed by the media hype that has changed the focus of breakdancing to money and overuse of power moves. Breaking was given proper respect in the critically-acclaimed, feature documentary film: The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy. The film captured the essence of the culture and accurately traced the origin, evolution, and position of the dance within the Hip Hop movement.

Controversy

Though recreational, the dance is not without its heated debates.

Name

Some practitioners state the original terms b-boying or breaking are better names for the dance as breakdance was supposedly created by the media as a marketing device. As such, the term breakdance is said to lack the depth and history of the older terms and are today looked down by some who consider its use as an evidence of ignorance and disrespect to the history of the dance style itself.

Style vs. technique

Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breakdancing 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" and 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 array of techniques.

Gang association

It has often been stated that breakdancing replaced fighting between street gangs, though some believe it a misconception that b-boying ever played a part in mediating gang rivalry. These gang roots made breakdancing itself seem controversial in its early history.

Uprocking

Uprocking as a dance style of its own never gained the same wide-spread popularity as breakdance, except for some very specific moves adopted by breakers who use it as a variation for their toprock. When used in a breakdance battle, opponents often respond by performing similar uprock moves, supposedly creating a short uprock battle.

Some state that because uprocking was originally a separate dance style it should never be mixed with breaking, and that the uprock moves performed by breakers today are not the original moves but poor imitations that only shows a small part of the original uprock style.

Injury risks

Often the danger inherent in breakdancing is overemphasized. As with any other strenuous activity, a measured risk of physical injury exists. Breakdancers should practice using professional supervision to decrease the chances of personal injuries.

Pop-media references to breakdancing

* Buffalo Gals (Malcolm McLaren music video. 1982): The first breakdancing video on MTV, that brought hip hop to the mainstream, most noticeably in Europe.
* Wild Style! (Movie. 1982)
* Flashdance (Movie. 1983): features an appearance by the Rock Steady Crew and a stunt breakdance stand-in for the main character.
* Style Wars (Movie. 1983): Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's historic PBS documentary Style Wars tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the peak of its popularity, graffiti was as much a part of B-boy culture as rapping, scratching, and breaking.
* Breakin' (Movie. 1984): The first movie all about breakdancing
* Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (Movie. 1984).
* Delivery Boys (Movie. 1984) Genres Comedy, Plot Synopsis: A gang of boys under the Brooklyn Bridge are united by their common interest in break dancing. Some work as pizza delivery boys, hence they call themselves the "Delivery Boys". They form a dance team and enter a local break dance contest, sponsored by a woman's panty manufacturer. A rival gang's sponsor intimidates their employer into thinking she must keep the boys working so they won't be harmed. She gives the boys some "specialized" deliveries to make them late for the contest. The antics and calamities abound as the boys wrestle with her work assignments and getting to the contest on time.
* Beat Street (Movie. 1984)
* It's Like That by Run DMC (Music Video. 1997): Quite possibly the dance video responsible for the return of breakdancing to mainstream culture. The recording, though seemingly unrelated to the harsh themes of the song, features a comical battle between two talented respectively all-female and male crews.
* Bust A Groove (Video game franchise. 1998): The two games series by 989 Studios which spanned comprises a rhythm based gameplay that featured characters with distinctly unique dance styles. The fictional main character, "Heat," former F-1 racer, specializes in breakdancing, while other selectable characters, punk Gas-O and alien twins Capoeira use respectively house and (obviously) Capoeira martial arts.
* Zoolander. (Movie. 2001): On a catwalk, model Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) engage in a "walk-off," or a mock modeling exhibition which sees both them randomly performing breakdancing moves—notably the Robot, the wallflip, and a few windmills. Later in the film, Hansel uses headspins to kick his enemy in the face, an absurd attack to which villain Mugatu (Will Ferrell) blurts, "They're breakdance fighting!"
* Save the Last Dance (Movie. 2001)[citation needed]
* Days Go By by Dirty Vegas (Music Video. 2002): The music video tells the story of a man who returns to the same spot every year to breakdance in the hopes that the girl who left him will return.
* Pro-Test by Skinny Puppy (Music Video. 2004): Features B-Boys breakdancing on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, when a group of goths show up to the B-Boys ridicule. At this point a battle breaks out between the B-Boys and the goths with the goths winning out in the end. The video also features Krumping.
* You Got Served (Movie. 2004): The film centers on street dancing, where two inner-city dancers (played by Omarion Grandberry and Marques Houston), along with their crew, compete in a tournament to regain pride and money lost in a hasty bet. Though marred by mediocre acting and story plot, the film was praised for high-level choreography, and featured world-class breakdancers from California. The movie also popularized the slang term "served."
* South Park - You Got F'd in the A (Television series. 2004): This episode features a parody to the plot seen in You Got Served.
* Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers (Music Video. 2005): features three young boys who sneak out of their homes late at night wearing clown makeup and then sneak into a dance club for a break dance competition focuses heavily on Krump the song mixes Hip-hop and Electronica elements.
* B-boy (videogame) (2006): a console game which aims at an unadulterated depiction of breakdancing[4]
* Break (Mini Series 2006) The Korean mini series featured well known singers and dancers including Poppin' Nam Hyun Joon that brings people of all backgrounds into a breakdancing competition.
* Over the Rainbow (Drama series 2006) centers on a different characters who are brought together by breakdancing as they all try to aim for fame. This series includes many popular Korean stars including Fany of Fly to the Sky and also guest stars many Korean bboys including the 2005 BOTY champions, Last for One's Zero-nine.
* Energy Drink Energzen Commercial (2006) A Korean commercial featuring Bboy Bruce Lee from the 2004 BOTY champions Gambler.
* Canon in D Korean video clip (2006) features a famous DJ (DJ Chang Eue), beatboxer (Eun Jun), and three members of the 2005 BOTY champions, Last for One in two different versions.
* South Korea vs North Korea Breakdancing video clip (2005) depicts the separation of these two nations and the will for reunification through bboying. Ths video clip includes world famous breakdancers Bboy Ducky (Drifterz). Bboy Trickx (Drifterz), Bboy Phyicx (Rivers), and Hong10 (Drifterz).
* World famous Korean crews including Gambler Crew, Rivers Crew, Extreme (Obowang) Crew, Drifterz Crew and more have participated in creating breakdancing tutorial clips shown on television and online to help instruct the new generation of aspiring bboys.
* In addition, members of the boy band Shinhwa including Minwoo and Junjin have participated in teaching their own breakdancing skills to their fans.
* The 2002 BOTY champions, Expression Crew, the 2004 BOTY champions, Gambler Crew, and the 2005 BOTY champions, Last for One along with many other well known crews have created schools for aspiring breakdancers and advertisement in Korea has been profound as they have recruited hundreds of students from around their country.
* Korean singers have been known for incorporating breakdancing moves into their choreographies, music videos and performances. The list of such singers include:
o Se7en (singer) in his music videos and performances including "Passion", "Crazy", "I Know", and more.
o BoA in her 2005 "Girls on Top" performance at the M.Net 2005 Music Awards.
o Rain in his music videos and performances "It's Raining", "Bad Guy", "I'm Coming", and more.
o Group Big Bang in their music videos and performances "V.I.P", "We Belong Together", "My Girl", and more.
o YG Family in their 2003 music video "Get Ready."
o Group 1TYM in ther music videos and performances including "1TYM", "Ready or Not", "Nasty", "Hot" and more.
o Group Jinusean in their music videos and performances "Gasoline"m "A-Yo", and more.
o Boy band Battle in their music video "Crash."
o Korean popstar, Hyori's music video "Anymotion" featuring Eric of Shinhwa shows scenes of breakdancing
o Boy Band Shinhwa in their music videos and performances including "Yo!", "Only One", "All Your Dreams", "Wild Eyes", "Brand New", and more.
o Jang Woo Hyuk in his music videos "Flip Reverse", "The Sun That Never Sets", "Pump Flow" and more.
o Boy band TVXQ in their music videos and performances including "Rising Sun" and "O."
o Minwoo in his music videos and performances including "Bump!!" as both a soloist and a member of Shinhwa.
* Pump It Up is a Korean game that requires physical movement of the feet. The game is open for breakdancing and many people have accomplished this feat by memorizing the steps and creating dance moves to hit the arrows on time. See World Pump Freestyle (WPF) videos.
* In 2005, the widow of Gene gave permission to Volkswagen as part of their Volkswagen Golf GTi promotion, to use Gene Kelly's likeness. However, despite Mrs. Kelly's urging, the German auto maker refused to show the commercial in the U.S.. The television clip featured a partly CGI version of Kelly breakdancing to a new version of "Singin' in the Rain", remixed by Mint Royale. The tagline was, "The original, updated."
* 2006, outside of the large shopping mall at Dongdaemun in Seoul, South Korea, a number of bboys gathered to promote a new mp3 product during the peak of shopping hours successfully gathering lots of attention.
* In later installments of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, Sonic is known to breakdance as a form of celebration, or even as attack moves in some situations.
* In the game Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube, some characters use breakdancing moves for their downward smash attack.
* In the novel Kid B by Linden Dalecki, published on Houghton Mifflin (2006). The first, and currently only, novel set in the world of b-boying.
* In the Australian documentary Sprayed Conflict, produced by Robert Moller (1994). Featured the breakdancing of Australian graffiti artist and 2000 Melbourne Extreme Games breakdance winner Duel.
* The character Mugen on the anime TV series Samurai Champloo uses a fighting style that is based on breakdancing.
* Code: Lyoko: Odd Della Robbia creates a movie called "Break, Break, Breakdance".
* Some characters in the Tekken series, notably Eddy Gordo and Christie Monteiro, specialize in capoeira, resulting in a fighting style similar to breakdancing.

Breakdancing in fiction

In 1997, Korea, Kim Soo Yong began serialization of the first breakdancing themed comic, Hip Hop (comic). The comic was immediate success, and sold over 1.5 million books when it was published into books. Hip Hop is credited for introducing the Hiphop and breakdancing culture to Koreans, and inspired many teenagers to begin breakdancing, which was still looked down on in Korea those days. Many Korean breakdancers such as Bruce Lee (dancer) admitted they were first introduced and inspired to breakdance by reading Hip Hop when they were teenagers.

The first breakdancing-themed novel, Kid B, was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2006. The author, Linden Dalecki, was an amateur b-boy in high school and directed a short documentary film about Texas b-boy culture before writing the novel. The novel evolved from Dalecki's b-boy themed short story The B-Boys of Beaumont, which won the 2004 Austin Chronicle short story contest.

Notes

1. ^ NPR Present at the Creation Breakdancing
2. ^ The precise origins are unclear. The general consensus among actual survivors of the gang scene is that while the dance may have had the effect of mediation, peaceful interventions were not always the intent nor the outcome of these confrontations. Often, violence was incited as a result of such friendly duels, otherwise known as "battles."
3. ^ Though commonly associated with popping and locking (dance) (two elements of the funk styles that evolved independently in California during the late 1960s) breakdancing is distinct from popping and locking in that moves require a greater sense of athleticism as opposed to the contortion of limbs seen in pop-and-lock. Dancers who wish to widen their expressive range, however, may typically dabble in all types of hip hop dance.
4. ^ B-boy article at psp411.com