Break-dance, breaking, b-boying is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Puerto Rican youths in Manhattan and the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to electro or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and20is a well-known hip hop dance style. Break-dancing involves the dance elements of toprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves. A break-dancer, breaker, b-boy or b-girl refers to a person who practices break-dancing.
 Break-dance/B boys the Origins of Street Dance
Break-dance, breaking, b-boying is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Puerto Rican youths in Manhattan and the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to electro or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and20is a well-known hip hop dance style. Break-dancing involves the dance elements of toprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves. A break-dancer, breaker, b-boy or b-girl refers to a person who practices break-dancing.
However, referring to the terms "break-dancer" and "break dancing," hip-hop scholar Joseph Schloss (in the book "Foundation: B-boys, B-girls, And Hip-Hop Culture In New York") states - "the term break dancing connotes exploitation and disregard for the dance's roots in hip-hop culture"[1], "most feel that the term was part of a larger attempt by the mass media to recast their raw street dance as a nonthreatening form of musical acrobatics,"[2] "one of the first things that beginning b-boys or b-girls learn from their peers is not to refer to the practice as "break dancing,"[3] and "those who are unfamiliar with the culture may be surprised at the vehemence of b-boys' feelings about the term: "I don't use the term 'break-dance'. It's an ignorant word
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Schloss also states that, "the term is also problematic on a practical level... break dancing is often used as an umbrella term that includes not only b-boying, but popping, locking, boogalooing, and other so-called funk-style dances that originated in California"[5], and says that the term "breakdancer" is often used disparagingly - "a break-dancer is someone who has learned the dance for mercenary reasons, while a b-boy has learned it through a commitment to the culture"
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B-boying may have begun as a building, productive, and a constructive youth culture alternative to the violence of urban street gangs.[7] Today, b-boying culture is a discipline somewhere between those of dancers and athletes. Since acceptance and involvement centers on dance abilities, b-boying culture is often free of the common race and gender boundaries of a subculture and has been accepted worldwide.
'B-boying' and 'breaking' vs. 'break-dancing'
What is popularly known as break-dancing is referred to as “b-boying” and “breaking” by the majority of the art form’s pioneers and most notable practitioners, as well as by many of Hip-Hop’s most prominent figures.
“B-boying” and “breaking” are the terms used throughout QD3 Entertainment’s documentary The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy. KRS-One,Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and DMC of Run-DMC refer to it as “breaking”, [8] Michael Holman and Fab 5 Freddy refer to it as “b-boying”, [8] and Jo Jo ofRock Steady Crew uses “breaking” and “b-boying”. [8] The terms 'b-boys' and 'breakers' are used to describe the actual dancers - B-Boy London ofNew York City Breakers and Michael Holman refer to “breakers”, [8] Frosty Freeze of Rock Steady Crew says, “we were known as b-boys”, [8]Afrika Bambaataa says, “b-boys, what you call break boys or b-girls, what you call break girls”, [8] and Jo Jo and Mr. Freeze of Rock Steady Crew and Fab 5 Freddy use the term “b-boy”.
The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy explains how the term ‘break-dancing’ was a term coined by the media and is not the term used by the actual dancers. [8] Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew says, “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”, [8] and Action of New York City Breakers says, “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”. [8] Jo Jo of Rock Steady Crew adds - “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”.
The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy presents two versions of why the ‘b’ stands for ‘break’. [8] The first is that it comes from the ‘breaks’ on the record - Mr. Freeze of Rock Steady Crew says, “the break of the record… ‘b’… break, we are the b-boys”, [8] and Mr. Wiggles of Rock Steady Crew and Electric Boogaloos says, “the DJs used to cut breaks, and the b-boys would break to what? The breaks. So you know, it’s just common sense”. [8] Alternatively, it is said to come from the street slang of the term break and breaking – Grand Mixer DXT says, “breaking boys - because people would be breaking at the party, starting trouble… when somebody would get mad - yo he’s breaking, stop breaking man, and when Kool Herc says it, it’s official”, [8] and DJ Kool Herc himself (billed as ‘The Father Of Hip-Hop’ in the documentary) says, “b-boy – boys that break, it didn’t come from breaks on the record, it comes from… this man he ‘broke’, he went to a point, a breaking point… we just used that exaggeration of that term to the dancing – the b-boys, break boys”.
Origins: From street to dance
Breakdancer doing a turtle.
Breaking became popular in the Western world when street corner disc jockeysDJ KOOL HERC, would take the rhythmic breakdown sections (or "breaks") of dance records and string them together with many elements of the melody. This provided a raw rhythmic base for improvising and further mixing, and it allowed dancers to display their skills during the break.
Break-dancing, in its organized fashion seen today, may have begun as a method for rival gangs of the ghetto to mediate and settle territorial disputes.[7] 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.
Michael Jackson's televised performance of the robot dance in 1974 in the songDancing Machine displayed elements of the breakdance subculture to a wide audience and helped spark its popularity. Meanwhile, dance teams such as theRock Steady Crew and the New York City Breakers, changed the dance into a pop-culture phenomenon receiving a large amount of media attention. In the 1980s, parties, disco clubs, talent shows, and other public events became typical locations for break dancers. Though its intense popularity eventually faded in the mid-1980s, in the following decades break-dancing became an accepted dance style portrayed in commercials, movies, and the media. Instruction in break-dancing techniques is even available atdance studios where hip-hop dancing is taught. Some large annual break-dancing competitions of the 2000s include the Battle of the Year or theRed Bull BC One.
Shortly after groups such as the Rock Steady Crew came to Japan, break-dancing within Japan began to flourish. Each Sunday performers would breakdance in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. One of the first and most influential Japanese breakdancers was Crazy-A, who is now the leader of the Tokyo Rock Steady Crew.[9] 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.
Dance techniques
For more details on this topic, see List of breakdance moves.
A breakdancer in the middle of a downrock.
There are four basic elements that form the foundation of break-dance. These aretoprock, downrock (also known as footwork), power moves, and freezes.
 Toprock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, style, and 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. Perhaps the most basic toprock is the Indian Step, but top rock is very eclectic and can draw upon many other dance styles. Though commonly associated with popping and locking (two elements of the funk that evolved independently in California during the late 1960s) break-dancing is often considered distinct from popping and locking, as its moves require a greater sense of athleticism, as opposed to the contortion of limbs seen in pop-and-lock. Break dancers who wish to widen their expressive range, however, may dabble in all types of hip hop dance.
In contrast , down rock includes all footwork performed on the floor as in the 6-steps. Down rock is normally performed with the hands and feet on the floor. In down rock, the break-dancer 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.
Power moves are actions that require momentum and physical power to execute. In power moves, the break-dancer relies more on upper body strength to dance, and is usually on his or her hands during moves. Power moves include the windmill, swipe, and flare. Power moves are very physically demanding and a great display of upper body strength and stamina. Several moves are borrowed from gymnastics, such as the flare, and martial arts, with impressive acrobatics such as the butterfly kick.
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