THE ELEMENTS OF HIP HOP
BREAKDANCING
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaB-boying
A b-boy performing in the UK.B-boying or breaking, commonly called 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 commonly used 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
In the breaking documentary The Freshest Kids, figures such as KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC refer to the dance as "breaking". 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". Though widespread, the term "breakdancing" is looked down upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture:
Purists consider it an ignorant term invented by the media[1]:58[2] 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.
It is also problematic because breaking 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.
"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 correct terms used to describe the dancers. B-Boy London of New York City Breakers and Michael Holman refer to these dancers as “breakers”. Frosty Freeze of Rock Steady Crew says, “we were known as b-boys”, and Afrika Bambaataa says, “b-boys, [are] 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”.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CRAZY LEGS BREAKDANCE - DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW 1980s
PLANET ROCK by AFRIKA BAMBAATA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE
CLASSIC BREAKDANCE BATTLE SCENE FROM THE MOVIE "BEAT STREET"
NEW YORK CITY BREAKERS - GRAFFITI ROCK
ROCKSTEADY CREW - LEGENDARY BREAKDANCE TROOP
