Tradition of Breakdancing

By Jane Claire


Breakdancing started in the streets of Bronx back in the 1970's. It was first classified as a type of street dancing involving remixed music with highly-advanced and sophisticated maneuvers. Today, breakdancing is a popular modern dance routine performed around the world -- either as a friendly competition between "crews" out in the streets or parks, dance events between groups, and of course, international competition sponsored by big names in the industry.

If you study dancing history then you will see that breakdancing is nowhere to be found in the records. The trend started in the streets of New York -- a way for kids and teenagers to show off their "cool moves" with the inclusion of music. It was observed that this form of modern dance is a combination of athletic moves and dance maneuvers -- with emphasis on extreme "power moves" with "freezes" during breaks in the music. The trend started with the Latinos and Black youths in Bronx, but was later performed by the general populace and eventually in the international level.

Most of the time, breakdancers don't like to be labeled certain naming conventions because they have their own names. Performers of this type of dance refer to themselves as either "b-boys" or b-girls" and the dance is simply called "breaking".

The dance got its name because of the notable "breaks" that dancers do. It is common for the music to be a mixture of different songs from different artists, regardless of the music's genre. Whatever the dance routine requires, the combined songs end up in a harmonious mix that seem to go with the dance moves. The dance moves are categorized into five types:

1. Toprock - any dance step performed while standing.

2. Downrock - emphasis of feet and body movements on the floor. This is often termed as footwork or floorwork;

3. Power Moves - these are termed as acrobatic maneuvers that require physical strength, balance, and stamina. Initial movement includes circular maneuvers for the body to gain momentum to execute power moves;

4. Freezes - This is the actual break the performers do. It is usually done after a power move has been made or when the music changes.

5. Suicides - a dance move usually done as a closing salvo of a dance routine.

If you break down the fundamentals of "breaking", one will observe that the emphasis is more into the person's physical strength and balance. The moves can be quite tricky and require complete control of the body or ends up in very painful consequences brought about by lack of timing and experience.

This is the reason why professionals in this field who teach breakdancing train their students to the point that their balance and strength is improved until they can do complex moves with ease.

There has been a major debate saying that breakdancing is more into power than style. However, breakers classify themselves into these two fundamentals -- one incorporating the use of power to amplify and support their moves, while one group focus more into mastering unique "power moves" to their dancing.




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