Break Dance History

The History of break dancing also known as breaking, b-girling or b-boying, is a type of dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement that originated among African American and Latin American youths in the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s (Zehr) .In a basic routine might include top rock, a transition into down rock, also known as footwork, a display of power moves, and finally a climactic freeze or suicide. Top rock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, style, and most importantly, rhythm (Deleon) . It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into more acrobatic maneuvers. $$#Break#$$ These combinations usually transition into more athletic moves known as power moves. Power moves refer to moves that require momentum and physical power to execute. In power moves, the break dancer relies more on upper body strength to dance, using his or her hands to do moves. Power moves include windmill, swipes, head spins, flare, and air flare. Because power moves are physically demanding, break dancers 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

He noticed that the boys and girls would dance mainly to the breakdown of a song. So what he did to elongate that part was get the same record and have it loop from one record to the next. DJ Kool Herc he describes the true meaning of it as an individual who has reached a breaking point or is "broken," and they 're letting all their energy out onto the dance floor. Breaking was influenced by a variety of sources such as gymnastics, tap dance, capoeria, and kung fu (Hanson) .

It was meant to be a way for rival street gangs to fight for turf. The best dancer of one group would come out and "battle" the best dancer of the other gang. Breaking, along with other elements of hip hop is what gave the kids of that time an outlet. It was a time where they felt like they were out of control. This way, they had the opportunity to create something that was their own.

Naturally, a huge part of b-boying and hip hop is the art of the battle, where one challenges the other to test their skills and see who is the most dominant. It 's through the constant challenging of skills that has lead this movement to evolve to what it is today. In the late 70 's (78-79), breaking was replaced by disco (Adaso) . In the 80 's, breaking was popularized by mainstream media. By the late 80 's, early 90 's, breaking and break dancing music faded away from the