Gymnastics on the dance floor
September 16, 2017 8:54 PM Subscribe
One of the original five elements of hip-hop culture, breaking (also known as breakdancing) never quite attained the ubiquity of rap, but it quietly remains an international phenomenon. If you're curious about the modern state of this art/sport hybrid, you could do worse than to start by watching the winning team showcase at last year's Battle of the Year, the biggest breaking crew tournament in the world. Or, for something a little less traditional, 2015's winner is a beautiful fusion of Spanish and hip-hop culture. Or perhaps you're one for the classics: Ichigeki's winning show from 2005 is often cited as the best showcase in the tournament's history. But if you restrict yourself to watching showcases, you'll be missing most of what makes breaking great. True breaking takes the form of improvisational dance-offs between opponents, each responding to, and one-upping, the other's moves. Last but not least, while breaking is an overwhelmingly male art form, there are also some seriously talented bgirls to keep an eye on.
Breaking consists of four fundamental elements: toprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves. Toprock is loosely defined as a string of steps done standing up, while downrock consists of steps where the dancer's body is at least partially supported by her hands. Freezes occur when a dancer holds a stylistic pose, and power moves are pretty much anything that requires exceptional strength and flexibility to execute.
Curious about the culture underpinning the dance? Here's an in-depth talk on the History and Organization of Breakdance.
If you still simply can't get enough, you might want to try a crew battle, where two entire teams of dancers compete against each other. Or perhaps check out this Seven 2 Smoke battle, where a line-up of bgirls compete one-on-one against each other until one has won seven rounds. Want even more? This Wikipedia article has a list of enough major tournaments to get you started, and most of the battles are freely viewable online with a quick Google. As you get deeper down the rabbit hole, you might begin to notice the individual quirks and style each bboy and bgirl brings to the dance, whether it's bboy Pocket's legendary power moves, or AT's impressive flow.
Finally, if you're tempted to try out some of those moves for yourself, there's no shortage of tutorials out there. Think you're too old? At 34, bgirl Ayumi, an elementary school teacher by day, will be the first woman to compete at the Red Bull BC One, one of the biggest solo tournaments in the world.
Breaking consists of four fundamental elements: toprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves. Toprock is loosely defined as a string of steps done standing up, while downrock consists of steps where the dancer's body is at least partially supported by her hands. Freezes occur when a dancer holds a stylistic pose, and power moves are pretty much anything that requires exceptional strength and flexibility to execute.
Curious about the culture underpinning the dance? Here's an in-depth talk on the History and Organization of Breakdance.
If you still simply can't get enough, you might want to try a crew battle, where two entire teams of dancers compete against each other. Or perhaps check out this Seven 2 Smoke battle, where a line-up of bgirls compete one-on-one against each other until one has won seven rounds. Want even more? This Wikipedia article has a list of enough major tournaments to get you started, and most of the battles are freely viewable online with a quick Google. As you get deeper down the rabbit hole, you might begin to notice the individual quirks and style each bboy and bgirl brings to the dance, whether it's bboy Pocket's legendary power moves, or AT's impressive flow.
Finally, if you're tempted to try out some of those moves for yourself, there's no shortage of tutorials out there. Think you're too old? At 34, bgirl Ayumi, an elementary school teacher by day, will be the first woman to compete at the Red Bull BC One, one of the biggest solo tournaments in the world.
I used to watch people breakdancing in high school. Everyone would crowd around and watch the dance-offs. It's soo much fun to watch, but you had to already know your shit to do more than watch. Thanks for the post!
posted by aniola at 9:50 PM on September 16, 2017
posted by aniola at 9:50 PM on September 16, 2017
Another great resource if you really want to nerd out on breaking is Joe Schloss' book Foundation, which tries to talk about the history and aesthetics of the form, and its relationship to the other elements of hip hop. Really good stuff!
posted by Four String Riot at 10:03 PM on September 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Four String Riot at 10:03 PM on September 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Black Americans are the cultural engine of the world.
posted by Weftage at 7:40 AM on September 17, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Weftage at 7:40 AM on September 17, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think using small cute people to "breakdance" is silly. But cute. But awesome. Also, is this the new style of competition? Rather than a DJ spinning the awesomest breaks and individual performers freestyling? And: #bgirls to the max!
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:41 PM on September 17, 2017
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:41 PM on September 17, 2017
And then I watched the Ichigeki video, and that blew my mind as a performance. And then I got to the individual stuff. And then, dammit, I wish I could be so cool.
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:57 PM on September 17, 2017
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:57 PM on September 17, 2017
This particular competition's format is that every team presents a showcase, and then the top four teams compete against each other in crew battles- bracket style, so two semifinals and then the final. Here's last year's final. That's unique to Battle of the Year though, most tournaments are still 100% freestyle battles.
posted by perplexion at 5:59 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by perplexion at 5:59 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've seen the Ichigeki showcase before but I'd forgotten how exhilarating it is. Great post, perplexion.
posted by pseudonymph at 8:42 PM on September 17, 2017
posted by pseudonymph at 8:42 PM on September 17, 2017
Five elements of hip hop? As I always understood it, hip hop has four elements: DJing, MCing, breaking, and graffiti. Any supposed fifth element is retconning on the same level as "PLURR".
posted by foobaz at 10:22 PM on September 17, 2017
posted by foobaz at 10:22 PM on September 17, 2017
« Older La Divine Comtesse | Idaho is creating a 3,600 square kilometer Dark... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
I started breaking at the age of 29, mostly out of spite. I was way too old and out of shape to ever be great at it. But I've battled a few times, made some new friends that I would never have probably met otherwise, and had a blast. It's also a great community to join. I highly recommend dropping in if there's a battle near you and checking it out.
posted by Four String Riot at 9:49 PM on September 16, 2017 [4 favorites]