What was break dancing

Save Word. Definition of break dancing. Examples of break dancing in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web Hip-hop has five creative elements MC, break dancing , graffiti art, DJ and knowledge of self that capture various disciplines and create a culture that has real-life applications that young people participate in, interrogate and experience.

First Known Use of break dancing , in the meaning defined above. History and Etymology for break dancing break entry 2 solo passage or break beat. Learn More About break dancing. Share break dancing Post the Definition of break dancing to Facebook Share the Definition of break dancing on Twitter. Time Traveler for break dancing The first known use of break dancing was in See more words from the same year.

Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of break dancing. Get Word of the Day daily email! The majority of the pioneers and most notable practitioners prefer these original terms. The terminology used to refer to b-boying breakdancing changed after promotion by the mainstream media.

To those who knew it before it was tagged with the name breakdancing, to those still involved in the scene that they will always know as b-boying, the tradition in alive and, well, spinning.

Breakdancing, or b-boying as it is more appropriately known as, is known to have its roots in the east coast and was heavily influenced by break beats and hip-hop. The term breakdancing is a prime example of this misnomer. Most pioneers and architects of dance forms associated with hip-hop reject this term and hold fast to the original vernacular created in their places of origin. In the case of breakdancing, it was initially called b-boying or b-girling.

I read that in many magazines, but that is a media term. With no true knowledge of the hip-hop diaspora, but with an ineradicable need to define it for the nescient masses, the term breakdancing was born. Most breakers take great offense to the term. Many elements of b-boying can be seen in other antecedent cultures prior to the s.

Thomas Edison recorded an Arab street dancer performing acrobatic headspins in However, it was not until the s that b-boying developed as a defined dance style in the United States. The breakbeat provided a rhythmic base that allowed dancers to display their improvisational skills during the duration of the break. This led to the first battles—turn-based dance competitions between two individuals or dance crews judged with respect to creativity, skill, and musicality.

These battles occurred in cyphers—circles of people gathered around the breakers. Uprock A separate, but related dance form, which influenced b-boying, is uprock. Uprock is an aggressive dance that involves two dancers who mimic ways of fighting each other using mimed weaponry in rhythm with the music.

Uprock as a dance style of its own never gained the same widespread popularity as b-boying, except for some very specific moves adopted by breakers who use it as a variation for their toprock. It is also a soulful and competitive urban street dance, performed in synchronization to the beats and rhythms of soul, rock and funk music.

Some b-boys argue that because uprock was originally a separate dance style it should never be mixed with b-boying and that the uprock moves performed by breakers today are not the original moves, but imitations that only show a small part of the original uprock style. Although women participated in this style of dance, it was usually danced by two men facing each other.

Uprock evolved in New York circa in the late s. A precursor and influence to this form of dance was gang culture. Throughout the very late s and mids, New York was home to street gangs.

Dancers throughout New York City in all boroughs continued to invent new movements and gestures to create a street dance. Many gang members began to perform this dance and it became common to see gang members hanging out in corners dancing against each other. Brazil Ismael Toledo was one of the first b-boys in Brazil.

In , he moved to the United States to study dance. While in the US, he discovered b-boying and ended up meeting b-boy Crazy Legs who personally mentored him for the four years that followed. After becoming proficient in b-boying, he moved back to Sao Paulo and started to organize b-boy crews and enter in international competitions. He eventually opened a hip-hop dance studio called the Hip-Hop Street College. South Korea B-boying was first introduced to South Korea by American soldiers shortly after its surge of popularity in the U.

A year later when he returned, Chon found that his video and others like his had been copied and dubbed numerous times, and were feeding an ever-growing b-boy community. Since then, the Korean government has capitalized on the popularity of the dance and has promoted it alongside Korean culture.

R Korea is the most well-known government-sponsored b-boy event, and is hosted by the Korean Tourism Organization and is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. He also organizes the yearly B-Boy Park, which draws upward of 10, fans a year and attempts to expose a wider audience to the culture.

His organization helps roughly 5, youths a year. There are four primary elements that form b-boying. These include toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. Toprock generally refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, though dancers often transition from other aspects of b-boying to toprock and back.

A great deal of freedom is allowed in the definition of toprock: as long as the dancer maintains cleanliness, form, and the b-boy attitude, theoretically anything can be toprock. Toprock can draw upon many other dance styles such as popping, locking, tap dance, Lindy hop, or house dance.

Downrock includes moves such as the foundational 6-step, and its variants such as the 3-step. The most basic of downrock is done entirely on feet and hands but more complex variations can involve the knees when threading limbs through each other. Power moves are acrobatic moves that require momentum, speed, endurance, strength, and control to execute.

The breaker is generally supported by his upper body while the rest of his body creates a circular momentum. Some examples are the windmill, swipe, back spin, and head spin. Some power moves are borrowed from gymnastics and martial arts.

An example of a power move taken from gymnastics is the Thomas Flair, which is shortened and spelled flare in b-boying. Freezes are stylish poses that require the breaker to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength in poses such as the pike. They are used to emphasize strong beats in the music and often signal the end of a b-boy set.

There are many different individual styles used in b-boying. In an interview with B-Boy Magazine he expressed his frustration:. It used to be that you could tell what city a b-boy was from by the way he danced. Not anymore. Although there are some generalities in the styles that exist, many dancers combine elements of different styles with their own ideas and knowledge in order to create a unique of their own.

B-boys can therefore be categorized into a broad style which generally showcases the same types of techniques. The names of some of these moves are air baby, hollow backs, solar eclipse, and reverse air baby, among others. Like freezes, a suicide is used to emphasize a strong beat in the music and signal the end to a routine. While freezes draw attention to a controlled final position, suicides draw attention to the motion of falling or losing control.

B-boys or b-girls will make it appear that they have lost control and fall onto their backs, stomachs, and etc. The more painful the suicide appears, the more impressive it is, but breakers execute them in a way to minimize pain.

This style is focused more on the beat and musicality of the song than having to rely on power moves only. Downrock Styles In addition to the styles listed above, certain footwork styles have been associated with different areas which popularized them. Euro Style : Created in the eraly 90s, this style is very circular, focusing not on steps but more on glide-type moves such as the pretzel, deadlegs, undersweeps, and fluid sliding moves.

Based upon the Euro Style, except characterized by elaborate leg threads. Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breaking community over the give-and-take relationship between technical footwork and physical power. This debate however is somewhat of a misnomer. It is a concept which encompasses how a move is executed rather than what move is done.

The musical selection for breaking is not restricted to hip-hop music as long as the tempo and beat pattern conditions are met. Breaking can be readily adapted to different music genres with the aid of remixing. Also great for dancing: 70's soul, funk, and even jazz tunes all work as well. Style, fashion, spontaneity, concept, and technique are also vital aspects of breakdancing. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

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