Considered to be one of the best known hip-hop dance styles, breakdancing (also known as breaking, b-boying, b-girling) became a tool for those youth to cope with various societal pressures.
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"The structure was different from b-boying/b-girling since dancers in b-boy/b-girl battles took turns dancing, while uprocking was done with partners." In 1973, DJ Kool Herc invented the break beat.Chang 2006, p. 19.
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Chang 2005, p. 116.Chang 2005, p. 138. Although it looks similar to toprock, uprock is danced with a partnerChang 2006, p. 21. "The structure was different from b-boying/b-girling since dancers in b-boy/b-girl battles took turns dancing, while uprocking was done with partners." and is more aggressive, involving fancy footwork, shuffles, hitting motions, and movements that mimic fighting.
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These films expanded the appeal of hip hop beyond the boundaries of New York. By 1984, youth worldwide were embracing the hip hop culture. The hip hop artwork and "slang" of U.S. urban communities quickly found its way to Europe, as the culture's global appeal took root. The four traditional dances of hip hop are rocking, b-boying/b-girling, locking and popping, all of which trace their origins to the late 1960s or early 1970s.
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Toprock is a major element of b-boying and b-girling (breakdance). It generally refers to foot movement performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, rhythm, and most importantly, style. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into the more acrobatic maneuvers of downrock. Breakers may devote considerable time to developing their toprock, and the style they display is a point of pride.
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'Breakdancing' became the catch-all term to describe what originally had been referred to as 'burning', 'going off', 'breaking', 'b-boying', and 'b-girling.' Dance styles that originated in the West Coast such as popping and locking were also grouped under the term 'breakdance.'"Chang 2006, pp. 18–19. "Although dance forms associate with hip- hop did develop in New York City, half of them (that is, popping and locking) were created on the West Coast as part of a different cultural movement.
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Kool Herc did this to provide a means for dancers who attended his parties to demonstrate their skills. B-boy and b-girl stands for "break-boy" and "break-girl"; b-boys and b-girls dance to the break of a record. Further influenced by martial artsChang 2006, p. 20. "Early influences on b-boying and b-girling also included martial arts films from the 1970s." and gymnastics, breaking went from being a purely upright dance style—toprock only—to becoming more floor-oriented.
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It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the South or West Bronx.Dyson, Michael Eric, 2007, Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, p. 6. While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop music (including rap), hip hop is characterized four key elements: "rapping" (also called MCing or emceeing), a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing (and turntablism), which is making music with record players and DJ mixers (aural/sound and music creation); b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti.
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B Boy executing a freeze Breaking, an early form of hip hop dance, often involves dance battles, showing off technical skills, trying to out-do a rival dancer, and displaying tongue-in-cheek bravado. Breaking, also called B-boying/B-girling or breakdancing, is a dynamic, rhythmic style of dance which developed as one of the major elements of hip hop culture. Like many aspects of hip hop culture, breakdance borrows heavily from many cultures, including 1930s-era street dancing,"Earl 'Snakehips' Tucker". Drop Me off in Harlem.
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A breakdancer performing in Schildergasse, Cologne, 2017 Breaking, also called breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance from the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, breakdancing mainly consists of four kinds of movement: toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes. Breakdancing is typically set to songs containing drum breaks, especially in hip-hop, funk, soul music and breakbeat music, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns. Breaking was created by the African American youth in the early 1970s.
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"Early influences on b-boying and b-girling also included martial arts films from the 1970s." influences from gymnastics, and the formation of dance crewsChang 2005, p. 136.—teams of street dancers who get together to develop new moves, create dance routines, and battle other crews. One b-boy move taken from gymnastics is called the flare, which was made famous by gymnast Kurt Thomas and is called the "Thomas flair" in gymnastics. B-boys Jamie "Jimmy D" White and Santiago "Jo Jo" Torres founded Rock Steady Crew (RSC) in 1977 in the Bronx.Hess 2007, p. xxii.
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