Figure 1.--Break dancing was all the rage in the 1990s. The costumes were those of urban hip-hop culture, although over-sized baggy jeans posed a problem for the dancer.

"Breakin" like all dance is a form of expression. It is a outgrowth of hip-hop urban culture. It is probably the first dance style where ideas and movements have developed more on the internet than in formal instruction or written artickes and books. The internet abounds in messages like, "I need some help on my power moves. I can start my windmill by kicking instead of by a baby freze. I want to cleen up my flavor, but most of all I wwant help on my power." Which elicits replies like, "To do your flairs try to swing your legs in a circular motion, windmills the same way as a flair but try to roll on your shoulders and let your head roll on the ground, for halos put your to elbows in your gut and throw yourself and keep one hand one the ground all times so you could catch yourself, airtracks start by a flare and when you go all the way around once, before you go around agintry to throw yourself as high as you can andcatch yourself. Will get hurt badly headspins, just keep swinging your legs and always push until you fell ready to let go. hope you learn."

History

"Breakin" as the dancers call it, seems rather different than other kinds of dancing--so much of which appears styilized and formal to the modern eyes of the hip-hop generation. One of the first questions people ask when they first observe break dancing is: "Where in heavens name did kids learn to dance like that?" To those uninitiated in modern urban culture, break dancing appears to have come out of nowhere. Like all dance, "Breakin" has its own history and cultural origins.

The place was New Yorkm not to surprising, and the person swas James Brown. Dance historians point to the renowned, James Brown, and the dance, the Good Foot. James Brown in 1969 was enjoying phenomenal success with his hit "Get on the Good Foot". The Hustle was the big fad dance style of the day. Virtually everyone has seen James Brown live in concert or on television. He can really "get down" as the Breakers say. When he performed his big hit, he usually did just the kind of dance you'd expect James Brown to do. High Energy.

Brown's almost acrobatic dance was actually familiar to a lot of kids in the New York City area . By the time the Good Foot became the new dance style, the urban tradition of dance battle was well established. One can only conjure up images of West Side Story. Dancers would gather at places like Harlem World on 116th Street in Harlem and Battle-dancewise. The ensuing battles are covered in more detail in various web sites, but the important thing as far as the history of "Breakin" is concerned is that "Breakin" was particularly well-suited for competitive encounters. And not only was the Good Foot well-suited for dance battles, it especially appealed to athletic young men. One simetimes forgets when watching the intricate, often delicate, motions of a well performed dance how athletically demanding dance is.

The Good Foot, came to be called B-Boy and eventually by the modern term--" Breaking". It was initially very different from the Breaking we see today. In was in fact much simpler, then sophisticated modern "Breakin". There were no Headspin. No Windmill. No Handglides or Backspins. It was what is now called old-style Breaking. Old-Style Breaking consisted only of floor work, or Floor Rock, and in a way it was more complex than modern Breaking. There could be, of course, some small variations on the Headspin and a Backspin, but basically, a Headspin is a head spin and a Backspin is a back spin. Even Floor Rock can involve some extremely complicated leg moves, and it is done very fast.

It did not take long before "Breakin" battles began occuring all around New York. appening. Among those for whom old-style Breaking was especially popular were the youth and street gangs that roamed the South Bronx. And it was in the grity streets of the South Bronx that ,odern "Breaking" really began. Often, the best Breakers in opposing gangs would battle dancewise instead of fighting. They would battle over turf. Or because someone stepped on someone else's shoes. They might battle prove that their gang was better than the other gang. Sometimes they would make a contract that the loser would not go around to the winner's neighborhood anymore. Sometimes they battled just to gain each other's respect. Unfortunately, these early Breaking battles did not always stop fight. In fact, they often would cause a fight, since dancers would sometimes get physical when they couldn't win dancewise. No one likes to lose.

Happily, today's "Breakin" battles have, to a large extent, replaced fighting in the Bronx. In this way Breaking crews-groups of dancers who practice and preform together-were formed. And soon formal crews organized, who not only practiced and preformed together, but who also developed their own dance routines. Some of these crews became very dedicated to their dancing, and since they had nothing better to do, would spend hours a day praticing, developing more and more complex moves, improving their form, and increasing their speed.

Then Afrika Bambaataa came along. Bambaataa is the legendary grand master D.J. who is the individual most responsible for the successful growth of Breakin. He is a record producer and member of the Soul Sonic Force, whose Looking For The Perfect Beat was acclaimed as the number 4 best single in the 1983 Jazz and pop Critics' Poll. Afrika Bambaataa is also the leader of the Zulu Nation in the Bronx. Afrika Bambaataa as early as 1969 saw Breaking as more than just dancing. He saw it as a way to really achieve something. With his recording background, he saw the commercial potential of Breaking, and encouraged the dancers to keep at it. To work hard, and to believe that if they stuck with it, something good would come of it. Bambaataa then started one of the first Breaking crews, the Zulu Kings. The Zulu Kings won a lot of battles and talent shows and preformed in various clubs in New York. At the same time they won a lot of adherents for the Zulu Nation and more imprtantly "Breakin" began to spread throughout urban America.

Beginners

One dancer provided this advise for beginners, "I'm only just starting too, but here is a starting point. Kneel on the floor, put your elbows on the ground (best to do it on grass). Now put your hands in a cup shape and put your head in the cup. Place your cupped hands on the floor. now push up and put your knees as near to your body as you can. Slowly lift your legs up so you are in a handstand positon. (All of this move will need ALOT of practice.) When /if you conquer this slowly move your hands out. When you are stable twist your body slowly and spin round!!!!!"