B Boy(ing)

AJ Vogt
Jan 28, 2016
2 min read

B Boying, Breaking, breakdancing are all words that describe one of the first types of dances in hip hop culture which emerged in the 1970s. Breaking consists of footwork, spinning or power moves, and freeze. The origins of breaking can be traced back to the Bronx, New York City. Essentially the dance style was created by disc jockeys or DJs who were spinning new music in the streets. The dance was called breaking because the men would dance until there was a break in the music, where they would freeze and then continue and the music continued.

There a multiple different styles of breaking and in the late 1960s and early 1970s different groups emerged who took on different specialities. The Rock Steady Crew was one of the first crews that emerged and these dancers put an emphasis not on power moves but rather their combinations of power moves, thus it emphasizes a dancer's individual flavor. DJs caught on to this style of breaking and invented new ways to create longer break beats in records and now dancers had even more time to invent and experiment with moves.

Breaking kept on evolving, and continues to do so today. Once DJs were creating longer breaks, dancers starting a move where they would drop to the group and pop back up, which was coined "boie-oie-oings" and while on the ground dancers would use their arms and hands to support their bodies and pose for freezes.

Breakdancing became very popular in the media. Weather in the news or TV or movies. People in the media portrayed breaking as a phase, but it was not, it was a movement. In 1984 the movie Breakin' was released which takes the viewer on an experience throughout the hip hop world of breakdancing and its relevance. Even into the late 2000s, movies were released that had featured break dancers, including Step Up which starred Channing Tatum.

Dancing is very interesting to me, especially in Hip Hop culture, mainly because we see that these types of dances tend to develop and evolve and stick around for a long time. Check out the video below of a cool break dancing routine, and think about how long it took to master these moves.