Hip-Hop Culture – Breakdance

Breakdance (AKA B-boying/B-girling or breaking) is most athletic of the element of Hip-Hop. This dance style grew out of the street culture of New York in the 1970s as a constructive option for the kids on the streets instead of being part of the gangs and violence.

Breakdance has 4 major elements to its technique - toprock, downrock, freezes and power moves.  Showdowns and contests take place as a battle, were individuals or crews (group) go head to head, taking it in turns to show their skills. I went looking for a video that really encompassed all of these techniques in a battle mode, when a light bulb went off in my head. The film clip for Jason Nevins’ remix of ‘It’s Like That’ by Run-DMC is a fake crew battle that really shows everything. To quote DMC, ‘Check this out’….

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsBfPhtSWl8]