Friday, February 4, 2011

What is Breakdancing?

By Ram Collins


Breakdancing is a revolutionary type of dance that exhibits sophisticated maneuvers, power moves, and brilliant choreos. This is usually performed by preteens, teens, and even young adults. Competitions can be held as a way of showing off to other crews or as a real competition with numerous rewards for the victor. Well known producers and even celebrities sponsor breakdancing competitions participated by crews from the international crowd.

If you study dancing history then you will see that breakdancing is nowhere to be found in the records. The trend started in the streets of New York -- a way for kids and teenagers to show off their "cool moves" with the inclusion of music. It was observed that this form of modern dance is a combination of athletic moves and dance maneuvers -- with emphasis on extreme "power moves" with "freezes" during breaks in the music. The trend started with the Latinos and Black youths in Bronx, but was later performed by the general populace and eventually in the international level.

Most of the time, breakdancers don't like to be labeled certain naming conventions because they have their own names. Performers of this type of dance refer to themselves as either "b-boys" or b-girls" and the dance is simply called "breaking".

The dance got its name because of the notable "breaks" that dancers do. It is common for the music to be a mixture of different songs from different artists, regardless of the music's genre. Whatever the dance routine requires, the combined songs end up in a harmonious mix that seem to go with the dance moves. The dance moves are categorized into five types:

1. Toprock - any dance step performed while standing.

2. Downrock - dance steps done on the floor or emphasizes footwork.

3. Power Moves - these are termed as acrobatic maneuvers that require physical strength, balance, and stamina. Initial movement includes circular maneuvers for the body to gain momentum to execute power moves;

4. Freezes - This is the actual break the performers do. It is usually done after a power move has been made or when the music changes.

5. Suicides - a dance move usually done as a closing salvo of a dance routine.

The first requirement for breakdancing is to develop physical strength and balance. These two qualities are the fundamentals for this type of dancing. Any dancer has to master these two before they can moved on to more complex techniques.

This is the reason why professionals in this field who teach breakdancing train their students to the point that their balance and strength is improved until they can do complex moves with ease.

Regarding the debate as what Breakdancing is all about: power or style, a typical dance crew would need both all the time. It's only a decision on what aspect to focus on that makes the difference.




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