Dictionary

Backspin: The name says it all: you spin around on your back. The spin is initiated through a circular drive of your legs in the direction you want to spin. All weight is balanced on the upper back, and your legs should be tucked close to the body. The less of your body touches the ground, the easier it is to spin fast.; You can get out of a backspin with a pop out: pushing yourself up onto your feet without using your hands. See also the backspin hints.
Continuous backspin windmill, neckmove, bellymill, munchmill, tracks: A continuous flow of circular motion in the upper back and shoulder area. When you spin on the ground, turn on your hands, then back onto your shoulders, keeping your legs in the air. By spinning two or three times around without using your hands you are doing doubles or triples. When your whole body spins in the air without touching the ground, you are doing an airtrack.; Windmill: when you get better, you can do the continuous backspin without your hands, by just pushing or hopping from shoulder to shoulder, or by using your head. There are many different ways to place your hands in a windmill, as you are not using them anymore.; Neckmove: only one turn of a windmill.; Bellymill: instead of turning over your hands or head, you turn over your belly.; Munchmills (aka babymills): windmills with totally crossed and folded legs.; Tracks (aka halos): only your hands and your head (around which you spin) touch the ground.
Crickets jackhammers: The same motion as a handglide, but hopping up and down on your wrists. You keep one hand in the middle, and the other is used to gain momentum by pushing.; Jackhammers: one-handed crickets, keeping the balance without the help of your other hand.
Downrock floorrock, footwork: The rhythmic weaving of legs and feet in a circular motion, back and forth, low around the axis of the hand that is carrying the dancer's weight. Performed with the body close to the floor.
Elbowspin swirls: Done like a headspin, but you spin on your elbow (and forearm), which is between your head and the floor.; Swirls: spins in the “elbowstand”, without support from your head.
Flares Thomas flares: Similar to the move performed by gymnasts. Keep your hips high and at the same height, keep your legs spread and drive with the leg nearer the ground. Make fast changes in the front and in the back with your legs and hips: the leg that was nearer the ground is high in the air after the change.
Floats turtle, UFO, wolf: A spin of the body down on the floor, facing downwards, with the whole weight of the body balanced on the hands. There are several ways to do this motion, balancing the weight on the elbows or not:; Turtle (aka tabletop): with elbows bent and tucked under the body for support, and both legs raised off the ground. The rotation is performed by staying in this position, spinning around and transferring all weight from one hand to the other, using the wrists to turn.; UFO (aka buddha): the same motion as the turtle, but your body is in the air without any balance on your elbows. Your legs are further away from your body than your arms.; Wolf: like the UFO, but your legs are between your arms.
Freezes: Stopping all movement during any sequence of moves. Freezes are often executed from the most impossible positions, as another way of showing skills. The best known are the chair freeze and the baby freeze; read more on the Roots page.
Handglide sideglide, fistglide, elbowglide, headglide, donut: Similar in position and motion to floats, but different in execution. All weight is balanced on one hand on the floor, with the elbow bent and tucked under the body, and the legs extended in the air. The circular motion is driven by pushing with the free hand whenever necessary. Having your hand and elbow properly positioned in the center of your body, and good balance, are essential for this move.; Sideglide: your body faces sideways, the elbow is lodged at the hip, and the legs are one over the other.; Fistglide: like the handglide, but you turn on your fist instead of your hand.; Elbowglide: like the handglide, but you put the hand on your stomach and spin on your elbow.; Headglide: like the handglide, but your head grinds on the floor (you aren't totally horizontal anymore; your balance point is a bit nearer your head).; Donut: unlike the headglide, you put your supporting hand directly next to your head and balance with your forearm and elbow. Because of the shorter radius, more spins are possible.
Headspin: Another pretty self-explanatory move: you spin around on your head. From a headstand, split your legs apart and drive them around in a circular motion, using the same amount of drive in each leg. If you are balanced properly you will be able to spin on just your head and won't need your hands at all, though you can use them to start the spin and for balance until you can do it well.; Variations include chairstyle, bowl, pill, drills, countdown, tutts, double U, slomo, bicycle and skrew.
Headswipes: A mixture between a windmill and swipes.
One hand 99 1990, 1999, 2000, 2001: Basically spinning around on your hand in a one-handed handspin. Start from a handstand and drive your legs around, putting all your weight onto the hand you want to spin on. Keep spinning by driving your legs around, using both legs equally to keep your balance. It is essential that the hand you are balancing on is directly underneath and in line with the center of your body.; 2000: spinning in the handstand on one hand, but using both hands for support.; 2001: spinning in the handstand on the back of one of your hands.
Routines: Connected and/or synchronized movements done by several dancers together.
Suicide: The B-Boy drops to the ground from a midair freeze, landing flat on the front or back, as if dead.
Swipes: Using your hands to support yourself, a single rotation of the legs around a horizontal plane. From all fours on your back, reach over your body with one arm, twist your body slightly in that direction, and plant your hand next to the hand that is still on the ground, about a foot away, so that you have enough balance. Spin your whole body in the direction of your hands, using the closest foot to push off, and drive your outside leg up and around, followed by your second leg (both feet leave the ground and rotate). If you push off hard enough, you should have no trouble rotating your body 360 degrees and ending up back on all fours on your back.; You can do swipes using both feet to push you up or only one. You can cross your feet, or do swipes on your elbows. A further variation are headswipes.
Toprock shuffle: The dance: the basic upright footwork. It can be based on many different influences and is different in each individual. The transition from toprock into downrock is called the godown.
Uprock Brooklyn rock: A dancing fight, in which the dancers are very close but do not touch! Holding the rhythm and acting to and with the music is the most important thing. Today this dance style is often mixed into the toprock of B-Boys. Read the history of Uprocking.