Roots of Breaking
Breaking, also known as Rocking at first, was a reflection of African American as well as Latino (Puerto Rican) culture brought by the immigrants, and emerged in New York City in the late 60s and beginning of the 70s.
On the breaks
The break was the section on a musical recording where the percussive rhythms were most aggressive and hard driving. The dancers anticipated and reacted to these breaks with their most impressive steps and moves. Kool DJ Herc is credited with extending these breaks by using two turntables and going back and forth between two copies of the same song, so that the dancers could enjoy more than just a few seconds of a break. Read more about the records on the Breaks page.
From toprock to the floor
In the early stages this dance was done upright, a form which became known as “top rocking”. The structure and form of toprocking has influences from Brooklyn uprocking, tap dance, lindy hop aka jitterbug, salsa (like the latin rock), Afro Cuban and various African and Native American (like the indian step) dances. There is also a toprock Charleston step called the “Charlie Rock”. Another major influence and inspiration was James Brown with his hits “Popcorn” (1969) and “Get on the Good Foot” (1972): inspired by his energetic and almost acrobatic dance on stage, people started to dance the “Good Foot”.
As the tradition of dance battle was already well established at that time, and as Rocking/Breaking also got incorporated into the Hip Hop culture (“fight with creativity, not with weapons”), it became more and more a dance that involved the dancer using their imagination to execute foot stomps, shuffles, punches and other battle movements. As a result it wasn't long before top rockers extended their repertoire to the ground with “footwork” (“floor rocking”) and “freezes”.
Floor rocking, influenced by martial arts films from the early 70s, tap dance (russian style footwork, swipes, sweeps, one shot headspins from a cartwheel…) and other dance forms, didn't replace toprocking but was added to it and became another key point in the dance. The transition from the top to the ground was called the “godown” or the “drop” (like front swipes, back swipes, dips and corkscrews). The smoother the drop, the better.
Freezes were usually used to end a series of combinations or to mock and humiliate the opponent. Certain freezes were also named, like the two most popular: the “chair freeze” and the “baby freeze”. The chair freeze became the foundation for various moves because of the range of motion a dancer has in this position (hand, forearm and elbow support the body while allowing free movement of the legs and hips).
The first crews
The main goal in a Breaking battle was to beat the “opponent” by being more creative with steps and freezes and by doing better and faster moves. That's also why Breaking crews – groups of dancers who practiced and performed together – were formed to develop their own routines and stand out against other crews.
The first known Breaking crew was called The Nigga Twins, and with other crews like The Zulu Kings, The Seven Deadly Sinners, Shanghai Brothers, The Bronx Boys, Rockwell Association, Starchild La Rock, Rock Steady Crew and the Crazy Commanders (where the name for the CC step comes from) they were the pioneers. After some years of developing this new dance style there were dancers around in the middle of the 70s who already had remarkable skills. The following dancers were the B-Boy kings of the mid 70s: Beaver, Robbie Rob (Zulu Kings), Vinnie, Off (Salsoul), Bos (Starchild La Rock), Willie Wil, Lil' Carlos (Rockwell Association), Spy, Shorty (Crazy Commanders), James Bond, Larry Lar, Charlie Rock (KC Crew), Spidey, Walter (Master Plan) and others…
The biggest crew rivalries during that period (which were the driving force and what kept the crews alive) were between Salsoul (this crew later changed its name to The Disco Kids) and Zulu Kings, as well as between Starchild La Rock and Rockwell Association. At that time Breaking was still just about freezes, footwork and toprocks. There were no spins! By the late 70s a lot of early B-Boys retired, and a new generation of dancers grew up who combined the basics known until then with more and more spins on almost every part of the body. Well known moves like the headspin, the continuous backspin (aka windmill) and all kinds of glides were created at that time.
Around 1980 there were crews in NYC like Rock Steady Crew, NYC Breakers, Dynamic Rockers, United States Breakers, Crazy Breakers, Floor Lords, Floor Masters, Incredible Breakers, Magnificent Force and many more. Some of the best dancers at that time were guys like Chino, Brian, German (Incredible Breakers), Dr. Love (Master Mind), Flip (Scrambling Feet), Tiny (Incredible Body Mechanic) and many more. The biggest rivalries were between Rock Steady Crew and NYC Breakers, as well as between Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers. The early-80s battles between these crews attracted the attention of the media.
The media explosion
In 1981 ABC News showed a performance of Rock Steady Crew at Lincoln Center. Then in 1982 a battle between Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers was recorded for the documentary “Style Wars”, which was later also aired nationally on PBS, and that's how Breaking found its way to the West Coast of the USA. In the same year the “Roxy”, formerly a roller-skating disco, reopened as a Hip Hop club.
In 1983 the movie “Flashdance” came into the cinemas and the video clip of Malcolm McLaren's “Buffalo Gals” was shown on TV. Rock Steady Crew was featured in both productions, and they were seen all over the world because of the success of the movie and the song. That was the start of the media explosion in most countries around the world. For everybody Breaking was something new, something that had never been seen before, something really spectacular and fascinating. In the same year the movie “Wild Style” came out, and to promote it the “Wild Style” tour took place, the first international tour featuring Hip Hop culture. The MCs, DJs, Graffiti artists and Breakers also went to London and Paris, and this was the first time that Breaking could be seen live in Europe.
In 1984 the movie “Beat Street” came out, featuring Rock Steady Crew, NYC Breakers and Magnificent Force, and at the closing ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games over 100 B-Boys and B-Girls gave a performance! In the same year the “Swatch Watch NYC Fresh Tour” took place and the movie “Breakin'” was shot, followed in 1984 by “Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo”. Both showed the scene around the LA nightclub “Radio” (later “Radiotron”) and what was going on on the West Coast of the USA.
Breaking became more and more a trend, and B-Boys appeared in commercials (for milk, Right Guard, Burger King…) and TV shows (Fame, That's Incredible!, David Letterman…). B-Boys were even honoured guests of the Prince of Bahrain and of Queen Elizabeth. 1985 also saw the release of “Electro Rock”, a video filmed at a party in the Hippodrome in London which showed the UK Hip Hop scene (with guests from the USA). In 1986 UK Fresh took place in the Wembley Arena in London, one of the biggest and most historic events of that time.
By 1987, for most people and particularly for the media, “Breakdance” was played out. Only very few dancers kept on practicing and dancing seriously, not only in New York but all around the world.
Sources: word of mouth, and interviews and articles by Fabel and Mr. Wiggles.
Related dances
Breaking was and is influenced by many other dance styles, by gymnastics, and very strongly by eastern martial arts moves.
Despite many rumours and opinions, Breaking didn't originate from Capoeira, but over the years many moves, steps and freezes of this Brazilian fight-dance have inspired more and more B-Girls and B-Boys, who integrated them into their dance. Learn more about Capoeira.
A special dance style which is very often used by B-Boys (during their toprock and/or for battling), and which originated in Brooklyn, is Uprocking. Learn more about Uprocking.
In the early and mid 80s “Breakdance” was often mixed up and presented by the media together with Boogaloo, Popping, Robotting, Strutting, Waving and other funk dance styles. Although these dance styles were more and more adopted into the Hip Hop movement, they were created on the West Coast during the funk era, and their roots and history are fundamentally different from Breaking.
Locking
Locking goes back to Don Campbell in Los Angeles around 1970. Trying to do the popular Funky Chicken, he kept pausing in between the moves, and those sudden stops, the “locks”, became the signature of a new dance that was first called Campbellocking. Points, wrist rolls, knee drops and big, playful arm movements followed. In 1973 Campbell formed The Lockers, whose appearances on Soul Train and other TV shows spread the dance across the USA.
Popping and Boogaloo
Popping and Boogaloo come from Fresno, California, where Boogaloo Sam (Sam Solomon) developed the Boogaloo style, built on rolling the hips, knees and head, and the “pop”: quickly contracting and relaxing the muscles to the beat. In 1977 he founded the Electric Boogaloo Lockers, later known simply as the Electric Boogaloos, with his brother Poppin' Pete and others. Strutting, the robot, waving and other related styles developed in parallel in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Los Angeles. On the East Coast all of this was first known simply as “Electric Boogie”; read Popmaster Fabel explain the terminology in his interview.