Break Dancing
If you want to find the original flavor of hip hop, get into break dancing with our easy how to guide.
TopRock
Back Spin
Six Step or Lower Footwork
Since hip hop got started in the streets of New York in the mid-1970s, it has changed a lot. But one thing stayed the same: break dancing. It still is today what it was almost 30 years ago: a bunch of kids coming together and moving to a beat. Break dancing, or b-boying, is now a worldwide phenomenon where kids in Japan are more familiar with the word "windmill" (a dance move) than they are with "hello."
These last few years have been morbid for hip hop. The radio got tired when urban radio stations transformed into garbage radio stations by playing Juvenile, JD and Mase (we won’t mention his puppeteer). MTV’s idea of hip hop is Limp Bizkit, but when did MTV ever have a clue to begin with? It seems as if the hip hop art form is going downhill at 200 miles per hour. At times like these, it is good to know that I can go to a b-boy event and get the same thing that b-boys have been offering for years: raw skills, raw hip hop, lots of originality. No shiny suits allowed. Leave your Hilfiger jacket in the car. Only one thing is needed—the creative freedom to be yourself through b-boying. That’s what I found when I took photos of some of the dancers at a local b-boy event in October.
I am not a break dancer. I am a lover of hip hop as well as a spectator of b-boying. I see how events such as the annual B-Boy Summit or Freestyle Session bring together thousands of b-boys and b-girls from around the world all in the name of hip hop. I see how dedicated and strong-willed these kids are when it comes to b-boying, in many cases to the point where they’ll get broken bones and concussions. I see how they get right back up and keep spinning.
I feel a rush when I am part of a circle watching as somebody in the middle b-boys to KRS-One’s "Step Into A World," giving it all they’ve got and performing a miracle—finally perfecting a move they practiced for months. Or when two b-boys battle each other, coming up with one creative move after another, astonishing the crowd. Then come the cheers "Aaah! Did you see that?"
Kujo, a member of the world-renowned dance group "Soul Control." He has been dancing for seven years and has performed around the world with the likes of Kurtis Blow. He is featured in many b-boy videos as well as several music videos. He writes for BBoy.com.
Kujo helped L.A. Youth develop the instructions with this story.
Web sites
• Check out www.BBoy.com, where you’ll find detailed instructions for basic and advanced moves, videos of previous BBoy events you can order, and links to other sites offering various other videos.
• www.Free styleSession.com can give you information on upcoming major BBoy events and you can order videos of past events.
Shop
• Workmen’s Outlet, which sells numerous BBoy videos, has locations on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, Tarzana, Pasadena, Westwood, and Venice Beach. For more information, call (323) 933-2440.
Events
Freestyle Session 2-Year Anniversary, Saturday, November 27, in Long Beach. For more information, call (888) 789-3462 or e-mail Pro3Deep@aol.com.
The LAB, Saturday, November 13, in Hollywood. For more information, call (310) 236-3899, or e-mail Fresh@BBoy.com.
